Krakow and Back Again

We managed to leave the city limits of Wroclaw this past weekend. We ventured to Krakow (pronounced Krah-koov) on Friday and returned on Sunday. Once again I thoroughly enjoyed driving on their freeways. This trip I maxed out at 160 km/hours and pretty much stayed steady at 140 - 150 km/hour. You definitly can't take your hands of the wheel or your eyes off the road but that Ford was pretty smooth! Of course, I was smoked by the passing BMW, Volvo and Audi, but I was pretty excited as it was. I must say the trip down on Friday was a little tougher because of the sloppy snow we received Thursday evening. Winters in Poland consist of light snow, followed by immediate thaw and slop. We had to stop at one point to clean off the windows and mirrors because I was not able to see from the driver's side mirror. Needless, to say my eyes were a bit tired when we hit Krakow. We actually did not get lost until we were in town and searching for the hotel. Correction: Craig was never lost but I managed to turn the wrong way down a one-way street before figuring out his instructions. My apologies to the mother and child in the crosswalk...oops!!! Fortunately we only had to circle the block one time before making it safely to the hotel. FYI: It cost more to park our car for two days than to board Oliver at the kennel)!

Krakow is a beautiful city, totally untouched from the devasations of war. It was far more commercial than Wroclaw - catering to visitors primarly from the UK. In Wroclaw it is rare to hear someone speaking English; however, in Krakow it seemed everyone spoke English. We met a young couple from Scottland (yes, they were definitely young...when we told them how old our kids were they responded by telling us that's how old they were)! Sorry to digress...they told us they paid about $180 roundtrip for both of them to fly from Scotland to Krakow. At the current exchange rate they could really enjoy a beautiful city and nice escape from their jobs for a week. On another note, we also met two men who work for a company one hour from Lynchburg, VA where Michael is living!! They were in Poland on a business trip and drove down to Krakow for the weekend. Funny, how even that dang southern accent sounded like home to us, y'all!!!

The Rynek (city center) was bustling with open markets and holiday festivities. Of course, there were street entertainers and the assorted young people wearing lottery balls on their heads....!!! Cheap advertisement for the lottery, I guess! It was pretty funny!! We happened upon an Aids awareness group who were handing out free condoms. I wasn't quite expecting that!! Usually people are handing out advertisements for restaurants and foreign language schools so actually getting a condom was a bit of a surprise!

We also spent one morning touring the Wawel Castle (pronounced Vahvail). The castle itself was huge and stately. We opted to pay to see the state rooms and cathedral. After passing through metal dectectors we were asked to put on booties and DO NOT TAKE PICTURES!!! The employees, all dressed in black, stood in each of the rooms with arms crossed and expressionless faces, monitoring us with beady eyes to be certain no rules were broken. In the very first room I touched a chest and was firmly told that was a no-no (there was nothing that said I couldn't)!! I did manage to touch one wall without repercussion! Craig, on the other hand, broke a HUGE rule by taking a picture in the Cathedral!!!! GASP....I hope the Pope's men aren't trying to track us down!!! At least in Wroclaw we can visit cathedrals free of charge and without penalty of death for taking a picture!!!

We will definitely return to Krakow when we have visitors to Poland. We can envision how active the Rynek will be when the weather is warmer. We can have our arms twisted to go back to Wawel, just don't plan on talking too loud or chewing gum!!

After speaking with people it is clear we will need to return to Osciem to tour Aushwitz and Bierkau. It apparently is a deeply moving experience and one that will touch you for a lifetime. We will try to get back there on a day trip. We also were told to visit the Salt Mines. I will have to do some research and report back to you on this one. In a nutshell you walk down 980 stairs into a salt mine. Everything is made from salt and the acoustics are said to be extraordinary. Evidently, there is a chapel down there made entirely from salt. It was an actual working mine! Again, this could be a one day road trip for us so we will keep you posted.

Oliver (pronounced Oh lee vair) survived at the Pupil Hotelu. It seems he pretty much hung out with the staff in the office. I'm told he played with their two big dogs and romped with a beagle puppy. We have a puppy diploma and picture for our scrapbook. I can now leave town knowing he will survive. I didn't ask what room he picked out....sorry!

Enough for now...I better wander (i.e., walk) over to the grocery store so we have something for dinner.

FYI: I will be home Friday, December 14 and will be returning to Wroclaw Friday, January 5. Craig has a business trip to Taiwan so won't be home until the 23rd. We are both excited to see everyone and share some of our stories and pictures with you. Craig is in charge of putting together a slide show (the pressure is on now that I publicly stated this)!