Around Kraków

Yesterday I had the day to myself so I decided to spend it sightseeing in the old city. On Sundays most stores are closed except in the Jewish part called Kazimierz and in the really touristy parts of the old city square. So I headed out to the Sunday market in Plać Nowy of Kazimierz, which is like a flea market held in the old butchers square. It was cool to hunt for treasures among the piles of new and old stuff. I bought an old wallet for 40 zł then realized when I got home that it had some old German stamps in it. I wonder if they're worth anything?

I had a really nice lunch in a quiet out-of-the-way patio then headed to the center of town to tour some churches and possibly a museum. I didn't really have a firm plan so I just headed out in the direction of the old University. Along the way I came upon a shop with shelves of glass containers each with a different type of Polish liqueur. Naturally I stopped to try some since it kind of reminded me of Paweł's uncle's basement, which is full of glass jars with liqueur made from all kinds of fruit from his garden. After sampling a few different ones (blueberry, cherry, lilac berry and currant) I drowsily headed back out into the street.

It was really hot yesterday and I was starting to get tired so I decided to go to the Church of the Holy cross, which I read is a 15th century Gothic church with a central pilar that holds up the entire structure. When I got there, though, only the foyer was open, but it was so cool and quiet inside that I decided to sit for awhile on the inside steps. A man, who I assume is the priest there, arrived let me in to the main church for a couple of minutes. The arches of the ceiling were amazing with the center column fanning out like a palm tree to support the side chambers. The inside of the church had been gutted by fires throughout the years, so only the architecture is Gothic but it's filled with ornate gold and marble articles which seem out of place. Even thought this church is in the middle of a bustling area of the old city, inside it was totally calm. It was a bit of a shock to step out into the steamy, bustling street again.

I continued my adventures for the rest of the afternoon, but I never made it to the museum since it closes too early. I did visit the Florian gate, Jagiellonian University courtyard, Rynek and lots of art shops. I just had time to get back to the residence and have dinner before falling into bed, unfortunately I forgot that I had the "midterm" today in my language class so I got up a little early to study and now I can't think straight. I can't wait to go to sleep!

p.s. From now on you can click on the title of the post to see the rest of my pictures or follow the link in the sidebar.