Easter Sunday in Krakow...
Trip Start
Apr 08, 2009
1
5
12
Trip End
Apr 19, 2009
Krakow, Southern Poland, Poland
Sunday, April 12, 2009
I didn't understand a single word of what was going on, but it didn't matter. The whole mass was just unbelievable. The cathedral was GORGEOUS, there was an endless amount of things to look at. The music was incredible, I absolutely loved it! After the mass, Kevin actually walked up to the Archbishop who had presided over the mass (and who also was Pope John Paul II's right-hand man when he was the archbishop at this cathedral!), and talked to him and actually brought him over for a picture with our group. Apparently there were cameras from the newspaper taking pictures of us too, but I don't know what ever came of that!
After mass, we were taken on a tour of the Wawel Hill area by a tour guide named Eva, who was great! Though she talked fairly quietly, she was the nicest person ever! We learned all about the Krakow Dragon, and saw the (fire-breathing!) statue of it, and just walked along the Vistula River, and saw all around Wawel Hill.
After the walking tour, we were taken by bus to the Old Town area of Krakow. We saw the Jewish ghetto area, where all of the Jews were packed in during World War II, and we saw some synagogues and cemeteries as well. We got to stop at the site of Schindler's Factory too, which was really cool! I haven't seen the movie, but I know the story, and it was really awesome to go to the place were all of it happened! We were somewhat disappointed because at the time we were there they were in the process of building an exhibition that would open later in the fall, so we didn't get to see it.
We then stopped at this big beautiful square called Rynek Glowny, which is the location of Cloth Hall (Sukienneice). It wasn't open when we were there (as were most things, it was Easter Sunday, and the majority of Poland is devoutly Catholic), but we did get to go to an open air market just behind the hall, which was amazing! We got food, and we got souvenirs, and the best part was how cheap everything was, because of how cheap the Polish zloty is in comparison to our Canadian dollars.
Alannah and I got our prizes today from yesterday's challenge, we each got an Easter egg candle and a Polish candy (I never tried the candy, but I saved the wrapper, and the candle still sits on my desk proudly, even over a year later!).
On this day, our lunch at the hotel was this AMAZING chicken and potatoes meal. I have no idea what kind of sauce was on the chicken but it was incredible, still the best meal of my life. I just wish I had asked what it was!
