Wednesday, October 17th
After reaching Krakow by night train, we hiked to our hotel to drop off our bags and have some breakfast. While I was getting seconds, Danny and Elsa teamed up to swipe my camera and take the first picture of the day.
Although Elsa was apparently enjoying her drink, Megan and Chris didn’t seem to be getting enough caffeine for themselves.
After breakfast and naps, we met in the lobby for our first tour of the week. Once we were on the streets, our guide advised that we not try jay-walking unless we wanted to pay a pricey ticket given by one of Krakow’s highly alert police. Having an alcoholic beverage open in public was also an offense that could earn us a hefty fine.
The first stop on our tour was the middle of Krakow’s main market square, where Chavonn posed for a picture with famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz. According to our guide, Mickiewicz’s son was present at the monument’s unveiling, and he thought it was so ugly that he turned around and walked away after seeing it.
Another sight to see on the main market square was the 665-year-old Saint Mary’s Basilica. From the taller of the two towers, you can hear a single trumpet call played 96 times a day: four times at the beginning of every hour. Local legend has it that the call cuts off before its last few notes to commemorate the death of a trumpeter who was hit in the throat by an arrow while trying to warn the city of approaching mongol invaders.
From the square, we gradually made our to the walls surrounding Krakow’s center. While our guide explained that some parts of the wall had been preserved to keep the wind from indecently flipping up the dresses of church-going ladies, Danny took a seat in the sunshine to reflect on this new knowledge.
Next we examined the barbican, another part of Krakow’s defense against enemy invaders. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we didn’t see ourselves as much of a threat, even we couldn’t get in.
Heading back to the center, we passed a more familiar sight. As the very first McDonald’s in Krakow, this one served 70,000 people on the day it opened. Unfortunately, a few of us were caught dining there during our stay in Krakow. If you like, you can click here to see them in the Hall of Shame.
Eventually, we made it through a couple of parks to reach Krakow’s castle. In the courtyard, we posed for a group picture.
To end our tour, we made our way down the hill on which the castle sits to meet Krakow’s very own fire-breathing dragon. This one commemorates the one that was slain centuries ago when a clever adventurer gave it the worst case of heartburn you can imagine, leading the dragon to drink too much water from the nearby river.
During the free time that followed our tour, Bettina discovered another monster of sorts. This quaint but not-so-little bear lives at one of the many quaint little shops just off the main market square.
Unfortunately, it was not until after we found the bear that we found what we should have been using to take a picture of it. With this camera, Bettina and Elizabeth were able to take a picture large enough to cover almost half of Krakow.
Back at the hotel, it was nap time once again for some of us. For Marcos, though, it was a great photo op.
Later in the day, most of us met up again, this time to get the so-called hooligan cards we needed to get into a soccer game on Saturday. Registered hooligans, like those people who threw fire onto the field at a Prague soccer game you may have read about, can’t get these cards, so they can’t get into games. You can make your own decision as to whether or not these shady characters should have received the cards.
Somehow, despite acting like this while waiting in line, everyone was able to receive a hooligan card.
As Bettina demonstrated, being serious was not required for these cards.
With hooligan cards in hand, it was time to get our tickets. In other words, it was time for Ken to get tickets for us. While he was wheeling and dealing to get us the best seats in the stadium for just 5 zloty (or about $1.60) each, we relaxed from our first day of adjusting to life in a new country.
