Poland Adventure

 

After beautiful Prague and our Viking Elegant Elbe trip it was time to move on to our Viking extension visit to Poland.  

We had a great coach ride through the Polish countryside on the way to Krakow, stopping at a little non touristy town on the way for lunch.

Not sure of what to order, we opted for the one thing we recognized on the menu - Pizza!

A few minutes later two bowls of borscht were placed in front of us - and we tried to explain we did not order it.  The server did not understand - until a woman behind us ( this was a place were lots of local people ate lunch ) tapped me on the shoulder and told us that the soup was included with every meal.

It was delicious!

Later that day we arrived in Krakow - a beautiful city.

A fabulous hotel right near the river and castle area...then our Viking Guide took us on an orientation walk to the main square and how to navigate back to our hotel.

Lot of beautiful restaurants and activity on the square - we said we did not want pierogi ( a Polish stuffed dumpling) for dinner because we knew we would be having them on a food tour the next day... 

After we ordered ravioli we realized we were really having Italian pierogi!

The next morning we headed out for a tour of Krakow...

the square where Jews were deported during WWII - this was a scene in Schindler's List which was filmed here...the empty chairs symbolize the thousands who were gathered there.

Site of a memorial and a nearby pharmacy that tried to help the people who were in the ghetto.

Then up castle hill...

Some Polish royalty on hand...

then back to the main square and the beautiful cathedral - 

where we got to hear the "Trumpeter of Krakow" - a tradition of the playing of a Polish tune that warned the residents of invasion many years ago.  Now, firefighters take shifts and play this tune to all four sides of the tower and do it 24 hours a day. 

The "Trumpeter of Kraków" legend, popular in Poland, tells of a trumpeter in the 13th century who alerted the city to an approaching Mongol invasion by playing the Hejnał (St. Mary's Dawn hymn). He was fatally struck by an arrow before completing the melody, and the Hejnał has been played hourly in Kraków ever since, ending abruptly at the same point the trumpeter was silenced. 

It was very moving...and at the end, the trumpeter waves to the crowd from the little window!

That afternoon we took a walking food tour of Krakow -

first stop - Pierogi!

We enjoyed potato/cheese, pork, and new to us - apple !

Then walked to an underground cabaret to sample local beers and the traditional street food -

Obwarzanek is a type of bagel, also known as a pretzel. It has a chewy texture and is usually sprinkled with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. It is believed that this braided pretzel originated centuries ago in Kazimierz, Krakow’s Jewish Quarter. You are likely to find Obwarzanki easily enough all around the city.

My favorite beer had an orange flavor to it!

Then onto a restaurant called The Dragon - in honor of the dragon that in legend lived in a cave underneath the castle...

and the food was amazing!

Three different kinds of soup...

Halupki - stuffed cabbage

Platzki - potato pancakes..

and kielbasa, too!

We were stuffed...but the walk continued down to the Vistula River where were boarded a boat and enjoyed some dessert.

And VODKA!

Na Zdrowie!

We were so full...so after a quick nap we then headed out that evening to see the castle dragon -

he breathes fire every so many seconds!

And headed back to hear the trumpeter once more...as they play every hour around the clock.

And explored a Polish supermarket to find Linden Tree Tee...which one of our guides told us was good for colds.  We picked up a cough and thought this would be a nice way to end the evening.

We left the next morning for Auschwitz...a site I have wanted to visit since I learned about the Holocaust in 9th grade. That will be the next post on Our New Vista.  Thanks for coming along on our Polish Adventure.  Have you visited Poland ?  What were your favorite cities or foods?  Please leave a comment below - I love hearing from you.

Until then, have a great week and thank you for stopping by Our New Vista!