September 29, 2014: Second Day in Krakow

September 29, 2014

Got up at 6:30 to get ready, have breakfast at 7:15 and to work on the trip log and pictures before meeting the group at the museum site at 10:15.  Breakfast had a lot to offer and would mean that lunch would not be needed today.  The weather is gorgeous and the walk to the square was very nice.  The underground museum was so informative of the history with artifacts of the city dating back to the 11th century.  The excavations within Rynek Square for the artifacts took place from 2005 to 2010 and the museum was constructed on the site of the excavations.  Much of the museum was done with multi-media and holography to enrich the exhibits.  The section that included movies of the various periods was so extensive and could not be completed within the 2 hours spent in the museum.   Krakow history is very rich and greatly affected by the fact it lay on several trade routes dating back to early medieval times.  After a short break, I headed to the Wawel Cathedral tour that included the Sigismund Bell, Crypts, and Museum.  This time, I rented an audio guide and it was so helpful to explain and give so much historical background.  The climb to the Sigismund Bell was winding and very narrow on steep wooden stairs, but the view was very nice.  What a Bell!!  In the chamber, they had a recording of the bell playing -- a Big Ben sound!  The crypts were very interesting with all the notables entombed in their caskets and a walk through the Romanesque church on which the present day cathedral stands. From there I walked to the Cathedral Museum, but had very limited time to see the exhibits, which included a number related to Pope John Paul, who had been the archbishop of Krakow.

At the end of the day, I relaxed on the hotel's rooftop bar with exquisite views of the Vistula River, a hot air balloon, and the countryside to the west.  What a fabulous sunset!!  Naturally, this relaxation was accompanied by a small carafe of red wine.  Ahh, what a great way to end such a strenuous day of walking.  Next comes dinner.

My roommate for the trip, Marc LaVarn, arrived today.  He has participated in many previous ChemSource Study trips and is also looking forward to what lies ahead for this trip.  At 19:30, we gathered for our walk to the restaurant, Morskie Oko - Plac, where we had a Polish dinner that included a Polish soup; a main course of pork schnitzel, cabbage, and boiled potatoes; and ice cream with blue berries.  During dinner, the adjoining group had hired Polish dancers and we had the opportunity to enjoy the entertainment, which I captured on video (included in the slideshow).  We had a nice refreshing walk back to the hotel for a good night's rest to be ready for tomorrow's walking.

September 28, 2014: Arrival and First Day in Krakow

September 28, 2014

As we approached Frankfurt at 6:30 am, the sun was beginning to rise, which created a beautiful sky.  

 

Approaching Frankfurt, Germany

We landed at 7:00 am and to my surprise, in transiting from concourse Z to A, I never had to leave the secure zone.  The flight from Frankfurt to Krakow left right on time and landed 10 minutes early.  After collecting my bag, I was met in the arrival hall by the ChemSource driver who took my to our hotel (Pod Wawel) at the base of the Wawel Hill.  Being too early for check-in, I left my luggage and set out to tour some of the city – Wawel Castle/Cathedral complex and the Old City. 

About three blocks from the hotel was the entrance ramp to Wawel Castle.  My first stop was the ticket booth for the Wawel Castle/Cathedral complex where I purchased tickets to see the da Vinci painting, The Lady with an Ermine, and visit the Royal Apartments (at 14:40).  The painting is located on the first floor of the castle and was very beautiful.  You can visit the URL and gain information about the history and mystery surrounding the painting.  The next stop was the Wawel Cathedral where the Polish kings had their coronations.  Because it was not open for tours until 12:30 pm, it was very crowded.  I will probably return tomorrow after obtaining a ticket to see the Sigsmund Bell and the royal crypts/museum.

Because the time was now well past lunchtime and I had the apartments’ ticket for 14:40, I headed to the Old Town for lunch (Caesar salad) in an outdoor restaurant located on Rynek Square.  Walking there via Kanonicza Street gave a view of an old medieval street.  Because Rynek Square is a huge open air market square, dating from medieval times, and there was a music festival taking place, it was filled with a lot of people and had continual musical entertainment.  Much of the entertainment consisted of people in regional dress performing regional music.  The market area was filled with stalls containing crafts that ranged from cooked goods, to handmade linens, wood-working, jewelry, etc.  It was a very lively area.  After lunch, I wandered among the stalls.   There were a number of stands where Polish food was being cooked in huge “woks” and it looked absolutely delicious.  Hopefully, this will also occur during the week and I can sample some of this for lunch. 

Rynek Square contains the huge Cloth Market building with its multitude of souvenir stalls, St. Mary’s Basilica, and the Clock Tower.  At 14:00, as occurs on each full hour, the trumpeter appears in the small west window below the highest spire of St. Mary’s and blows the trumpet.   This is a practice from medieval times that continues today.

After a hurried walk back to the Wawel Castle, I lined up for the guided tour through the Royal Apartments.  The tour through the royal apartments was in English and gave a good impression of the extent of space in the castle occupied by the king.  Although all the furnishings and original period items were long gone due to the numerous partitions and occupations of Poland, some of the tapestries ordered by Sigsmund II Augustus have been reacquired and were hanging in several of the rooms.  Very little silver and porcelain have survived from the time the castle was used by the Polish kings.  The tour was about an hour long.  After leaving the tour, I ran into several people from our group -- Mary Virginia, Jan, Sandy, Terry, Carolyn, and Karen -- and we agreed to meet later and walk to the Old Town section.  Because it was 15:30, i returned to the hotel to check-in and shower.

At 17:45 we met in the lobby and walked to Rynek Square, which was just as lively as when I left it earlier.  First, we climbed to the observation deck of the Cloth Hall Building to view the square as the sun was setting.  There is a beautiful crescent moon above the buildings to the west.  We then inquired about the Rynek Museum tour that occurs underground of the Cloth Hall Building and obtained tickets for 10:15 tomorrow at the Tourist Information Center.  This permitted the group to hear the St. Mary's trumpeter at 10:00.  Then we wandered through the lively stall area to see all the food preparations before walking back to our hotel and having dinner at the rooftop restaurant.  The temperature was in the mid 50's when we started dinner and 48 when we left at 9:30 pm.  A long, but fun day.  

September 27, 2014: Leaving for Krakow

September 27, 2014

Last evening a notice was received from United Airlines that a significant fire in the FAA facilities early Friday had affected over 2000 flights in and out of Chicago and that flights could be rebooked without any fees being charged.  I decided to stick with the flights I had and which had been renegotiated with UA earlier in the week after they dropped my original flight from Chicago to Frankfurt.  As of the time I left home, all my flights were listed as being on-time.   We left the house at 6:30 am, I received my boarding passes at the UA kiosk after scanning my passport, and breezed through TSA pre-check security.  Our flight to Chicago was on time, but was put into a hold for 30 minutes on the tarmac.  We departed within 30 minutes and proceeded on with a very smooth flight to Frankfurt.  The seat next to me was vacant and this made getting some sleep (4 hrs.) much easier than it could have been.

Leaving Chicago

ChemSource Trip to Krakow, Bratislava, and Budapest

My trip to Krakow, Bratislava, and Budapest with the ChemSource Study Tour group will be from September 27^th (Birmingham departure) to October 9^th (Budapest departure for home and arrival in Birmingham).  The itinerary will include 5 days in Krakow staying at the Hotel Pod Wawelem, which is centrally located.  While in Krakow we will have a walking tour of Jagiellonian University, visit the Pharmaceutical Museum, tour the Wieliezka Salt Miines and Oskar Schindler’s Enamelware Factory, travel to Auschwitz, and attend an evening concert at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul.  Hopefully my early arrival will permit me to visit the Royal Castle on  Wawel Hill to view Leonardo da Vinci’s The Lady with an Ermine.  On Friday, October 3^rd, we transfer by bus to Bratislava and stay at the Hotel Austria Trend.  We will have two nights in Bratislava and will tour Old Town, Apponyi Wine Museum (with a tasting) and attend a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet, “Romeo and Juliet” at the Slovak National Theatre (Saturday evening).  Sunday afternoon, October 5, we travel by bus to Budapest where we stay at the Mercure Budapest City Center for four nights.  We will tour Parliament, the Foundry Museum, museums at Buda Castle, the Semmelweis Museum, and the Museum of Textile & Clothing Industry (Goldberger Museum) and visit the Aquincum Archaeological Site.  We have received 13 tutorials to acquaint us with the history, multiethnicity, politics of language, central Europe since 9/11, the Holocaust, and details of the numerous places we will visit in Krakow, Bratislava, and Budapest.  This promises to be a fun and very informative visit to historical areas of Eastern/East Central Europe.  Hopefully the postings of the trip log and photos will give you a good sense of what we are doing and seeing.