My second foreign trip of the year is under way. After a 3.15 departure from Cirencester and 7.00 flight from Bristol, my sister and I arrived in Kraków at lunchtime.
The second largest city in Poland, Kraków was the capital of the Polish Kingdom for over 500 years. Today it remains the capital of the Lesser Poland region.
While we are here this weekend, our accommodation is the self catering Apartment Soplica located right next to the main market square (‘Rynek Główny’). We have easy access to all the shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions.
After settling in to the apartment we wandered round the city centre, and then up to the Wawel Royal Castle. We had a private guide who for just 120 Zloty (about £23) gave us a tour around the castle and up the bell tower to see the view across the city, which lasted approx. an hour and was very interesting – the guide went in to a lot of detail about Polish history!
On our way back we called in at the supermarket to get supplies – breakfast and a packed lunch for tomorrow.
In the evening we went wandering around the shops – unlike in Germany they were all open late in to the night – looking at the menus of any restaurant we passed.
We settled in the end for a small, family run restaurant in a side street, opposite the German Consulate. “Restauracja Kramy Dominikanskie“. I chose it because it looked welcoming, and almost like a Greek taverna from the outside. Simple but appealing menu. I had the “Grandma Marysia’s Dish” which was a trio of meats (chicken, sausage and pork) in a hunters sauce, served with chips and a side salad. Corrie opted for the Bigos – one of Poland’s national dishes which is a sort of Polish stew with Sauerkraut.
Price for 2 main courses, a fanta plus a beer for Corrie: 65 Zloty or just under £13.
We will have an early night tonight – we have been on the go since 3 this morning! We also have an early start tomorrow – with an 8.00 pickup for a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
I’m off to bed now… Dobranoc! (That’s Polish for Καληνύχτα).
