The narritive...

For you (kelly), by popular demand! :)

The bus drive to Krakow was long. LONG. 17 hours on a night bus, watching an odd polish-dubbed movie. Kat and I understood nothing! We go along by just guessing what was happening. haha

We arrived in the morning, found our way around town relatively easily, and we were very excited. Our hostel was RIGHT on the main square. It was amazing to be so centrally located. Here we are, walking down the King's Way (Florianski Street), which opens up to this HUGE main square and continues down to the palace. We walked, enjoyed the sights of vendors, shops, locals and tourists alike looking happy!

Exiting Florianski street, we were greeted by the open-air market of the main square. flowers to the right, fruit to the left, crafts straight-ahead! The church stood impressively at the back of the square, while the main textiles guild building stands right in the middle of the square - effectively dividing it into two squares. As we entered the square, it was nearing the hour. This is important in Krakow because the trumpeter plays his tribute from the top of the church tower every hour on the hour.

The trumpeter commemorates (according to legend) the fact that a guard at the top of the tower warned the city of an incoming invasion of the Mongols by blowing his horn. The Mongols, being fantastic marksmen, shot and killed the trumpeter in the middle of his warning. To honor this, the player plays, but the tune is cut short quite suddenly. It was so cool! Kat laughed at me for always being excited about this. You can hear it all over the city, and every time we did, I would stop and listen. haha good times.

Next, we went to the Wawal Castle, which is striking. Perched on top of a hill overlooking the nearby river, it's a lovely lovely place. The cathedral is situated right inside the castle grounds, and it unique due to each dome that specific kings attached to the building. Usually, each dome has something to honor God at the tippy top. Well, one king allowed the artisan of his dome to put his own (the artist's) name at the top - honoring the work of art, as God is the ultimate artist. How cheeky!! haha

Jewish district was definitely a ghetto. Many a run-down building. some of my favorite pictures came from this part of town. It was interesting to walk through. We stumbled on an exhibit honoring those who died in the holocaust. It was striking to look at pictures of people who lived, worked, and loved. And then they were taken away to death camps.

Kat and I had so much fun looking at all the things vendors had to offer, and trying delicious food. The döner kebabs are spicier in Poland than in Germany, and they are still delicious! Perogi is amazing, and I crave it! We ate a lot of perogi! The tea cup I decided to buy was of polish pottery - a little more earth than your typical pottery, but still very lovely, and I fell in love at first sight of my cup. (Today I mailed a package home, and I had to include the cup... I was so sad to pack her up!)

Kat and I also had fun playing the missionary to people in our hostel who asked us (frequently) why we don't drink. I was happy to talk to them, and it was fun to be around people who don't believe the same thing as me! BYU lulls me into a false sense of security sometimes, and I'm so glad I got out to remember what it's like on the outside.

Poland = love. I was so sad to leave that place of relaxation, art, happiness, and fun.

Next post - Auschwitz.