Our Flight From Copenhagen To Krakow
We arrived in Krakow last night. We had an uneventful flight on Norwegian Air. The plane was brand new and the departure and arrival were right in time. However, when we landed in Krakow, instead of getting off on a jetway, we walked down a set of stairs onto the tarmac and then waited for busses to arrive and take us to the terminal. The same thing happened when I changed planes in Iceland. I guess this is all part of the low cost airline model in Europe. I am not complaining but it is a little strange and would be a pain in the backside when it is raining or in the winter. Oh well, another new experience.
The Krakow Dragon
The dragon is the symbol or mascot of Krakow. This dragon is twenty feet tall, is made of bronze and spouts flames out of his snout every five minutes.
Legend has it that the founders of Krakow started to build their city on a hill that is the current site of Wawel Castle. They awakened a 75 foot tall dragon who had been sleeping in a cave under the hill for a thousand years and the dragon was pissed. All the knights of the city tried to slay the dragon but wound up barbecued. A peasant filled a sheep carcass with sulfur and when the dragon ate it a fire started in his belly. In order to quench the fire, the dragon drank the nearby Vistula River dry. His belly got so big he exploded and the town was saved. In latter years they found mastodon bones at the site of the Castle and convinced themselves the bones were dragon bones.
It does make for a good story.
Lunch
Sara found this great place for lunch near the old city center. We both had pierogis and a traditional Polish Easter soup in a bread bowl with sausage and hard boiled eggs and a fermented rye broth. Very good and very filling.
St. Florian’s Gate
This is the North Gate of the medieval wall that protected Krakow.
McDonalds
This is the McDonalds that is located just south of Florian’s Gate. This McDonalds opened in 1992 when Poland became a free state. The day it opened the line was a half a mile long to get in and people waited seven hours for a Big Mac. That says something about McDonalds and it says something about the Polish people and their embrace of consumerism after years of communism.
Guided Tour of the Krakow City Center
After lunch we took a three hour guided walking tour of the old city center of Krakow. Our tour guide was great and we learned a lot about Krakow and Poland.
Sara, our tour guide Matt and Mark.
Dinner
Our tour guide recommended a restaurant in the old Jewish quarter called Miodova. We sat outside and had a fabulous meal.
Orange Wine
I have never heard of orange wine but Sara and the waiter both said it is the new thing so we got a bottle. It was a Polish white wine that has some contact with the skins of the grapes after pressing to give it an amber hue. It was ambrosial.
Fish and Steak
Who would have ever thought that a Polish restaurant would feature Omaha roasted beef ribs. I ordered this and it was delicious. Sara ordered the salmon and after 20 minutes they told us they were out of salmon but recommended the pan fried cod which Sara ordered said was fantastic.
My roasted beef ribs and Sara’s cod. Yum!
Desert
To make up for running out of salmon we each got a free desert.
This was heavenly. White sponge cake with white chocolate and blackberry jam filling covered with milk chocolate and a chocolate and blackberry sauce on the side with a dollop of rose and saffron ice cream.
Like the Krakow Dragon, I am about to explode!
I hope everyone is having a great day.
Goodnight from Krakow.
AbeAndMarkontheCamino 