Friday, October 9
I boarded a FlixBus in Katowice for
the little over an hour’s journey to Kraków, one of my favorite cities in
Europe. This would be my second visit to Kraków this year, and probably my
fourth visit overall. By now, I know the city pretty well, including how to get
around and which places I enjoy visiting. I was looking forward to spending
four nights there.
I checked into Apartmenty Bracka 6,
room 27. It wasn’t my usual room, but I quickly decided I liked it even better.
My regular apartment has a street view, while room 27 overlooks an interior
courtyard. Although the room was a little smaller, the reduced street noise
more than made up for the difference.
After settling in and splashing some
water on my face, I headed out for a late lunch at my usual spot, a traditional
Polish bar mleczny, or milk bar. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who
had decided Kraków was a great place to visit. The line was out the door!
Rather than wait, I gave up and found somewhere else to eat.
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| Milk Bar Lunch: 2 slaws and Polish Sausage & Potato Soup |
Familiar
Sights and a Quieter Pace
Since I had visited Kraków several
times before, this trip wasn’t about discovering a lot of new places. Instead,
I revisited many of my favorite spots.
I tried to visit the local
Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in Europe, but special
events were taking place. Security was tighter than usual, and some areas had
been roped off, so I wasn’t able to explore as much as I had hoped.
I also checked the local music
scene, looking at the jazz clubs and symphony concerts held in churches.
Unfortunately, nothing caught my attention enough to justify the time and
money.
The weather had turned cooler, too,
making those early-morning walks less appealing. Losing my fleece earlier in
the week certainly hadn’t helped!
Still, I managed to cover most of my
regular Kraków favorites, including the Market Hall, Avenue of Stars, PlacNowy, Schindler’s List Passage, Remah Cemetery, Bania Luca, Hevre, and the
famous Dragon Statue.
View to the North, from the Castle
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| View to the South, from the Castle |
There’s something comforting about returning to a city you know well. You don’t feel compelled to check off every tourist attraction, and you can simply enjoy being there. Kraków remains one of those places I’m always happy to revisit.
