Day 17: Kraków Souvenir Shopping

[Monday, June 24]

[Click on any photo for a bigger view]

I got up early on our last day in Poland. It was a beautiful morning. I wanted to run around the old town through Planty Park, the mostly tree-lined public park that follows the border of the old town of Kraków where the city walls once stood. The park circuit is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) if you include a run up the hill at Wawel Castle. I added a little more to make the run 3.5 miles. The park is filled with gardens, fountains, and sculptures, including monuments to Chopin, Copernicus, the Battle of Grunwald, Pope John Paul II, and numerous other figures from Polish history. It was early but not too early, so there were plenty of people out, mostly locals on their way to work. The tourists hadn't really come out yet. I snapped a few pictures (below) of some of the fountains and statuary. When I got back to the square by our hotel, I had to examine the large arched monument there.

Artur Grottger, 19th century painter and graphic artist

Fountain in Planty Park

Józef Bohdan Zaleski, Polish Romantic era poet

Jan Matejko, painter of Polish historical scenes

The monument in the train station square that caught my interest is to Ryszard Kukliński, a controversial Cold War figure. He was a Polish military officer who spied for the West during the Cold War, warning them of Soviet plans and capabilities. Some think he may have been a double agent. He fled to the US when it was clear he was in danger of discovery and was tried in absentia in Poland as a traitor and sentenced to death. After the fall of Communism, his rehabilitation in the eyes of his native land was slow. He has been called the first Polish officer of NATO and visited Poland in 1998 after his sentence for treason was revoked and he was reinstated with honorary citizenship. The monument was built in 2004. It is a broken archway over a series of toppling stones. The stones represent the toppling of Communism and are inscribed in English and Polish with Kukliński's story. 

Part of the monument to Ryszard Kukliński, Cold War spy and first Polish officer of NATO

Broken arch over toppled stones

Inscriptions in English detailing Kukliński's Cold War contributions 

More on Kukliński's exploits

Vicky and I had breakfast after my run and started a day of sight-seeing and souvenir shopping. We first visited a cat cafe across the trolly tracks from our hotel. The cafe was too crowded with humans to sit and sip coffee, but we visited the cats anyway.

Cat Cafe near our hotel

The cats did not lack attention

We spent the rest of the day walking through the old town shopping for souvenirs and trying to check off the rest of our gift list. Vicky likes hand made Polish ceramics, so we stopped at a couple of pottery shops. In one, we met an Indian woman who lives in Sweden. She comes to Poland often, specifically to pick up pieces for her collection of Polish ceramics. She showed us pictures of the nook at her home where she displays her collection. Vicky picked up a couple of pieces, including a nice covered butter dish for our kitchen.

Our next stop was the Market Square. We walked through the Sukiennice, or Cloth Hall, a long, two story structure built in the 15th century as a center for international trade, specifically in textiles, spices, and salt. The building is nicely restored and now houses many shops, mostly for tourists, on the first level concourse. The second floor houses an art museum which we regrettably did not visit.

Square with clocks set to times around the world. The eastern US time zone is represented by Rochester, New York

One of several pottery shops in the old town

Another pottery shop

The Sukiennice, or Cloth Hall

I thought school was over! Mosquitos on a summer field trip

St. Mary's Basilica and some horse and carriage rides

Plaque of St. John Paul II on St. Mary's Basilica

We wandered around the old town some more looking at various shops and restaurants. There were several antiquarian shops. These mostly had old books, prints, small artworks, and estate jewelry, some from the pre-World War I days when this part of Poland was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There was a lot of neat stuff, but nothing I wanted to take home to clutter the already overstuffed 'Mazur Museum', until...

Walking by one curiosity shop, I saw something in the window that I immediately wanted. It was a print of three 'Mazury' (Mazurs), two men and a woman from Masuria, part of Mazowia, the region of Poland where my name comes from. They were dressed in the typical costume of the mid 19th century. The Mazury originally inhabited central and northeastern Poland, but now 70% of the people with that surname or variations of it live in southern Poland. It is the most common surname in Poland. The surname is also a Polish slang word or nickname signifying a 'rustic', or a 'regular Joe'. The print was in great shape and the price of 220 złoty (about $55) and ease of transport meant that it would soon be a framed memento of our trip. 

Another Irish Pub in Poland

An Indian restaurant

Ss. Peter and Paul Church

Archway in the Alley of Princes

My people

We stopped for a late afternoon meal at a bistro selling traditional Polish food. Vicky had some pierogi and I dined on soup and a couple of gigantic gołąbki. That meal would see us through till breakfast tomorrow!

Pierogi, soup, and monster-sized gołąbki

Musicians at St. Florian's Gate

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre near our hotel

We got back to the hotel and decided to savor the last evening sitting outside and watching people, one of our favorite pastimes in Poland. The evening was mild, and there was again plenty to watch. Young families, tourists, teens and young people meeting up for a weekday night on the town (now that school was over). It was relaxing and we didn't want the evening to end. But we had to get up early for our long trip back home, so we had to call it a night as the day's light waned.

Evening people watching with a Żubrówka vodka and pilsner

Back to the Beginning

Day 16

Day 18