Day 98 – 101 May 23 to 27th 2017
Photos of Our First Days in Krakow
May 23rd
Another pleasant train ride moving north to Krakow. Arriving at Dworzec Główny, the main transport station in Krakow we again follow our new plan – bags in locker, find our tram stop and ticketing system. Amazing what bliss this provides saving backs and fellow citizens as we find our way around.
The station abutts a large shopping centre Galeria Krakowska where our new house-sit host has recommended we do our grocery shopping. Easier said that done – the time taken to find a simple item such as Chicken stock defies time and patience. Pictures of chickens feature on several stock looking items yet Google Translate suggests some are vegetarian! Multiply this by many items and shopping takes a lengthy time.
Eventually we find our way to our new home and family for the next 10 days or so. As we follow instructions to the apartment we spot a little dog looking very much like our new charge – sure enough it is our host and charge.
May 24th
The joy of staying in one place for a while – a complete unpack and a complete wash cycle for all clothing.
Our host was not leaving till the following day so we took advantage of our freedom from responsibility and took an orientation trip into town more shopping and the nearby Market square where a French market bustles.
A handy feature of our new home is that it comes at the end of a several tram lines – difficult to miss and easy to find.
May 25th
Our first day on our own with our new charge – our host left late morning and we spent the day exploring the local neighbourhood with our little charge along with a bit of nothing time at home.
May 26th
As was to become a pattern of our time here our charge went for a short walk in the morning. We then went off for a 4 hour sightseeing expedition, lunching just before returning home.
Off for a longer walk with our little charge exploring our suburb Kurdwanów – Krowodrza Górka. An area filled with low rise apartment blocks beginning to blossom along the many balconies as spring blooms. Tucked in amongst the apartment blocks were a number of parks, little shops of all kinds, and in one corner a series of tiny gated houses with lush gardens around them.
Today we ventured into the Old town and Market Square. As we left the station a French market was in full swing with a range of stalls including extensive ranges of cheese!
Looking for lunch we spied a cafe in a courtyard and after sitting for a while discovered (with help from a local) “self service” – you choose what you what from the menu and go to the counter to order. The counter in this instance was through a corridor, around the front and into a tiny busy space. We had stumbled upon Gospoda KoKo and were very happy about this. Chris had fried tender juicy chicken and I had pork neck roast also moist and delicious. All for 33Zl. Happy and very full.
May 27th
Decided to visit the Oskar Schindler museum however my navigating took us to the other end of a tramline to somewhere – nowhere near the Museum. An interesting ride to outer suburbs of Krakow and back to Plac Bohaterow Getta Square left us no time to visit the Museum today so opted for lunch instead. Plac Bohaterow Getta Square has chairs with crocheted covers marking the space – henceforth known to us as the Chair Square being unable to get our tongues around Plac Bohaterow Getta Square!
Lunch was another small Polish cafe with self service. Jadłodajnia Wczoraj i Dziś a family run restaurant with 80 years continuous service. Delicious comfort food with Pierogi and Potato dumplings with a pork goulash type dish. All with a mixed salad platter. Happy happy us. Home for a nap!
