Krakow in the Rain

Krakow, the old Polish capitol, lies about three hours south of Warsaw by the express train. We left our hotel about 10 AM. There were a few anxious minutes when my SchoolsFirst credit card was declined when I went to settle our bill. Fortunately, I had another card which worked. (I also made sure I had enough cash in case that didn't work.)

On the way to the train, we stopped by the Plus store because it seemed we had drained all of the credit on Kathy's phone. We made very few calls, but they charge you for messaging as well, even if you use the iPhone Messenger app over WiFi. We put another 100 PLN (about $25) on the chip and picked up our train.

In the train we were seated in front of each other in a row of single seats along the side of the car. Since the train was mostly empty, though, we moved over and sat side-by-side. When the conductor came through to collect our tickets, she said that was fine.

We got to Krakow a little after one. I had a good map, but it seems like I always get turned around and go left when I should go right. Thank heavens for Google Maps! It showed us where we were and we made our way across town to the Globtroter (yes, it really is spelled that way) Guest House where we are staying.

To quote Rick Steves, the Globtroer consists of 27 "rustic rooms" a block off the main square. They certainly are rustic compared to the nicer places we stayed in Berlin and Warsaw, but the room is also less expensive and it has its charms.

Once we got to our room, I phoned SchoolsFirst to see what was up with my card. I had 20 PLN on my little phone, and used it up in the middle of talking to the representative. Fortunately, when I called back on Kathy's phone, I got right through (instead of waiting on hold). Apparently, before leaving when I had gone in to the bank to put a travel alert on our card, they had only written Germany on the Visa Card. I hope I got it all straightened out.

After we unpacked, we went out for a first walk through the town and a late-lunch/dinner (it was 3:30 PM). The rain was a little heavier now so we had to use our umbrellas as we walked through the main market square (the largest in medieval Europe).

On the market square, a folk troupe was singing on a stage at one end, and people were buying sausages and pork knuckles from vending stalls set up all over the square (see the picture at the top of this post). Krakow is definitely crowded; it is the main tourist destination in Poland. There are a lot of packaged tours from England as well.

After lunch (a great pizza along with a chicken-asparagus dish) we found our own little stall and looked out the windows over the square. The coffee really didn't affect me at all. Back in our room, I scrolled through the channels on the TV (all Polish, no CNN or BBC), nodding off between channels. I gave it up and turned out the lights at 7:00 PM, while Kathy stayed up reading.

On Saturday morning, I woke up before Kathy and went out looking for something I could bring back to the room for breakfast. Nothing opened before 8:00 am except for the McCafe a block off the square. I picked up a pair of blueberry muffins, and headed back to the room to update the blog.

We're going to meet the Wilks, a missionary family in Poland, at about 10:00 am, so I'd better go get ready.