Day 19 - 15 April 2019 Monday - Krakow

My word these days are wizzing past.

Weather is beautifully sunny but still cold, 7c at 9.00am.  Still need to be rugged up.

A few years ago the Krakow city fathers & mothers decided that they would excavate and resurface the market (Rynek) square.  When they started to dig they discovered that the remnants of the medieval city still existed below the current street level.  So they said, 'hey we can make money out of this', sorry, what they actually said was 'this should be preserved for future generations and it will become a world famous archaeological site'.  So they have turned it into a museum called Rynek Underground and it has been very well done.  The whole museum is below the market square and it has all the remains of the medieval city, including cobblestone streets, water and drainage systems and lots of artifacts.  It all sounds a bit 'dry' but I assure that it isn't, there are also lots of modern AV presentations and lots of information about life in the city during the period.  It talked quite a bit about the place of the guilds, including blacksmiths, silver and goldsmiths and tailors etc in city and in particular how each guild had a place to defend in the case of attack.  I spent a good 2 hours in there and it was well worth it.

Kid in a sculpture

Food photo for Andrew

Still a beautiful day when I emerged from the depths of the Rynek Museum, so the Wawel Hill castle complex was next on the list.  This is south of the old city and is a complex of castles, palaces, cathedrals etc on a hill overlooking the Vistula river and is magnificent on a day like today.  I am not up to speed with my history of the Polish royal family but I think at some stage they lived in a castle on this hill but not in the buildings that are currently there.  Although, a number of Polish kings and/or queens have been coronated, married or had funeral's held in the cathedral there.

The views of the vista of the Vistua river were magnificent and there was nice cafe for beer and cake for afternoon tea, and a quite sit in the nearly warm afternoon sun.

On my walk back from the castle I walked past a little restaurant down a side street near my hotel and they were advertising themselves as traditional Polish and on the menu posted outside they had 'Pork Knuckle'.  I have been looking for a good pork knuckle since I arrive in Europe.  

This was a funny sort of a restaurant approached off a lane way off a side street and then down two flights of stairs to a basement with a number of rooms with arched brick ceilings.  I sat down and asked the waiter to bring me pork knuckle and beer.  The pork knuckle arrived in its own roasting dish with a rich gravy, the by now obligatory pile of roast potatoes and mountain of sauerkraut, with little pots of mustard and horseradish.  It was delicious!  And then t0 finish things off I received a complimentary glass of peach schnapps.  

I slept well tonight.

Fun Fact:  Peach schnapps helps you sleep.

Step Count:  10,584

Observation:  As I was about to go out to dinner CNN started to report on Notre Dame burning down.