I am curious just how many people are reading this blog. I sent out a mass email informing friends that I would be doing it. Barring places where I could find no Internet Cafes, I think that I have been pretty faithful. Donna tell me that I have a few fans, but I would love it if you would email me if you have be reading it and maybe with a few comments. (only positive comments of course)
Krakow- I thought that I could walk from the train station to my hotel, as the guidebook that I am using shows the distance as fairly short. I walked through a green thin park and asked two young women for directions. This was actually the extent of my social interactions in Krakow, if I don't count the my waiter and Kristina at the hotel. They were anxious to help, and of course lovely brown skin, one in a white dress the other in jeans with a stylish red top. They told me to board a tram and take it two stops. I pulled out some coins to try and ask them how much the tram cost. They started saying, "Oh, no, please no." They thought that I was trying to pay them for their help. They obviously don't know me very well.
I got close to my destination and asked another young woman, but she was not sure. She says in perfect English, "I've lived here my whole life and I'm not sure where it is." She steered me in the right direction and I found the hotel in the Jewish Quarter of Old town or Stare Miasto. It was home to about 68,000 Jews before World War II and now reported to be around 100. I think that most of that 100 are actually Orthodox Jews from Israel visiting the city, as I saw many in the area when I was there.
I showered and then made my way to the center- Ryanik Glowney, a large piazza lined with outdoor restaurants, large umbrellas advertising Polish beers and crowds of tourists. The old city is surround by a green ring. My thought is that it was part of the old city wall that has since been torn down. An impressive Romanesque/ Gothic Cathedral towers over the square. An arrow in from point to the entrance for tourist. And another sign that cautions "This entrance is only for worshipers." You of course know which entrance I took.
You must rely on my description, however limited to describe this church- There is something called late Baroque. It actually boarders on the Rococo, excessive flourishes of little angels, cloth, and stars. The overall motif is silver and black. The massive crucifix hanging in the middle of the church is the size of a two story building.
The square and streets nearby are crowded with tourists who seem to be looking for something to do. So there is a dearth of street performers- guitar strummers, faux mono chromed mimes- Victorian couples, King Arthur, pale statues the works- vie for the attention of the crowds. I heard a spirted group of young people singing from a block or two away. They attracted a large crowd. Their enthusiasm was contagious, their harmonies sweet. With that 4th interval from Balkan music it was enticing to watch them. I listened attentively to their second piece. I heard the word "Jesu" and immediately became suspicious. Were these just a bunch a Jesus freaks? I am so jaded.
I dipped into my guidebook again and saw that the Wawel Castle is really the place to see. I took the ten minute walk to the castle and an imposing red brick wall guarded a group of buildings and a cathedral. The Wawel Cathedral is the burial place of the Polish kings and later the Catholic hierarchy in Poland. The center of the church is dominated by a silver casket, supposedly with the remains of Wadislaw who died in 1156 (I am guessing, but close.). Also buried there is Stanaslaw, another king known as "the short", another "the old", "the lion", "the brave" and so on. My audio tour cautioned me: "You may now want to climb to the bell tower. But if you are not in a healthy condition, beware of the 46 steep stairs. If you need to come down, just turn around..." Truly. Fourty six steps, that's nothing. I remember the climb to the Duoma in Florence. I think that it was 146 steps and no one ever warned me about that climb.
That evening I dined at a little restaurant just across from my hotel. I asked the waiter for his recommendation. "Try the Hungarian pie", he said. Delicious. Beef with a light red creamy sauce over a large potato pancake. He was very late with my beer and he apologized saying, "It is my first day." Just after I got my food I saw him dart out the front gate, never to return. I later asked the waitress what happened to him. She said, "It's his first day."
I walked the streets of the Jewish Quarter for about an hour looking for live music and found none. I headed again to the main square and found Harry's Piano Jazz Bar. The music was lively and even hot with a tenor sax player whined and squealed such sweet music. Caravan, Kind of Blue, Summertime were just a few of the pieces. Then double saxes and a new drummer- very satisfying.
I am rambling. I took the train the next morning to Prague- an eight hour ride. Why so long, I am not sure. Outside the train two Irish girls argued loudly with each other, "If you hadn't stayed out so late..." "I am just expecting you to help me because I would help you..." and on and on. I had two cabin mates from Denmark. They both spoke very good English. In the first hour we could smell something strange. It reminded me of my electric trains when they overheated. The smell got stronger. One of the guys pointed his camera out the window and showed me a great deal of smoke coming from the breaks of our car. We stopped at a station and the various train employees inspected the brakes. It was actually an asbestos smoke from the break linings. (So you know who to sew when I die young- rather prematurely- maybe I am too old...) They must have just eliminated the breaks from this particular train. The malfunctioning part was just below our cabin.
Prague (or Praha)
From the start I have to say that even among the hoards of tourists here, Prague is one of the most gorgeous cities I have ever seen in my life. The river setting, the parks, the towering steeples, the seventeenth century architecture. I hardly know where to begin. It is packed with churches built between 1100 and 1700. Each church has its own interesting facets. But not only the churches but also the combinations of buildings, the red tile roofs, the coblestone streets, the many statues and art works all around the city. Please put it on your list.
It is getting very late, so I have only one more thing to report. I visited a private museum in the castle today. It is owned by a family related to Spanish kings and Slavic dignitaries who rubbed elbows with the Hamburgs. I listened to a one hour classical concert in one of the drawing rooms, flute, viola and piano. This family lost everything under the Nazi's and then regained it from 1946 to 1949. Then they lost it all again under the Soviet system and the family moved to Boston. Finally when Vaclav Havel became president, they applied to regain the family properties again. They were given back their confiscated possessions- an amazing array of artifacts- hundreds of 16th and 17th century paintings including a few Van Dykes, a Velasquez, a Bruegel, the largest collection of 17th century firearms in the Czech Republic, tapestries, rare ceramics, musical instruments, the original musical score of Handel's Messiah re scored in the hand of Mozart, two handwritten symphonies by Beethoven. I saw all of this and more today.
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