Krakow & castles
I woke up the next morning after Auschwitz later than I usually would have, but still feeling tired. Fucking aging & the bullshit that comes with it…randomly tired, can’t go as hard as I used to & the daily game of, “which part of my body is going to hurt today?”. Argh.
My Airbnb host was a guidebook of information & had suggested a Wawel Castle tour & then a promenade walk along the river, weather permitting. I woke up to the sun shining.
Every step of the walk to Wawel Castle was interesting as once you hit the park, it’s gorgeous trees & flower beds…then you pass through the archway into old town & take in the massive old town square with kiosks of touristy things being sold, restaurants spilling out onto the street & the most picturesque buildings. I kept walking, following the GPS towards the castle.
Wawel castle has quite the history, as the first remnants of the building are dated about 1500 years ago. The castle really started to take off in development and it’s heyday was brought on by Władysław I the Elbow-high (reign: 1306-1333) and Casimir III the Great (reign: 1333-1370). That’s a LONG time ago!! This castle is one of the most important in the country as Krakow used to be the capital city & Polish Royalty held court here for eons. PLUS, there is a really cool story about a dragon!! Wanna hear it??? Read on!!
A long, long time ago, in a dark, cold den at the foot of Wawel hill, there lived a horrifying, blood-curdling dragon (later described as Holofagus, meaning – the one who eats things whole) that put fear into hearts of the people who were living around there. The dragon was said to be invincible. People believed that no one could conquer him and that no weapon was powerful enough to kill the beast. Even the bravest of men were trembling with fear when the dragon roared.
The king, frightened for his people, decided to act upon the issue and called for action. He promised to give his sceptre, crown and his daughter’s hand to the hero who could defeat the dragon.
Many valiant knights came from all over the world to try and put an end to the monster’s life, but to no avail – their swords and arrows simply broke on the dragon’s scales. Even the most determined daredevils were becoming discouraged and left Krakow defeated by the beast. Less and less men were coming every day to help and the people who lived in Krakow started fleeing the city.
One day a young man named Skuba came and knocked on town gates. No one had ever heard of him or knew who he was. He bore no weapons and wore no armour. He said he was a shoemaker and the only things he had with him were some yarn and a needle.
When King Krakus had heard this guy was going to try & tame the beast, he decided to trust him and let him give it his best shot. Skuba requested a skin of a lamb and some sulphur. He obvi had a plan! Filling the lambskin with sulphur, he sewed it up and brought it to the dragon’s den. The next morning the dragon woke up hungry. Luckily (or so he thought), an easy meal was lying at his doorstep.
The beast ate the lamb and the sulphur made his throat burn so much that he started gulping water from the river. He couldn’t stop drinking, and – in effect – drank too much and burst from the water! Dragons & water don’t mix!!
The dragon was dead, the peace was restored and the people were happy again.
Doesn’t that sound like a Shrek story??
I meandered around the castle, learning a ton about Polish history & falling deeper in love with this country…honestly!!
After walking a solid three hours, I decided to hit the Jewish quarter up, since my guidebook Airbnb host recommended it with earnest. I plugged the coordinates into my GPS & off I trudged…looking for a cappuccino & maybe a little nibble of food.
Honest to God the Jewish quarter is effin’ fantastic! The whole vibe here is my everything!! There is a round building that holds a bunch of take-away food kiosks & a market encircling it where there are tables of vendors hawking their vintage rummage sale treasures. Surrounded by trendy cafes & hip coffee shops, the Jewish quarter is a place to spend the day…which I did.
When I decided I was going to travel long term & honestly I never make much for detailed plans, I knew that I couldn’t spend every single day in tourist-mode. I knew there were days when I would just want to lay about like a loaf & binge watch a Netflix show or surf my phone like a mindless dweeb & I’m not begrudging myself for it. There haven’t been many days like that, but there have been some. Like today, I walked into Alchemia Cafe at about 2 p.m. & left after 4 p.m. & walked directly to Herve Cafe & I’m sitting here writing & drinking beer. I don’t care. I’m doing what I want & that my loyal subjects, is the boon to solo travel. Maybe it’s aging, maybe it’s the fact I have put up with shit relationships that left me saying, “well, there is a day of my life I can never get back!”, maybe it’s the fact I’m at-heart a loner & only become social when I feel like it…does it matter? Each & every day I do what I want…when I want & how I want to do it. After catering to peoples needs for years upon years upon years, I have found my ME. Don’t get my wrong, I absolutely look back at my life with pride & love, but I’m so damn grateful I had the good sense to stop the merry-go-round & make some changes. I know that I made some mistakes, but I’m here today because of them & for that I am eternally grateful.
I’m going to take an Uber back to my little flat. I’m too lazy to walk tonight.
