Last day in krakow
On my last day in Krakow, I woke up to rain & the drizzly dampness had a winters edge to it that I didn’t really like. I did my morning routine fairly quickly & with only a cup of green tea in me, headed to where any self respecting young woman such as myself should spend such a day when they’ve rented a flat that is so small that one could sit on the toilet & make the bed. Galeria Krakowska…the mall!
I haven’t shopped while I’ve been away…other than buying the dress/shoes/purse/earrings I wore to Peter & Charlie’s wedding. I’ve been pretty good about keeping it tight, although the biggest reason is that I had to sit on my suitcase to close the thing when I left home, so I’ve got zero room for frivolity. But, I broke the strap on my laptop bag, so I was going to tease myself into only buying a replacement. Nothing more!
I walked every inch of the massive shopping center & realized something while I was there. Every time I shop I crave sushi. Like, every single time. Luckily, there was a decent sushi restaurant…not a fast food place, but an actual sit down restaurant, so my lunch was veggie tempura & a spider roll with a pot of green tea. Honestly, it was perfectly executed & I enjoyed every morsel.
I found a bag that will suffice, but not exactly what I had in mind, though the price was reasonable enough that if I found something I really loved somewhere else I could chuck this thing without much guilt.
I left the mall, which was five minutes from the flat & dashed into my place quickly to retrieve my umbrella, pick up my laptop, put it in spiffy new bag & head off to The Czartoryski Museum.
Like I said in early ramblings, my Airbnb host was an absolute guidebook of information & recommendations. Honestly, the little guy was just as sweet as syrup & helpful as all get-out. Every restaurant or attraction he has endorsed has been brilliant, so when he mentioned that Czartoryski shouldn’t be missed as it has the most valuable collection of works of art in Poland. Housing, Rembrandt & Leonardo da Vinci two of my favorite artists,among others, I was up for it.
I had to walk right past Rynek Kleparski market, so I did a quick spin through as a walk in a food market is my everything & the rain was making me a little bit bla. Wow, the polish have a strong mushroom game going! Just love it! Like a dunce, I didn’t get into cooking as much as I should have when I was here. I talked with the woman manning the mushroom booth & asked if psilocybin was a thing & she just stared at me & didn’t answer. Just looked right into my soul, I swear! I think she was nibbling on the product! Haha.
I continued on to the art museum, but when I arrived the thing was closed on Mondays. Boo! With a case of the sads, I made my way to St. Mary’s church to pray. Yesterday I went to Rynek underground museum & watched a bunch of video presentations learning about Krakow through the ages & the one about St. Mary’s & its significance was really cool. Plus, it was a three minute walk.
St. Mary’s Basilica was built in the 13th century, with numerous upgrades & renovations over the years. The church is absolutely stunning inside…probably one of the most ornate churches I’ve been in. Its most important precious object is its high altar, the masterpiece of Veit Stoss & a stunner of medieval sculpture. When the Nazi’s pilfered everything of value, the church, being sly, packed the thing up & away to be safe. Because everything was so chaotic at that time, the altar wasn’t stored properly & ended up being stuck in a basement & forgotten about. Once Poland was liberated from the Nazi regime & the dust settled, someone found the altar back in Nuremberg & was like, “shit!” & once they took a look at it, realized that the thing was basically destroyed. It was all beat up & covered in mold & chewed by rats. But, they hauled it up from the basement, brought it back to Krakow & the long slow process of restoring the thing began. 12 years later…it’s looking really, really good, so the city of Krakow decides it’s now a museum piece…they won’t give it back to St. Mary’s. It wasn’t until a ton of bla, bla, bla before it was back where it was always meant to be…in St. Mary’s Basilica. Yay! Now, people come from far & wide to view the work of art in the beautiful church.
There I was in St. Mary’s Basilica gazing at the altar in disbelief that anyone could have built such a stunner of a piece of art. There was a craftsmanship in everything that was built between 1200 - 1800 that is absolutely incredible. Such pride in their work. It truly was a pinch me moment.
I had to tear myself away from the church. I could have found little niches to sit & think for hours, but they don’t look kindly on that sort of thing,so off I went.
The weather had turned sour & the wind picked up when I stepped into the street to find a restaurant that my Airbnb host/guide told me about…U Doroty. The restaurant was in the Jewish district & the GPS took me through a ghetto of sorts with old weathered men passed out in doorways, the alley reeking of beer & urine. I picked up the pace, hesitant to check my phone to get my bearings & found myself doing a little run/walk while pulling my phone out to check where TF I was exactly. I was right in front of the restaurant! There was a line up to get in & everyone was polish…not a tourist in sight. Cool. When I finally got up to the front to be seated I was beckoned down two flights of stairs into the basement…a huge institutional affair, packed with diners. I was enthralled by it all. The menu was entirely in polish & between google-translate & some familiar words, I picked out a dish of beef roulade with dumplings + roasted beets & of course a beer. The food was simple but delicious. The bill came & the cost was 22 Zloty…about $7 CAD.
I took a different route home.
