In Historic, Charming, Krakow, Poland
A relatively easy trip, taxi to the 2** Hotel Pollera, perfectly located on ul. Szpitalna 30, only a few minutes walk from Market Square. Founded in 1834, Hotel Pollera was very Art Nouveau with spacious rooms, gorgeous stained glass windows on the staircase, high ceilings and...good food! Their three dining rooms were all decorated differently and we were very pleased and surprised how nice the hotel was.
Dropped the bags and went out to explore. Not only was historic Market Square very close to Hotel Pollera but a big outdoor flea market had begun today and would continue over the next three days. We spent a considerable amount of time in Krakow browsing the stalls, buying, going back and forth to the ATM machine conveniently located at the edge of the square, and buying more.
The Main Square (Market Square) began functioning in 1257. The Cloth Hall, originally a commercial establishment for trading in cloth, has survived to this day. Cloth Hall had some great souvenirs for sale there including colorfully dressed dolls in ethnic outfits. There was a remnant of the Town Hall demolished in the 19th century and gothic St. Mary's Church (also called St. Mary's Basilica). St. Mary's is one of Krakow's landmarks. This church has a tower (also known as the Watch Tower, Wake, Alarm or Bugle Tower) at which a bugle is played every hour just as it has been for 600 years. On a very clear day, you can see the Tatras in the south, the smokestacks of Silesia to the west, the towers of Lvov churches in the east and the Baltic sea to the North. (We saw none of that.)
Krakow was the capital of Poland for centuries, the seat of kings, and drew great scholars. We decided to wait for the group and our included guided tour of Krakow and Wawel Castle before exploring Royal Krakow in depth. Went back to Hotel Pollera and collapsed in bed...
