Nativity Scenes

This morning, on Gosia and Mitchell’s recommendation, James and I visited the Rynek Museum which is located under the market square. First we had a wee coffee in one of the many restaurants that line the square and we also had a look at the many colourful nativity scenes which people were bringing to display all over the steps of the Adam Mickiewicz monument. This annual event takes place on the first Thursday of December each year and the scenes were amazing. They are so detailed; on the side of one of them someone had even reproduced the altarpiece from St Mary’s Basilica! Gosia told us later that the metallic surfaces are often made out of the smoothed out foil of sweetie papers; she used to do it when she was in school. Some of them had tributes to this year’s 1000th anniversary of the Kingdom of Poland, others had moving parts such as the wise men moving in a circle. So intricate. 

The Rynek Museum was made when, during building work, the area under the main square was found to be hollow, with the remains of medieval and Roman buildings beneath. There was a huge project to dig it out, create the museum and restore the square. It was so interesting and as well as the walls and artefacts that were found, there is a lot of information about the history of Krakow from earliest times to the growth of its trade throughout Europe. We even found out about the Chort, which was a demonic entity in Slavic traditions and a great worry to medieval folk. 

Gosia and Mitchell arrived from visiting Michal and we went for lunch in the gorgeous and very popular Morskie Oko Restaurant, where we had delicious and very filling potato pancakes with various toppings. The restaurant is traditionally decorated with light coloured woodcarvings and it is very attractive. Sadly it was soon time to leave for the airport; security was very quick and efficient but passport control had a huge queue. There was nothing that we could do and unlike many people we were in plenty of time for our flight, so there was no rush. Our journey home went well and we landed on time. What a brilliant couple of days we have had, great to see Gosia and Mitchell and wonderful to be back in Krakow. 

Dragon in the mist

Yesterday evening we flew to Krakow, that lovely city which we visited with Heather and Ewan in the summer of 2023. The journey went smoothly, we were worried that Ryanair would somehow fleece us because they currently have a fearful reputation for fining people over luggage or check-in infringements, however all went well. The plane seats were a bit uncomfortable and hard, and the pilot hit the brakes very strongly three times after we landed which was slightly alarming, but we got though passport control in jig time and were soon in a taxi to our hotel. We couldn’t remember its name until we checked in my phone; James guessed “Queen Bee” and I guessed “Golden Tulip.” In fact it is the “Golden Queen” so we were both right! And wrong! We soon settled in to our clean and comfy room. 

What a day we have had in Krakow! We woke to a misty morning, which gradually cleared as the day went on. Our hotel is only about ten minutes walk from the beautiful town square and we headed through it to the Czartoryski Museum. It’s a fascinating museum, housed in an old family palace, and we had coffee in the atrium before looking around. The most famous painting in the museum is Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, which I loved, but there was plenty more to see, including several fine Northern Renaissance paintings for altarpieces, by Master Jerzy and Michael Lancz von Kitzingen. Also a wee painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger of The Family of Sigismund I which was a series of wee faces like passport photos! There were lots of Medieval paintings and sculptures too. 

Our next stop was St Mary’s Basilica to see the Marian Altarpiece by Weit Stoss being opened at 11.50 a.m. as it is every day. A small crowd gathered on the pews in front of it and at precisely 11.50 a nun arrived, said a short prayer and opened both sides of the altarpiece using a long pole like an old fashioned window opener. It really was magnificent! The outside was impressive and chronicled Mary’s life with Jesus, but the inside was even more stunning, culminating with Mary’s ascension to heaven. We spent ages just drinking it in, the detail and the colours. Back in the main square we had a light lunch with hot fruit tea with big chunks of fruit and cinnamon sticks floating in it, and a tub of honey to sweeten it still further if desired. Gosia and Mitchell arrived from the hospital where they had been visiting Michal, and we all went to the Christmas market which is on one side of the square. It was full of Christmas decorations, woodcarvings, ceramics, amber jewellery, and lots of food stalls. They took us to a smaller but just as pretty Christmas market in the little market square in the other side of St Mary’s Basilica before beers (and a mocktail for me!) Gosia and Mitchell then led us on a pleasant walk through the University District, past the Opera House and onto a tram to the Jewish quarter, where we had a tasty and traditionally Polish dinner. A feature of this was plum dumplings which were absolutely fantastic. Then we walked back to the hotel, via the Father Bernatek Footbridge with its surreal kinetic statues which looked very lifelike in the mist which had descended again over the city. Drinks in a wee bar followed, served in skull shaped flagons with dry ice which made them fizz and bubble. We also visited the statue of Dzok the dog, who was looked after by the citizens of Krakow in the early 1990s after his master died suddenly on a busy roundabout; eventually an elderly lady persuaded him to give up his vigil and live with her. After six happy years the lady died and unfortunately Dzok escaped from the dog shelter and was run over, but his story really resonates with the people of Krakow as it shows the kindness of the citizens. We walked back to our hotel via the river path, and saw the dragon statue beneath the castle looking disturbingly real in the mist, especially when it suddenly breathed out a huge gout of flame!