We had a pleasant 2 1/2 hour train trip from Warsaw to Krakow. Our hotel in Krakow was quite modern compared to the one in Warsaw. Everything was programmed by an iPad , the lights , tv, even the cleaning lady! It was interesting to say the least!

 

 

It was a great location, only a short 10 to 15 minute walk to the Old Town.

 

 

Our first impression , when we arrived at the main square, Rynet Glowny, was OMG , this place is full of young 20-30 year old “pommy” blokes all drinking and absolutely pissed! It was Friday afternoon and we worked out that they were all there for “bucks parties”. It was  Party Central, and very touristy compared to Warsaw.

On our first night, we went on a Food and Drinking Walking Tour. We had 3 different types of beers, with some fried cheese to start, then onto the next stop for some soup, either sour rye or cabbage, then next stop was perogis (dumplings) , potato pancakes, golabki (cabbage leaves filled with mince meat, rice and in a tomato sauce) , and krokelty (pancakes filled with mince meat and fried) followed by strawberry and blueberry perogis. Last but not least was Polish walnut cake with a vodka shot! It was a great 3 hours wandering/stumbling around Krakow.

 

However we did manage to take a few night photos on our way back home!

 

Florians Gate(above left) is the only remaining gate of the Medieval town and was erected in 1307.

The next day we did a “self guided” walk throughout the Kazierz District which was the centre of Jewish life in Krakow for over 500 years before it was destroyed in WW11.

There are many synagogues still in the area today but the Old Synagogue (above) is the oldest surviving example of Jewish architecture in Poland. We crossed the river to go into the Podgorze District which in 1941 became the Krakow Ghetto. Two years later the Jews imprisoned here were either murdered , starved to death or sent to the gas chambers in Auschwitz.

A part of the Ghetto Wall still exists today with a plaque reading :”Here they lived , suffered and died at the hands of the German torturers.From here they began their final journey to the Death Camps”.

 

The wall was built by the Nazis to resemble Jewish Tombstones!

The Ghetto Heroes Square was interesting. It was a public toilet and car park until 2005. The 70 well spaced oversized chairs are meant to symbolize “departure and subsequent absence” . We actually quite liked it!

 

We also spent about 2 hours in “Schindlers Factory” (of the movie Schindlers List Fame!) It is part of the “Krakow during Nazi Occupation 1939-1945” Museum, and although it was information overload , it was extremely interesting!

Our last day we spent wandering the Royal Route from The Barbican (above) to the Royal Castle., The Barbican was the original drawbridge to the city ( 15th century) and is today one of the only surviving structures of its kind in Europe.

St Marys Basilica stands impressively in the main square. Surprise ,surprise , we did not go inside, however, its novelty is the “bugle call” that is played every hour from the top window of the tower. Of course we had to be there for the call with every other tourist. He plays a short bugle call from each cardinal, point of the window , then waves to the crowd below! Touristy however when in Krakow……..!

The Cloth Hall (above) is the “:show piece” at the centre of the square. Beautiful from the outside but inside its full of “tourist crap”.

The Town hall tower is the only part left of the 14th Century Town Hall. It is known as “Krakow’s Leaning Tower” as it leans 55cm apparently due to a forceful wind back in 1703????????

 

We had a coffee at a little bar at the main square and Greg sat with his little mate and we discovered later he was a “regular” at the bar who disregarded opening and closing times! Sounds like Greg doesn’t it???

We wandered down a very street near the Castle and the house at the bottom was the former “Royal Bath house”.

A tale for you…one future queen was concerned by rumours that Lithuanians had “gigantic genitals” , so she sent one of her servants to spy on the manhood of her Lithuanian husband to be! Her fears were allayed and the couple were married!

 

We spent some time wandering around the Wawel Castle and grounds.

 

The Castle’s Cathedral is considered to be the most singular important building in Poland. we didn’t go inside but just looking at the outside was impressive enough!

For our last night in Poland we decided to have a nice dinner so we went to a Michelin restaurant. The other reason was that it looked like it was going to pour with rain, so we wanted to stay close to “home”! We only had one course but it was delicious. The Polish old style duck with apple was yummy as were the veal rolls!

 

 

We flew back to Zurich to pick up Luigi and we were supposed to head to Dresden for one week, however, our accommodation there was cancelled due to water damage in the apartment, so Plan B was implemented , and instead we drove to Gland in Switzerland on Lake Geneva between Lausanne and Geneva, and it turned out to be a great Plan B!

 

We realised how close we were to Mont Blanc so decided to go and check it out. The cute little village of Chamonix sits at the very base of the mountain and it was a good spot for a drink!

 

It is the highest mountain in the French Alps at 4810 metres. We ticked off another box for Greg!

 

We caught the train to Geneva for the day. We had a great time wandering around the Old Town. Our first stop was in the main market square , Place de Bourg-de-Four where we sat for a coffee ( an expensive one at that but hello we are in Switzerland!)

St Peters Cathedral is over 850 years old and was more impressive from the outside than inside!

We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at a restaurant at Place Molard with its lovely tower built in 1591. Greg’s perch with spinach and fries was delicious and Rhonda’s (yes you guessed it) sea bass with mushrooms and potatoes was just as good! Of course this was washed down with a glass of wine or 2!

 

After looking at the “carte du dessert” , we decided we should re start the search for the perfect crème brulee (after all we are heading toward France) and the ONE we shared here will be hard to beat. It was bloody good!

 

One of Geneva’s top landmarks , so the guide book says , is the Jet d’eau (water jet) rising 140 metres from the lake. Once we took the “selfie” , as it seemed to be the touristy thing to do, we actually enjoyed it more sitting lakeside and sipping a drink or 2!

 

As we said earlier , Plan B turned out to be fantastic! Because we were back in Switzerland and only 3 hours from Zurich, Esther and JP had asked us to come back to Zurich for a night as they were hosting a “Summer Party” with a surprise. The surprise was that on Friday morning Esther and JP were married and the party was their wedding Party!

It was a fabulous night and we are very happy for them. Nadine and her son Arlo were also there from Townsville , as of course was Claudie , so it was fantastic to be with the whole family again and at such a happy occasion!

So thank you Dresden for the torrential rain that flooded our apartment!

It is our last day here in Switzerland so we decided to go and “do lunch”. We drove about 5 kilometres to the lovely little village of Nyon on the shore of Lake Geneva.

Our lunch of “perche de le lac” was fantastic and it was washed down with a very pleasurable bottle of white wine! It was a lovely way to say “au revoir” to the French part of Switzerland.

Tomorrow we head back to Germany for more beer , bretzels, sauerkraut and sausages!

Weather still lovely and warm!

It’s that time again, and also time to pack!

Cheers

Greg and Rhonda