The Festival of Trzech Kroli

By 11 a.m. on the morning of January 6 we were ready to explore Krakow, or at least the immediate vicinity around Florianska Street.  We left the keys with the desk clerk (a typical practice at many European inns) and headed out the front door and into a parade that was just beginning.  The parade featured people wearing crowns and capes, and other people carrying loudspeakers amplifying a song repeating the word "gloria" over and over again.  A number of individuals distributed stickers and paper crowns.  And all of this was in honor of the feast of the Three Kings.  It's never been something I've experienced, but Cindy had participated in a Three Kings celebration in Mexico.

At first I thought we'd be able to stand on the sidelines to watch the parade pass by, but the parade soon enveloped us and we found ourselves marching along with the crowd.

I looked up the Feast of the Three Kings, or the Epiphany, as celebrated in Poland, and learned that people go to church carrying a small box containing a piece of chalk, a ring, incense and a small piece of amber.  The items are meant to represent the gifts of the magi.  Once the items have been blessed, the faithful pilgrim returns home and marks the lintel with the date and letters K, M and B (Kaspar, Melchior and Balthasar), with crosses between each of the letters.  So the marking over the doorway would read 20+K+M+B+13 for this year.  The blessing is meant to protect the inhabitants from illness or misfortune. We didn't see the markings, but I learned that it's meant to last all year unless the elements, or some other kind of accident dusts off or cleans off the marking.

As is true in many countries, people bake a Three Kings cake with a hidden almond or coin.  The person whose piece contains the almond or coin is responsible for hosting the next party.  The feast represents the end of swiete wieczory or the twelve holy nights which begin on Christmas day, and the commencement of zapusty, or carnival. 

We continued down Florianska and found ourselves headed to Kosciol Mariacki, aka, the Basilica of the Virgin Mary.

I learned that this is among the most famous, if not THE most famous, of Poland's churches.  The claim I read was that the Gothic edifice replaced the Romanesque facade by the end of the 13th century.

The Gothic spire, pictured here, dates to 1478.  The crown (gold-plated) is from 1666.  This tower apparently belongs to the municipality of Krakow.  The Krakow "signal" plays from this tower every hour.

We entered the Rynek Glowny, or Grand Square.

The building in the upper third of the photo is the Cloth Market, "arguably" the world's oldest shopping mall.  It's been a center of commerce for 700 years. The structure has been refurbished and rebuilt, most recently at the end of the 19th century.

It's hard to see in this shot, but the roof points are capped by groteseque masks.

The tower to the left of the Cloth Hall is the leaning Town Hall Tower. Originally constructed in the 13th century, a strong wind at the beginning of the 18th century caused the tower to lean by 55 centimeters.  The cellar beneath the tower used to contain the dungeon and torture chambers.  Now the space is used as a cafe and theater.

The people congregating in the square were drawn to the stage featuring a Three Kings' musical performance.    It was clearly a festive and religious celebration.

The square was filled with booths featuring foods and crafts.

The square is also home to St. Adalbert's Church, a tiny church dating back to the 13th century (it must have been a happening time!).

The interior accommodated about 30 people, and we learned that they were planning a concert that evening.

We couldn't go to the concert, but we were able to sit inside while we waited for our tour guide to show us the old town.

The Old Town tour is the stuff of tomorrow's post.  Stay tuned.

Night train to Krakow

It's always a little nervewracking for me to make  travel connections.  I get such anxiety about getting on the right train/plane/bus and in the right seat.  Those nervous feelings are compounded when I don't speak the language.  Once I know I'm in the right place, I settle down and achieve a semblance of calm.  I say semblance, because the truth is, I'm not completely settled until I'm at my destination.  And by destination, I mean in my hotel room.

Our train was scheduled to leave Prague at 10:30 p.m. Our ETA in Krakow was around 6:30 a.m.  We didn't have sleeper cars, so we were prepared to sleep sitting up in our seats.

We got to our car and were shortly joined by a Czech woman wearing a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt.  She had very few words of English, but we had NO Czech.  We did manage to exchange names and destinations.  Her name was Lenka and she had just returned to the Czech Republic from Milwaukee after visiting her daughter over the Christmas holiday.  Her home was Ostrava, 166 miles and four hours from Prague.  After managing to learn all of that, we exhausted our conversational options. 

It felt rude to talk without including Lenka, plus it was quite late.  I had packed away my reading material, so the only option was to try and sleep.  Unfortunately, Lenka wanted to keep the light on in the compartment.  Finally, Lenka agreed to turning off the light.  We couldn't really get comfortable until Lenka arrived at Ostrava at 2:00 a.m. 

We traveled on to a place called Bohumin, right on the Polish border.  Apparently, Bohumin is a major railway center, which seemed clear when we realized the train cars were uncoupled and recoupled.  It was impossible to sleep through all that noise and movement.  We were able to stretch out on the bench seats, but we woke every time the train stopped.

I probably slept more than Cindy because all of a sudden she said, "We're at Auschwitz".  We looked out the window at a very austere landscape.It was frankly eerie. After adjusting to that sense of discomfort, I fell asleep again, only to wake suddenly, assuming we had arrived at Krakow.   I pulled down the luggage from the overhead rack, which woke Cindy.  She asked me what was going on and I said, "I think we're here."  Cindy reminded me that Auschwitz is a good hour plus west of Krakow, but I couldn't be dissuaded.  Cindy's favorite story about my nerves for the trip was when I said, standing, looking out the window, "It's a city of some size."  The truth is, I couldn't really tell, I was just ... (say it with me now), ANXIOUS.

Finally, we arrived at the Krakow train station around 6:30 a.m.  After we disembarked, an elderly man caught my eye and gestured at me to go down the lift.  I tried to ignore him, but he kept following us.  Finally, we realized we needed to go back to the lift the elderly man had indicated.  Cindy knew right away that the man wanted money, but I was inclined to see him as a kind man helping two foreigners.  The man then helped us find a way to leave the station--which proved challenging for two very tired, disoriented women.  He chatted with us briefly, indicating he had family in the U.S. As we aimed for the exit, the man said "What will you give me?"  Cindy's instincts were dead right.  I indicated that all I had was Czech Koruna in coins.  He wanted paper money.  I gave him 80 CK.

We moved as quickly as we could  to avoid anyone else who might want money.  We headed for the nearest hotel and asked at the check-in desk for a recommendation for a coffee shop.  The clerks encouraged us to eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant.  The porter took our bags and we ate at the buffet.  We ate our fill and drank a lot of coffee.  Once we were ready to head out to our hotel, we asked directions to Florianska Street.  We got a little turned around, but finally, we figured out where to go.

The St. Florian Gate, located in this photo, is one of the most famous gothic towers in all of Poland.  It was built in the 13th century to fend off the Turks.  According to the web, St. Florian is "a Christian saint, and the patron saint of Linz, Austria; chimney sweeps; soapmakers, and firefighters."

Florianska ulice (Florianska Street) is deemed the most expensive street in Krakow, and the third most expensive street in all of Poland.

Cindy's Polish contact arranged for us to stay at the Jagiellonian University Guest House.  We had to be buzzed in from a street door.  It was only 8:30, so we were worried we wouldn't be able to check in to our room.  Fortunately, the clerk showed us to our room and we were able to shower and rest.  The room was spacious, clean and comfortable. 

After a two hour nap, we headed out to explore the town, but that's the subject of tomorrow's post.

Last day in Prague

The last day we were in Prague was a Saturday.  We were scheduled to take the overnight train from Prague to Krakow, which meant we had a full day to spend exploring the city.  We decided to go first to the train station where we stowed our bags, freeing us from having to tote our luggage as we walked.  We took the tram from our beautiful Podoli apartment to the stop nearest the train station.  When we alighted, we noticed this pattern on the sidewalk.

Then we looked up, and realized we were standing in front of one of the most unusual synagogue facades I've ever seen.  I found it beautiful.

Unfortunately, we didn't see the Jerusalem Synagogue  (aka the Jubilee Synagogue) until this particular Saturday/Shabbat morning, which meant it wouldn't have been appropriate for us to visit.  Still, the exterior was spectacular.

I will definitely make a point to go inside these synagogues the next time I go to Prague--and there WILL be a next time!

Visiting Prague made me realize that it highlights one of the major differences between U.S. and European cities.  The facades, the statuary and the pavements are so dramatic and decorative, as my past few blogs have illustrated.  There is so much public art throughout the city.

The Nazis pulled down this statue of Woodrow Wilson outside the railway station during World War II.  The Czechs credited Wilson with contributing extensively to the foundation of Czechoslovakia in 1918.

I've since realized that we saw but a fraction of the outdoor art which peppers this city, and yet we saw so much.

The traditional state buildings were also worth noticing, but we didn't end up visiting them.

This is the opera building.  They had a performance of Carmen that evening.  Too bad we had to catch a train.

This is the National Museum in Prague.  Apparently, it is closed until June 2015.

I've already written about St. Wenceslas Square, but we spent a more focused time strolling through the square on this last day in Prague.

This is the statue of St. Wenceslas.

We noticed all kinds of things as we walked, starting with this pavement pattern:

 We noticed these interesting shoes in a store window.

I don't think I've seen traditional high heeled shoes with spikes on them anywhere else.  Hmmm, I wonder what that means.....?

As we continued down the street, we encountered a Hare Krishna parade.

Notice the placard for O'Reillys.  The juxtaposition with the Hare Krishnas is pretty funny.  I hadn't see Hare Krishnas since my college days back in Arizona.  These good pilgrims sang and paraded up one side of the street, and then down the other side.

And then---then, I met my new boyfriend.

We became very close, very quickly.  I don't lay hands on just any old man.

I love that the spirit of Prague decoration has continued in a more modern vein.

I wish I knew the architectural term for these faces above the windows.

The hotels lining the square are really lovely on the outside.

I learned from one placard that the city had decided to make the lower part of the square a pedestrian zone as of April 2, 2012.  The sign reads:  "Prague 1 wants to contribute to the calming of Wenceslas square via this step and started the preparatory phase of planned gradual revitalization of this part of the city.  The lower part of the square shall gradually begin to change in the Centre of the modern city--it can offer facilities for good life, practical solutions for business and a vibrant creative environment for all residents..."

Check out these "creative" Czechs.

Yeah, that's right!  He's talking on his cell phone.  So much for the illusion...

We found our way back to the Old City Square.  On the way, we saw this bas relief.

This reminded me of a combination of Wedgewood china and old-fashioned cameos.

Once in the square, we visited the Astronomical Clock again--it's just too cool!

Around the corner on the way to the Jewish Quarter, is a small museum devoted to Franz Kafka.  We had seen it the previous day.

The hands drawn on the window are in the "Vulcan"/Priestly Blessing gesture.  The Hebrew letter below Kafka's name and above the drawing of the hands is a Koph, the first letter of Kafka's name using the Hebrew alphabet.

We decided to go in to the Kafka Exposition.

This site is where Kafka was born and where he lived throughout his childhood and youth.

Frankly, there wasn't much of interest in this "museum".  It's a rather shabby facility.  In a corner of the "museum" there was a television set with a VCR playing a poor quality (read scratchy) VHS tape.  There were a few letters in glass cases, and a few vertical panels coming out of their frames and featuring passages from those letters.  One of the displays revealed that Kafka did not gain worldwide notice until after World War II (and well after his own death).  The same note credits Kafka with anticipating the fate of the Jews during the Holocaust.

The Metamorphosis is the text featured in the center of this text.

Almost directly next door to the Kafka museum (and by the way, there's another Kafka museum in the Lesser Quarter across the river), is the famous St. Nicholas church.

St. Nicholas is the oldest church in the old quarter of Prague.  There's been a St. Nicholas church since the 13th century, but the current structure dates back only to the early 18th century.  St. Nicholas is considered the most famous Baroque church in Prague.  The site has importance to the Protestant movement.   According to one of the sites describing the church, "The preachers of the church supported Jan Hus, the reformer, who was later burnt as a heretic in 1415."  A large statue of Hus, who was burned at the stake as a heretic, is located on the Old Town Square.  Unfortunately, I only managed to get a rear view of the statue.

The interior of the church has a number of lovely features.

This window depicts St. Wenceslas (aka St. Vaclav).

We heard what seemed like an impromptu organ concert while we wandered around the church.  We heard Gershwin when we first entered the church.  The next piece was Bach, then Adeste Fidelis, and finally a piece by Erik Satie.  I got the feeling we weren't listening to a professional, but the acoustics were wonderful. 

After a very good lunch at a restaurant recommended by TripAdvisor, we headed off in search of the Black Madonna.  I had read about it in our guide book which identified it as a "must see".  We set off in the general direction of St.Wenceslas Square.  We saw this restaurant, which suggested we were not in the right place.

We saw this statue, but it clearly wasn't a Madonna.

This one didn't seem right either.

This was a bit closer, but not exactly Madonna and "child".

By the time we got to the "Powder Gate" we knew we'd gone too far and had to turn back if we were going to find it.

Although it was rebuilt in the 19th century, one of the tourist websites describes the Powder Gate as such:  "Prašná brána:  The 65m-tall Powder Tower was begun in 1475 during the reign of King Vladislav II Jagiello to form one of the 13 entrances to the Old Town. In 1483 it was left unfinished because the king moved to Prague Castle."  "Powder" refers to the gunpowder once stored there.

Finally, we turned back to where we had expected to find the Black Madonna.  We walked around the building where it was supposedly located, but saw nothing resembling Mother Mary.  Finally, we were ready to give up, when we looked up and there she was.

Once we found the Black Madonna and checked her off our list, we went in search of the Municipal House in Prague (one of Cindy's "must sees").  This gorgeous Art Nouveau Building ("one of the finest in all of Europe") is home to some wonderful restaurants. 

 We were once again in need of "buck-you-uppo", so we went inside.

We had a delicious snack (once again I had streudel, but also an egg liquour), but we weren't allowed to take photos inside.  I did manage to get this shot from the outside.

Alfons Mucha's influence pervades the building.

By the time we had finished our snack, it was time to head back to the railway station.  We got a tiny bit lost, but found our way easily after checking in with a bellhop from a local hotel.  Darkness has the unfortunate impact of disorientation. 

We asked about upgrading to sleeping cars, but the price was prohibitive. Only first class passengers have access to a lounge, so we set up camp in the ticket office.  Thank God Cindy's Nook had Scrabble.  After numerous games, we decided to get supper.  There were options, but we ended up eating at Burger King.  We each ordered chicken sandwiches, but different kinds.  I ended up eating a bite of hers before I realized my mistake. As we sat there, we observed one of the more disturbing events of our trip. 

The ticket office wasn't particularly conducive to people watching, but Burger King WAS.  We had heard some noise and realized it was coming from a trio of very drunk people who seemed to be traveling with a dog in tow.  Before too long, we realized these three people (two men and a woman) were engaged in a battle of sorts.  One of the men was clearly the bully.  The other man seemed to want to dissociate himself from the situation.  The man then started going after the woman.  Obviously, we couldn't understand the words they were saying to each other, but it was clearly abusive.  I think we were both on the verge of looking for police when they got up and parted company.  We later confessed to each other that  we worried they would be on our train.  Fortunately, they weren't, and even more fortunately, we believe the bully and the woman were not on the same train.

Ever the nervous traveler, I felt compelled to retrieve my bag from the locker at 8:30.  Cindy held off until 9:30, but insisted I should confess here that the lockers were only a very short distance from the ticket office (less than five minutes walk).  As we had discovered at Gatwick, the departure gate announcement occurred about a half hour from the departure time.  At 9:50, we headed off to the gate and boarded the train. 

I'll save our train trip for the next post.  Stay tuned.