From Krakow To Katowice
This was an early leg, as I wanted to get to Katowice in time to have a look round before my train left at 12:22 for Prague.
The journey was pleasant enough in an electric suburban train.
Supper By Krakow Castle
I had supper at a restaurant called Pod Baranem, that I’d found with Google.
It was excelklent and so was the Cydr Lubelski
Krakow Castle
I didn’t visit Krakow Castle, but as I walked round it before my supper I took these pictures.
It certainly is impressive and I’ll have a proper look next time I go to the city.
An Event In Krakov
As I walked back to the hotel after lunch, it appeared an event was about to take place in the main square.
My timing was wrong to wait, so I didn’t see any action.
An Almost Vegetarian Lunch At Chimera In Krakow
I found Chimera in the pocket guide of Krakow I took with me.
There is some tuna in the salad, but for vegetarians, that is of course optional.
It is well worth a visit, as this review in Trip Advisor says.
As to location, the restaurant is just a short walk from Rynek Główny.
An Excursion To Nowa Huta
Nowa Huta literally means the New Steel Mill and was originally built by the Soviet Union. Because of the town’s history, and the part it and the nearby Lenin Steelworks, played in the removal of the Soviet Union’s hold over Poland, I just had to go and have a look.
I took a tram from Rondo Mogilskie and it was a pleasant ride to the Easternmost area of Krakow. I then had a stroll in a park and caught the trams back to the centre.
A Morning In Krakow
I walked up to the train station and bought my tickets for Prague first thing and then I walked around Rynek Główny and did a bit of exploring on the trams.
Krakow is one of those cities with quite a lot to see early in the morning.
Finding Trains All Over Europe
I’m in Krakow and need to get my train times for Prague for tomorrow. I’ve found that bahn.de on a mobile gives access to a simple site, which can find the trains between any two places in Europe. It jusy havr me a realistic route from Madrid to Manchester. It would have enabled me to do the trip, just by going to the named stations and buying tickets. The only German you need is to remember bahn as all the rest even the place names are English, if you want it that way.
No hasle.
Supper In The Main Square
The Poles are proud of their food in much the same way as country people in the UK. Every chicken, animal, potato or leek you see, seems to have been brought up as a labour of love and I’ve never seen what you might call bad food in Poland.
If like me you’re coeliac, usually in a restaurant there is someone, who understands your needs and if that fails, I take a Polish Gluten-Free Card. But usually, only the top line gets read and the waiter or often the chef will say, have the duck or we can do the fish, in perfect English.
I took these pictures as I had supper.
I only had a main course, as I inevitably do, as I’d had an ice cream earlier.
Getting My Bearings In Krakow
After settling in to the hotel, I decided that I had better get a travel ticket, so I walked back to the station and had a general look around.
In some ways, I should have queued up for the ticket, when I passed through the bus station the first time. But I was able to buy a 48-hour ticket for the trams and buses, which would suit my purposes in Krakow almost to the hour.
But if like me, you get a hotel between Rynek Główny and the combined bus/train station, and you are prepared to walk, it is an easy city to navigate as there are maps of all types everywhere.
Something should be said about the Trams of Krakow. The system is pretty old and there are still a few vintage trams of the Communist era, that are gradually being replaced. However, it seems to run well, reliably and frequently. The information is very good and about half the trams have modern electronic displays, so they are not difficult to use and probably rate for usability, with say the London Tramlink or the Manchester Metrolink.
Krakow doesn’t have a Metro, but they have created a fast tram instead. The line runs in a tunnel shared with pedestrians under the main railway station and is a very simple way to integrate a high-capacity tram into the rail system. The same idea, should have been used at Stratford, where the DLR platforms for the Stratford International branch, should be in the two passenger subways. I have discussed this before.
The Anonymous Widower 