Adventures with Julia

September 15, 2017

Marta showing us the street side layout of the old city.

We were up and out to meet our Krakow guide at 9am.  Her name is Marta.  The plan for the day was to do a walking tour of the Wahel Royal Castle a few blocks away.  It was sunny, but cold ad windy, so we stood in protected corners while she talked and then walked fast.  We stopped in front of the house Pope John II lived in when he was Bishop of Krakow from 1951 -1967.

Home of Pope John Paul II when he was still a bishop in Krakow from 1951-1967.

Then we walked up the hill to the castle site and took a few pix outside the castle walls.  The rocky outcropping towers over the banks of the Vistula River and has been the seat of secular and ecclesiastical power since the early middle ages, although the first historic ruler of the Polish state, Mieszko I,  established the first cathedral here in 1000.   Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside so this will be a dry day.  Sorry.  Not my idea.

The approach to the castle.

The castle wall overlooking the Vistula River

A model of the castle as it currently exists. There have been many changes over the centuries.

According to Marta, Wawel experienced its golden age from the 14^th through 16^th centuries, especially during the period of the Jagiellon dynasty.  Sigismund’s I and II (1506-1572) transformed the medieval castle into one of the finest Italianate Renaissance palaces in Central Europe. The next king, Sigismund III, moved the court to Warsaw and a thus began slow and steady decline.  The castle was sacked and looted during Polish-Swedish wars in the mid-17^th century.

The Wawel Castle inside the walls Many architectural styes are visible from Romanesque to  medieval, to Gothic, to Renaissance, to Baroque.

The final blow came with the partition of Poland in the 18^th century and the conversion of the castle into barracks for the Austrian army in 1796.  Major restoration began in the early 20^th century and intensified after 1918, when Poland regained independence.  In the 1930’s the castle became a museum.

The courtyard of the castle, which is now a museum.

Marta went on and on about the Kings, Popes, Bishops, Nobles and the details became a muddle.  Aside from the interesting juxtaposition of architectural    styles through the centuries; we enjoyed seeing many exquisite tapestries with much gold threading, which were used to provide the rooms with some warmth as much as to display wealth and tell biblical stories.  The coffered wooden ceilings were original and quite impressive.  One ceiling had carved and painted wooden heads that were each uniquely different.  The floors, made of marble, were worn smooth and uneven by centuries of use.  It is mindboggling to think of the famous people who walked there through the ages.   By the time we passed through all the various rooms, large and larger, filled with Italian paintings, furniture, centuries of armor, guns, swords, canon and more, we were both done in.  Finally, we exited the castle and walked to a restaurant near our hotel, where we had Polish food.  It is pretty heavy, like Czech food.  Not our idea of “good eats”.  Marta was still full of energy in spite of all the talking she did.  All we wanted to do was finish lunch and get to our room to rest.

She gave us a suggestion for dinner, but I think we will keep it simple and light, if possible.  Tomorrow we have another full day.