Hurrah for Joy . she was able to access the internet in the lobby
this morning so you did hear from us here in Poland. What a day we
have had in Krakow starting with a huge breakfast in the hotel. Joy
and I both slept really well and surprisingly did not touch! David
opted for the floor and Jeff got the bed. They hope to get their
room changed tonight. Then we started out on foot to see the sights
with David as our tour director. Showers were in the forecast so we
did take our umbrellas.smart move.

Krakow was the original capital of Poland (now Warsaw) and has
Catholic churches about every 500 feet. This is an old old city
dating back to 1000 AD which originally was surrounded by a wall and
moat. We could see portions of the original wall. The beautiful
Planty park was built where the wall use to be and now surrounds the
city. We walked through the gate to the city, called the Royal Way,
which still stands. As we entered the Old City we encountered an
authentic Polish Band, dressed in costumes, playing lively music.
Pictures flashed.

Our first stop was to stop at McDonalds.because when they built this
building they discovered a Gothic cellar so they excavated it, added
seated, and called it medieval McVault. We thought it was fun to
see. (Picture)

Strolling further on Florianska (the main shopping street) we ducked
into several souvenir shops until we arrived at St. Marks. This
church has a huge shrine attached on the outside of the church. Then
to the Jagielliln University, the 2nd oldest university in Europe
(Prague has the oldest). Pope John Paul II and Nicholas Copernicus
both attended this university. We were fortunate to be there at
11:00 when the clock with the revolving apostles chimed. Tons of
school children were there to see this take place. From there we went
to the music school where Chopin studied. Just around the corner is
the Archbishop's Episcopate (house) where Pope Paul II lived and
started his career. There is a beautiful statue of the pope in the
courtyard with billboards showing highlights of his priesthood.

From there we moved on to the Dominican Church of the Holy Trinity.
Noon mass was about to begin. 89% of the population of Poland is
Catholic.

Our next stop was lunch, pretzels, which are sold on every corner,
and coke. We sat under a tree on a bench and enjoyed ice cream cones
for dessert to rest for the long ride up the hill to Wawil, Krakaw's
main attraction, the royal castle of the kings and the adjoining
cathedral where coronations and funerals for all the royalty were
held. Again, there were several school groups there to see these
historical sites. The tapestries and the medieval furniture in the
castle state rooms especially caught out attention.

Finally we got to the Cloth Hall which is an old building and housed
all the souvenir shops. We delighted ourselves with more than 100
vendors and bought several things.
Our original plan was to have dinner at the Wentzl, which was
recommended by Bill Tway's friend who lived in Krakow, where we
started out with the prize spot on the town square but a thunder
storm blew in and we had to move inside. We consumed more wine than
usual trying to outlast the storm before we started our 15 minute
walk home. It had turned cold but we did have our umbrellas!!!!
Wonderful, but exhausting day.