Wawel Royal Castle Tour/Old Krakow

First Monday here in Krakow, typically Monday’s are my worst days…just because it’s Monday. But today was different, although I still haven’t gotten much good sleep here, the excitement to tour one of Poland’s most historic places gave me natural energy.

I started off the day with a good pastry breakfast at Steskal pienkarnia cukiernia, which is full of cheap donuts, bagels, loaves of bread, etc. Cheap is the theme of Poland. We then had our first lecture of the course briefly introducing the country’s history, and the changes seen in its governmental power structure, in particular the end of communism in the start of a free government. After the lecture, we walked to Cracovia stadium, which hosts the home games for one of Krakow’s football club teams. We purchased tickets for the last game of the season this Sunday which I am very stoked about! Time to bring out the scarf and beers!

We then went on to meet out tour guide by the Town Hall Tower for our tour of Old Town and the Wawel Royal Castle. This tour was very informative, learning more about when a lot of the buildings were built, in particular the cathedrals and churches in the area with some being built over 600 years ago. We arrived and went inside Wawel where I was immediately mesmerized by the beauty of its interior. The atmosphere in the place is inexplainable, it’s one you have to be physically present to understand. Our tour guide took us through this beautiful castle, introducing the most important and successful Kings and Saints in Poland’s history. We were able to view the tombs of such including King Sigismund I, Stefan Batory, and Jadwiga, who was the first female monarch of Poland. The journey up to the top of the castle where the bell tower was located was a long spiral staircase that became more and more narrow the higher you went. The amount of walking I’ve done on this trip has been short of little, however it’s been nothing to complain about when I’m surrounded by beautiful scenery, sites, and buildings that tell their own story.

Ended the day with some very good pizza…and the rest was history. Overall, a very enjoyable 4th day here in Krakow. Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of living I miss about the U.S. But I haven’t reached that home sick part yet, and don’t know if I will anytime soon. I am truly enjoying my time here in Krakow with some really incredible people.