On our own again, Sara and I took the train from Prague to Krakow, Poland. While here, we’ve learned once again that our pronunciation is all wrong. We English speakers pronounce this as “Crack – ou (as in “ouch,” or “out” or “hour”) But here, as in German and Austrian, the W is pronounced as a V. Hence Krakow is pronounced “Crack-ov” or “Crack-off.”
Our Krakow Air BnB was fabulous: up only one flight of stairs, but there’s even an elevator. It’s bright, modern, and spacious with all the amenities. We have easy access to the tram system, and it’s just a fifteen-minute walk to the Main Square in the center of the Old Town.
Dinner in Kazimierz: Having settled into our Air BnB, we set off to find dinner. A ten-minute walk took us to an area called Kazimierz, long ago an independent city separated from Krakow by a river. Today it’s part of Krakow’s historic Jewish Quarter. We enjoyed dinner in a nostalgic setting, complete with an accordion player providing Klezmer music. [Since Kazimierz is important in the story of Krakow’s Jewish population, we’ll say more about it in our next post, focusing on that story.]
Street Food in Kazimierz: Looking for quick, inexpensive food, we often found it in Kazimierz, where food trucks offer various treats. But our favorite was a unique item, the Zapiekanki. At Plac Nowy in Kazimierz, you can find the best Zapiekanki. It’s like an open-bread pizza, but the choice of toppings was just amazing: inexpensive, filling, and just delicious.
Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema, 16th edition
Upon arrival, we discovered that we had landed right in the middle of another International Film Festival (we saw one last year in Zagreb). It’s a great opportunity to enjoy many films that you’ll never see in America, all far outside our Hollywood Film Industry. These are often low-budget, independent films that rely on strong actors, writers and videographers rather than on CGI. So we quickly studied the program and chose six films, still available, that we would see.
As usual, we find that some independent films really grab us while others leave us cold. So here’s what we thought worth mentioning. We like and admire the work of Colin Farrell – the only actor we recognized in any of these films. [If we have nothing good to say, we choose to say nothing (even though that kinda says something.)]
Title (in English) / Nation(s) of Origin / Director
- “After Yang,” USA Konagonada (with Colin Farrell) “After Yang” is a weird but interesting story that raises questions about androids and humans. As they become more like humans, should we treat them as humans, or still as appliances to serve us? What do you do when an android is really part of your family”
- “Do You Love Me,” Ukraine/Swedish, Tonya Noyabrova
- “Delegation,” Israel/Poland/Germany, Asaf Saban “Delegation” focuses on a busload of students from Israel who come to visit sites in Poland where the Jews suffered, particularly the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. Coming of age plus the human tragedy of the Holocaust.
- “My Parents were Abducted by Aliens and I Feel Kinda Left Out” USA Jake Van Wagoner. This was our favorite: it’s fun and accessible. In a world of disbelievers, the protagonist here seeks to rejoin his missing parents. Is he delusional? or perhaps not? You won’t know until the end.
- “Dalva,” France/Belgium,” Emmanuelle Nicot
- “Mediterranean Fever,” Germany/France/Cyprus/Palestine/Qatar, Maha Haj. Waleed struggles with depression and with his neighbor who plays the music too loud. Set in Haifa, Israel, this personal story also reflects the political and social tensions of its setting. The writing and acting are exceptional.
Rynek Glowny, the Main Market Square, dates back to the 13th century. It’s the largest medieval town square in Europe, and the center of activity in Krakow. In the center of the square is the “Cloth Hall” which still features shopping, albeit more souvenirs and less produce than in medieval times. On its second floor is an art gallery, while beneath it is an amazing museum that documents the history of the city. For years, the square was torn up with archeological excavations, but today the square is restored, and the museum thrives underground. The square also features a Tower, once part of the Town Hall, the small Church of St. Adalbert, and the magnificent, two-towered St. Mary’s Basilica. Of course, the square is lined with cafes, shops, and restaurants. And you can always enjoy a ride in a horse-drawn carriage while enjoying the architecture all around you.
The Planty: In medieval times, Krakow was a walled city. As the city grew beyond those old walls, and the protective value of a walled fortress became pointless, most of the walls came down and were replaced by the large green parkway that now surrounds the Old Town of Krakow. Called “The Planty,” it’s one of the largest parks in Europe. Now the line separating the Old Town from the new is particularly clear here, and most enjoyable.
Wawel Castle (pronounced “VAH-vel“) sits atop Wawel Hill at the south end of the old city, just above the Vistula River. The medieval fortress today is a great place to explore, including: Wawel Cathedral, (officially the Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslas), the Royal Palace, Sigismund’s Chapel, the John Paul II Wawel Cathedral Museum and a fine collection of art. There’s a lot to see here, and multiple entrance fees, but it’s well worth a visit.
Pope John Paul II is revered here. Karol Wojtyla, who became the Polish Pope, John Paul II, was ordained as a priest here in Krakow and later became its bishop. As a young man in 1942, Karol Wojtyla was admitted to the underground seminary in Krakow by Adam Stefan Sapieha (1867-1951), who mentored and later ordained the future pope. Sapieha is also viewed as a hero who served the people during the Nazi occupation.
Poland is a very religious, Christian country with a Roman Catholic population of 92-96%. So it’s no surprise that Poles were excited when one of their own became the Pope. Krakow features several paintings, statues, and monuments honoring Pope John Paul II.
A few tech problems: Sara and I look forward to our entertainment at the end of the day. On arrival we discovered that the lovely big screen TV in the apartment was non-responsive. But we contacted our hostess who had a new TV there the next day. Problem solved.
On our second day in Krakow, we returned from our adventures to find that we could not get into our apartment. The digital combination system that allows us entry would not work. We finally contacted our hostess, who was in New Jersey, with the dilemma. She had her cousin drive over (who lived an hour away) to come and fix the problem. He came, but he couldn’t make it work either [Thank you for evidence that the problem was not us]. After sitting in the hallway for hours, we finally went down the street and booked a hotel room for the night. To our hostess’s credit, even from New Jersey, she had the issue fixed the next day. A locksmith came, accessed the apartment, replaced the depleted battery in the digital access and returned it to its proper function. She offered to refund us for the cost of the hotel.
We were looking for a highly recommended restaurant one day. It was called the “Blue Nyssa.” Sara found it on her GPS, so we followed directions down a road leading away from our apartment. Soon the GPS was telling us that we had walked right past it. But we had looked carefully all along our way. Finally we gave up and headed back, past another restaurant along the way, past the mostly empty marketplace, and then past the guys with the little blue truck who were grilling kielbasa over a wood fire. The long line suggested that this was popular street food. And then we noticed that the little blue truck was a Nyssa.
There was always a line here. And the price for a delicious grilled sausage, a role, and mustard was quite reasonable. Having finally found The Blue Nyssa, we enjoyed the great sausage. And, since it was just a short walk from our apartment, we enjoyed it more than once.
