Krakow

The next day I set off to explore the city. Krakow has a compact but exceptionally pretty old city, as usual centred around a square. The latter was originally built in 1257 to house Krakow’s busy market, at a time when Krakow was an essential stop on many busy trade routes crossing Europe. Today the square is surrounded by cafés where you can sit and drink coffee, beer or cocktails.

One of the square’s most famous buildings is St Mary’s Basilica, dating from the 13th and 14th Century. Every hour a bugler plays a short tune from the top of tower. The tune breaks off part way through a bar – legend has it that in the 13th Century, a sentry spotted an approaching Mongol army and raised the alarm by sounding his bugle. As he played he was shot through the throat by a Mongol arrow – hence the abrupt ending to the tune. Unfortunately his alarm was in vain, the Mongols still destroyed the city.

The inside of the Basilica is also pretty

I took the opportunity to climb up to the top of tower to get an overview of the city and plan my next steps, and was rewarded with a fine view of the city and the castle with its cathedral.

From the main square I strolled off through the old town towards the castle, finding lots of pretty buildings along the way.

I visited the cathedral, which had a large and apparently famous bell, and a crypt housing the coffins of many past Polish kings. Krakow was the capital of Poland from 1038 until 1596, but even after the court moved to Warsaw, it remained an important business and cultural centre. My guide book said that the inside of the castle was less interesting than the outside views, so I strolled around until I found the castle gardens to relax in.

It had been a busy day with lots of walking, so I headed back to my flat before going out for cocktails and dinner. I discovered that eating and drinking out in Krakow is really cheap, and slightly over-indulged myself with some very good cocktails.

I returned to my AirbnB flat and settled down for the night. My accommodation was also very good value – there are lots of very good hotels and flats available in Krakow for visitors. Mine was right in the centre of the old town, which was very convenient except for its proximity to St Mary’s Basilica. I discovered that the bugler performs their piece every hour all throughout the night….

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