Krakow - A Fairytale Escape to Wawel Castle and the Vistula River

Hello friends. On the second day of our Krakow vacation, we decided to take a walk toward the castle. Since the apartment we were staying in was in the center, Wawel Castle appeared right in front of us as soon as we stepped outside. It was probably about a five minute walk. As for transportation from the airport and taxis, we took a taxi. But there is a bus every half hour and in the evenings there is also a train. My sister said the train was a bit expensive but the bus price was reasonable. Since it was 11 pm, we did not want to wait and took a taxi.

We started walking toward the castle. It was quite cold outside. I took a short break and put on my gloves. This time I had to control my phone with my nose, but at least my hands were not freezing.😊 The previous evening there had been light snowfall. First it felt like misty drizzle, then it turned into snow. The day we visited was also very overcast.

We reached Wawel castle. Next to it is the Vistula river. It is an interesting river because in spring and summer beautiful things happen here. People lie on the grass and sunbathe. The grass is well maintained and you can sit on it comfortably. Some of the ship restaurants on the river were open.

We arrived at the main cathedral. On our previous visit we had climbed the cathedral tower. This is considered the main church. The blue domed building called Mariacka is more like the people’s church because it is located in the main square, but this place is accepted as the main religious center. It is where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried. The views are very beautiful. What caught my attention was that many of the buildings here look new. The Old Town, Stare Miasto, was not actually built right on the riverbank. It is located a bit further inside, behind the defensive walls and the castle. The older buildings begin there. They are not extremely ancient, though. I had thought this city was partially much older. For example: I expected to see 400 year old buildings in Venetian style or half timbered houses. I am not sure how old the buildings here are. The castle itself dates back to the 14th century. It was built at an altitude of 228 meters above sea level on a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the river, as part of a fortified architectural complex surrounded by walls. The complex includes the cathedral and many buildings of great historical and national importance.

There is a city legend about the Wawel Dragon. For those who do not know and I did not know much before coming either, the dragon is one of Krakow’s symbols. According to the legend, it used to live somewhere under this rock. One day someone finally killed it. Now only this version remains. The dragon must have lived right there in its cave. The inside of its mouth is black for a reason. From a distance I saw flames coming out of its mouth. I am not sure how long you have to wait or how often it breathes fire. It was quite crowded here. To give you an idea of the tourist density, I had seen only a few groups before, but here within two minutes I saw a third group. Everyone rushes here.

Krakow was the capital for a long time, so it is a wealthy city. Since the navigable part of the Vistula River begins here, it was easy to ship goods. Later due to pressure from neighboring powers, they decided to move the capital to Warsaw. This actually saved Krakow and protected it from being filled with massive skyscrapers. Warsaw has many high rise buildings and feels more modern. Interestingly, because Krakow was no longer the capital, it did not suffer as much damage during the war and many buildings remained in their original state. Of course some were destroyed, but compared to many cities in neighboring countries it remained in good condition. In many places ninety percent of the buildings were demolished and only a few in the center were rebuilt according to the original style. Here the urban texture has been preserved.

We went up to the viewing terrace. Even though my gloves were leather, my fingertips were freezing. It was incredibly cold. From there we could see the Vistula river and the Jubilat store. We were staying right behind it, so everything was very close.

There is a cafe inside the complex called Slodki Wawel. Interesting name. Wawel and waffle sound similar. There is also a famous confectionery brand called Wawel here. They produce bird’s milk sweets called ptasie mleczko, famous Polish chocolates and wafers.

The inner courtyard is built entirely in Italian style. If you look at the outside of the cathedral, you can see that the additional buildings are all in different styles. When we passed under the archway, a large and tall gallery in pure Italian style appeared before us. On our previous visit the weather had been very gloomy, but because the stones and walls here are white, the atmosphere suddenly felt bright. The walls are decorated with various paintings and reliefs.

We slowly started walking down and headed toward the Old town. Right at the foot of the castle, away from the river, older houses began. The stone buildings looked quite old. We wandered into streets we had not passed before. There were plaques indicating buildings dating back to 1415 and 1480.

The traces of the Polish Pope are everywhere here. In every cathedral you will find a corner, a balcony or a section dedicated to him. Even on Christmas Eve it was hard to move because of the tourists. The previous evening, when we were walking around the Jewish quarter Kazimierz, the streets were completely empty. My sister was very surprised because normally in the evenings the modern and classic venues there are packed.

We arrived at Saint Mary Magdalene square. This place feels Roman in style. After Rome we almost stopped visiting churches because the ones there were so magnificent and rich that others started to feel less impressive. Yet here we had already visited two cathedrals and two churches as soon as we arrived. There was also a traditional decorative nativity scene called szopka. Some cafes buy award winning models of these decorations and display them to attract tourists.

Then we reached the main street. The previous day we had entered the city from the outer side and today from the castle side. Everything was decorated and trees had been planted. Krakow is very successful in this regard. It really had the atmosphere of a fairy tale city. My sister also took us into side streets. They were full of bars, each with a different concept. We entered one and tried a Belgian beer and a Polish beer. Here, if you eat at a place, there are usually three to five types of beer available. If you want to try something special, you move to another venue after dinner.

There was another market here. It was not the main square, but it was quite charming. Compared to France and Germany, the selection here focuses more on sausages and delicatessen products. Let me also mention zapiekanka. It is very common in market areas, but it is not a baked dish like we might imagine. A long baguette is cut in half, fried in oil, topped with rich ingredients and baked again. It is very filling and perfect for warming up on the street. The zapiekanka I had in mind was something lighter and sweeter, but this was completely different.

We arrived at the entrance of what I called the people’s cathedral. Part of it can be entered free of charge for worship, but to visit the main halls you need to stand in line for a ticket. The tickets are not expensive, between 2,5 and 5 euros. There is a dress code, for example you cannot enter with a hat. The moss covered crypt here looks very authentic and really Roman in style.

We came to the other side of the market. It was slowly time to return home. After resting, we continued exploring this beautiful city. In my next posts I will keep sharing more of our discoveries.