My Russian Life: A weekend in Krakow

More from Krakow....

Let's start with lunch! Homemade pierogies, so good!!!

Archdiocesan Museum of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla - in other words, the Museum for Pope John Paul II. He lived in this building twice during his life, as a young priest and later as a bishop.

Protesters? I think so, but it's hard to confirm. They seemed rather happy

The Main Square and Cloth Hall at night

Even in 0 C weather, outside seating was prepared for the evening crowds. These people are tough!

There he is again. He's everywhere in this city.......

The Grunwald Monument. The Battle of Grunwald was fought between the armies of Poland and Lithuania against the Teutonic Knights on July 1410, and is considered to be one of the greatest battles ever to take place in medieval Europe.

The original statue was destroyed during World War II, but this copy was erected in 1976. At the top on his horse is the King of Poland Władysław Jagiełło. At the front is his cousin the Lithuanian prince Vytautas (Vitold). And the dead man at the front is Urlich von Jungingen, the Teutonic Order’s Grand Master, who lost his life during the battle.

Random apartment building

St. Florian's Church. Originally built in the 12th Century, but destroyed several times due to fire. Since the 16th Century, it has been the University's church and it's location is the beginning of the Royal Road (the coronation route and the starting point for royal processions to Wawel Castle)

The white eagle is a symbol of Poland, and also the national coat of arms. It originated when Poland's founder, Lech, saw a white eagle's nest. As the story goes, when he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine fell on its wings, and they appeared to be "tipped with gold", while the rest of the eagle was pure white. Because of it's beauty, he decided to settle there and placed the eagle on his emblem.

You see the crown on it's head? It was removed by the Communists from 1945-1989, but now it's back

The Barbican.... at the gateway to the old city. One of the few remaining relics from the original city walls and fortifications

Jan Matejko, a famous Polish painter from Krakow

On a random street

I walked through the University one morning (one very cold morning)

The Seminary. Pope John Paul II was a student here during World War II, as well as a teacher in later years

More pictures from the University area

Approaching Wawel Hill. The Wawel Castle & Cathedral are on top of the hill, 80 feet above the Vistula River. The castle was built at the request of King Casimir III the Great, who reigned in the mid 1300's

There he is again!

The Cathedral, the Sigismund Bell Tower, various castle buildings

Within this greenspace are the remains of St. Michael's Chapel, St. George's Chapel, and the house of Stanislaw Borek, who was a secretary to one of the early kings. All the buildings were destroyed during the years of the Austrian rule in 1803-1804. The old hospital is in the distance