Day 2: Wawel Palace

Thursday, May 6---This morning we moved from Kosmopolita Guest Rooms to Hotel Atrium (a bit nicer accomodations and super breakfasts).  Our rooms were ready for us so we could settle in.  Everything is light and bright and a happy contrast to Kosmopolita and its construction on Dluga St. Students are happy to be able to have their "permanent" rooms, mostly in one wing of the hotel.

Then we walked up to the Wawel to the castle where we met our guide from yesterday, Barbara.  She actually works as a guide in the Wawel Palace too.  So we'll go through the palace public rooms with a pro.  It's quite a trudge up the hill; as we walk up, on our left is a wall with plaques that commemorate the donors to the renovation of the Wawel which suffered a lot of damage during Austrian occupation---a military garrison was there until 1911.  Rising up above the wall is a glorious statue to Tadeusz Kosciuszko, hero of the American revolution and the Cracow uprising of 1794.  At the top of the hill the open area between the palace and the cathedral buildings---usually a grassy space with the outlines of the most ancient church foundations still visible---is now undergoing renovation.  Like so much in Krakow this year.  Barbara says that repairs had been put off for a couple of years and now everything has scaffolding and fencing and signs of repair work.
The Palace means the royal residence in the castle which was transformed from Gothic to Renaissance in the 16th century with a 3-story arcaded inner courtyard. The official rooms once housed the Chamber of Deputies (Polish parliament or Sejm) and the Senate. On the ground floor is the Governor's suite; on the 2nd floor we saw the Tournament Hall, the Envoys or Deputies' Room, the Planet Room, the Bird Room with its cordovan leather walls, the Eagle Room, and the Senators' Hall.

Dinner at CKBrowar ("The Imperial and Royal Brewery"); our tables have reservation signs with Amanda's name on them---they are expecting us!  The food is surprisingly good: wonderful light schnitzel, roasted potatoes, and of course beer. A real hit are the pipes of beer with spigots for the drinkers. 

Day 1: City Walk from the Grunwald monument near Kleparz to the Wawel

Wednesday, May 5---Today we get our bearings in the Old Town or Stare Miasto of Krakow.  Our guide is Barbara Zaniewska. She's professionally trained and licensed by the wojewodztwo. To get the lay of the land, we follow the Royal Route.  This is the path the kings would take when entering Krakow to go for coronation at Wawel Cathedral.  They began at Kleparz, originally a town close to the city walls, then to the Barbican, down Florianska Street, passing the Basilica of St. Mary or Mariacki, then down Grodzka street, and up the hill to the Wawel.

In the soft mist, we cross the Rynek or Market Square to Wislna and Golebia streets and head to Collegium maius, the oldest university building. Inside its courtyard, we wait to see the glockenspiel. There's a soft rain and it's not too cold, so we and other tourist groups are not too wet. Then out and around the Planty, the park that rings the Old Town, to Wawel and up the hill to the Cathedral. Students climbed up to the Zygmunt bell and touched it for good luck.

The day ends with a combination Italian and Polish cuisine dinner at Corleone in Poselska St. and the first tentative experiments with Zubrowka, Polish vodka flavored with bison grass. The atmosphere is wonderful.  After dinner, some of  us head off to Wedel's chocolate shop for dessert---a great place on a damp night.

Flint to Krakow---not so easy!

 Talk about a rocky start to a trip planned for a year!  Our flight from Flint to Atlanta was canceled (tornadoes in the Carolinas), our new route via Amsterdam did not allow all 13 of us to travel together.  So 5 of us made the Prague-Krakow connection at 4:30 pm on Tuesday; the remaining 8 had to take a later flight and arrived in Krakow at close to midnight on Tuesday.  At Kosmopolita Guest Rooms, our first "hotel", we did not have an internet connection, so students had to call home to allay fears of parents and friends.  Then, the street of our first lodging (ul. Dluga) was completely torn up.  It looked like a trench about 2 feet deep.  And the rain!  Cracovians told us that it had begun on Monday, the day of our Flint departure.  It is gray and raining this morning.
Our other faculty travelers, John Ellis and Ami Pflugrad-Jakisch are with us now and so we feel like a real History Department group. The students are in great spirits---game for it all and not complaining. You can see the group in the breakfast room the morning after our arrival. We've lost a day but still feel pretty good!

Saturday, May 1 : "Reisefever"

Many years ago when I was first traveling Polish friends clued me in about "reisefever".  That's the overall jitters and diffuse anxiety (as the psych people might term it) that you get before setting off on a trip.  I still am afflicted by this and I know the small indicators:  I forget pin numbers, misplace things, walk out of the house without my keys---and many other signs of distraction I'd rather not write on the blog.  Anyway, after years of traveling and now regular trips to Los Angeles, "reisefever" still comes over me.  What to do?  Drink less coffee, sit and meditate or stand on my head (this is yoga), stare at the wall and get a grip.  Funny thing is, once I'm in an airport or on the plane, a kind of calmness sets in.  There's nothing more than can be done anyway---the airplane gods rule.   Watching people is very interesting.  And I do a lot of thinking---revise courses mentally, think through difficult parts of the next conference paper, consider what I might do in the next couple of years of life, and realize with gratitude how wonderful it is to have places to go.

Packing #2

And all the stuff from on the bed  then has to go in here on top of the stuff that's already in the suitcase.  Then there are all the notes to remind myself of what to pack: cell phone, Europe sim card, converters, hat, sunglasses, extra contacts and prescription, small first aid items, notepad, all student information, touring and meal reservations (yikes!), laptop, driver's license (but not the car keys, of course!), house keys  . . . .  I need to check my master list from last year! 

Friday, April 30---Packing!

Well, here it is, the "stuff" as George Carlin would say.  Everything is laid out, mix and match, nothing extra. Nothing white. Not too much underwear (I wash in the sink). Right now it's in the "what to through out" stage; what can do double duty?  And all the little stuff is in ziploc bags.  I've given up on most travel pouches and such. You never know when you can use a ziploc for something else. Less is always better when you are shlepping between terminals and have only an hour and now there will be 12 sets of legs and roll aboards.   

Sunday, April 25--1 Week to departure!

Well, we are in to the countdown now; I've got my roll aboard open, trying to figure out how little I can travel with.  Just reviewed the Office of Study Abroad travel orientation powerpoint (lots of good reminders!).  Checked the Krakow weather (slightly warmer than Flint---mid 60s). And the zloty to dollar rate has improved.  It's now 2.91 zl to one dollar US.
Here's something good to remember, courtesy of colleague Maureen Tippen in Nursing:

"The Art of Traveling"
by Wilfred A. Peterson

When you pack your bags to explore the beauties of your country or to travel around the world, consider these keys to a happy journey.

Travel lightly. You are not traveling for people to see you.

Travel expectantly. Every place you visit is like a surprise package to be opened. Untie the strings with an expectation of high adventure.

Travel hopefully. “To travel hopefully,” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson “is better than to arrive.”

Travel humbly. Visit people and places with reverence and respect for their traditions and ways of life.

Travel courteously. Consideration for your fellow travelers and your hosts will smooth the way through the most difficult days.

Travel gratefully. Show appreciation for the many things that are being done by others for your enjoyment and comfort.

Travel with an open mind. Leave your prejudices at home.

Travel with curiosity. It is not how far you go, but how deeply you go that mines the gold of experience. Thoreau wrote a big book about tiny Walden Pond.

Travel with imagination. As the old Spanish proverb puts it: “He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.”

Travel fearlessly. Banish worry and timidity, the world and its people belong to you just as you belong to the world.

Travel relaxed. Make up your mind to have a good time. Let go.

Travel patiently. It takes time to understand others, especially when there are barriers of language and custom; keep flexible and adaptable to all situations.

Travel with the spirit of a world citizen. You’ll discover that people are basically much the same the world around. Be an ambassador of goodwill to all people.

from Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul (Canfield, Hansen, and Zikman, 2002)