The magical city of Krakow is one of Poland’s oldest
and largest cultural strongholds that abounds with everything from history and
food to some stellar museums and basilicas, discovers Raul Dias on a winter trip in and around the city that sits on the
banks of the Vistula River
Pics courtesy: Polish Tourist Organisation, Wieliczka Salt Mine Archives, Chocholowski Termy and Raul Dias
As much as I pride myself on being well-travelled,
having experienced almost every sort of climatic condition the earth keeps
throwing at me, I’d never been privy to that magical phenomenon of the season’s
first snowfall. The kind where snowflakes softer than cotton blossoms caress
your cheek, transporting you straight into the pages of Dostoyevskian winter
classics like White Nights…
So, imagine my sheer delight when almost as soon as I stepped outside
Krakow’s John Paul II International Airport, a solitary snowflake came gliding
down, and settled on my left cheek. “It’s the season’s first!” my friend and
host Emilia Kubik let a by-now-delighted me know. With a welcome like that, how
could my next two days in Krakow be anything but magical?
The
Heart of It
As the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland, situated on the banks
of the placid Vistula River, Krakow as a city dates back to the 7th century.
And since then it has traditionally been one of the leading centers of Polish
academic, cultural, and artistic life. And at the very heart of it all is the
magnificent Main Square in the old city, the largest in all of Europe.
The whole district of the old city is divided into two sections by the Royal
Road, the coronation route traversed by the erstwhile Kings of Poland. The
route begins at St. Florian’s Church outside the northern flank of the old city
walls in the medieval suburb of Kleparz; passes the Barbican of Krakow built in
1499, and enters Stare Miasto through the Florian Gate. It leads down
Floriańska Street through the Main Square, and up Grodzka to Wawel, the former
seat of Polish royalty, overlooking the Vistula River.
Along the route, making stops at the St Mary’s Basilica and the Museum Rynek
Undergrounds are imperative to get a feel of the ancient city. The former is a
Gothic edifice from where the hejnal mariacki—the city’s famous bugle call—is
played every hour on the hour. One of the city’s most enduring traditions, the
tune deliberately breaks off mid-melody in honour of the mythical trumpeter who
was shot in the neck while warning the city of Mongol invaders.
The Museum Rynek is a rather unusual museum, I was soon to discover, in that it
lies ‘buried’ below the Main Square and is the actual location of the ancient
Krakow city center. The main exhibit called “In the footsteps of Krakow’s
European identity”, makes use of holograms constructed by using projectors
alongside fog machines and several dozen screens to recreate the atmosphere of
Krakow 700 years ago.
And just like an onion, there are many myriad layers that make up the ‘Krakow
experience’, a few of which lie outside the city limits waiting for the
intrepid traveller to peel them back and discover the wonders that they hold
within…
With
a Pinch of Salt
A
tourist attraction since the 15th century, the Wieliczka Salt Mine is one of
Poland’s top must-visit places and one of the 12 sites entered onto the UNESCO
World Cultural and Natural Heritage List in 1978. Lying within the Krakow
metropolitan area and opened in the 13th century, the mine produced table salt
continuously until 2007, as one of the world’s oldest salt mines in operation.
In earlier times, touring the salt-bearing realm used to be reserved to the
elite. To be granted admission, you needed the consent of the king, which was
only granted to a fortunate few. Fortunately for me, all I needed was a ticket
and off I went discovering the wonders of the sub-terrain wonderland. The
historic underground forms an impressive maze composed of 2,391 chambers and
245 km of galleries, excavated on nine levels at the depth of between 64 m and
327 m underground. The area open to the public constitutes only two percent of
the entire mine.
One of the most popular sites in the mine is the miraculous Chapel of St. Kinga
and to see it one must travel along the popular Tourist Route. Even our very
own superstar couple Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan have done the trail!
A most extraordinary journey through the labyrinth of saline corridors, the
route is a fantastic opportunity to see the most brilliant landscapes of
underground chambers and discover the history and traditions of the Wieliczka
mine. Going down deeper and deeper into the mine, one can visit unique places,
chambers cut out in solid rock, amazing underground lakes, majestic timber
constructions, genuine salt figures, and see the marvellous machines and tools
once used by ancient miners. Three kilometres of meandering corridors, 800
steps descending into the mine leading 135 m underground, and at the end, you
get to travel back to the surface in an authentic miners’ lift.
Thermal
Indulgence!
Escape from the bustling city life of Krakow for a day, just like I did, and submit
your every sore, tense muscle to the gentle, loving care that only a dip in a
thermal bath can provide. As the largest thermal complex in the region, the
Chocholowski Termy thermal bath is located in the town of Podhale, a few hours’
drive from Krakow en route to the scenic Tatra Mountains. Opened in June 2016,
the pools in this complex are filled with curative water extracted from the
depth of nearly 3,600 meters. Special attention should be paid to the healing
zone, where barrels of raw, sulphurous thermal water and a thermal pool with
brine iodinated water can be found. While sulphur water has positive effects on
skin and circulatory system, it also aids in the treatment of rheumatic
diseases and I was told that salt baths are specially recommended to people,
who suffer from neurosis, insomnia and arthritis. Additionally, besides a spa,
the Chocholowski Termy also has 30 pools and barrels of different size and
specificity, including Poland’s first outside swimming pool filled with thermal
water.
Schindler’s
List?
Back in Krakow, make sure to end your sojourn (again, just like I did!), by
paying homage to Poland’s ghastly past at the very well-appointed Schindler’s Factory
Museum located in the old Jewish district of Kazimierz. In fact, the Academy
Award-winning movie Schindler’s List was
even partially filmed in this original factory building. Today, a multi-level
museum packed with remnants of the past, including Oskar Schindler’s original
writing desk, this place was once the location of Schindler’s factory of
enameled vessels ‘Emalia’. It has been transformed into a modern museum devoted
to the wartime experiences in Krakow under the five-year Nazi occupation during
World War II. Here, ingenious exhibitions combine period artifacts, photos and
documents with multimedia and set-piece arrangements in an attempt to create a
full-immersion experience.
And that’s exactly how I would sum up my entire Krakow experience—immersive. To
such an extent, that, today as I write this, I can still feel that first
snowflake of winter settling on my cheek…
FACT
FILE
Getting There
While there are no direct flights from India to Krakow, the best way to get
there is via Munich and Frankfurt. From there, there are a number of daily
flights to Krakow on airlines like LOT and Lufthansa. The super-efficient
integrated tram and bus network make travelling within Krakow a piece of cake.
Indian passport holders need a Schengen visa to visit Poland and the same can
be obtained at the Polish Embassy/Consulate in New Delhi/Mumbai.
When
To Visit
Though
spring and summer are the best times to visit Krakow, with the months from
March to September seeing plenty of free music concerts held in parks and other
public places, the month of December is especially magical with all things
Christmas-y including the beautiful Christmas Market and the giant lit up tree
in the historic Main Square.
Accommodation
Krakow has an excellent selection of luxury hotels to choose from and some of
the best are:
* Hotel Pod Róza (www.podroza.hotel.com.pl)
(A shorter, edited version of this article first appeared in the February 2017 issue of Hi!Blitz Magazine, India)
