Winter Break pt II

the mean streets of Krakow

We walked to the reception of the Krakow apartment we were staying in, where we were put into a taxi and sent on our way. The apartment was very nice and modern, with a very comfy bed and not too far from the historic old city. We went straight to the supermarket to stock up for the week, then back home to make dinner.
We spent the next few days doing our best to see what Krakow had to offer. There was much to see and do, but things were made more complicated by a combination of factors -- some predictable (sun setting at 3 and complete darkness by 4.30, the cold and snow, etc.) and some less so (the Ray Charles-based jazz quartet lost their singer to illness after we'd bought tickets and found the bar)

Krakow's market square, gussied up for a new year

We went through the castle district of Wawel (decently interesting but nothing amazing) the market square (the largest in Europe, with freshly grilled kielbasa deliciously available,) and the church that Pope John Paul II was bishop of before becoming pope. We also tried a variety of restaurants, many of which were tasty and surprisingly cheap. We found a Thai restaurant that had just opened a few months earlier that had great food for the equivalent of 5€ a dish (yes, I now convert foreign currencies into euros, not dollars. Makes things seem cheaper)
Although the city had set up a free concert in the city center, with a performance from Kelis (aka Nas' bloodthirsty ex-wife) we decided to miss the cold, dampness, expense, and Polishness of it all and stay in. Definitely more comfortable and cheaper.

After New Years, we explored Kazimierz, which had been the Jewish community before the Nazis put them into ghettoes. There were a lot of interesting old synagogues and cemeteries, and klezmer music was everywhere.

 a wall in the old Jewish cemetery, made of gravestones that were broken -- some naturally and some maliciously

There was an interesting museum that had pictures of Jewish cultural importance throughout Poland and the surrounding countries, showing the destruction and chaos left behind by the Germans. We also found some good restaurants - an Argentine steakhouse, an American bagel cafe, and of course, delicious Polish pierogies.