Kraków

As we walked toward the city center of Kraków, Poland, we heard the famous Kraków bugle call -- the "Hejnal Mariacki" -- from the tower of the Church of St. Mary. During a war with the Tartars (from western Asia) in 1297, while the Polish bugler was sounding a call, an arrow was shot through his throat, stopping the call in mid-note. In a few moments another soldier picked up the horn, and continued the call, and that is what you hear today — a bugle call, an interruption, then the bugle call continues.

Hourly they reenact the call, high in the tower of St. Mary’s, and at noon on Saturday the bugle call is sounded over radio stations in Poland. One year as we sailed the Atlantic from Rotterdam to Montreal on the TSS Stefan Batory, at noon on Saturday, the bugle call sounded over the ship’s PA System.

Kraków is one of the few cities in Poland that escaped from World War II without too much physical damage. Stare Miasto, or Kraków's Old Town, is surrounded by a park and a portion of the old city wall. And on a hill south of Stare Miasto, stands Zamek Wawelski (Wawel Castle).

The Market Place in the center of Kraków's Old Town, Rynek Glówny, is surrounded by stores and restaurants, and tourists may enjoy a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. Located in the middle of the market square, there stands a beautiful building called Sukiennice (The Cloth Hall), built in the 1300s, burned in 1555, restored and renovated over the years. This market building contains many shops that sell art, clothes, jewelry, and items of interest to a tourist. Kraków’s Rynek Glówny is the only place in Europe we have seen sweet corn, cooked and sold at an outdoor food stand. We couldn’t believe the amount of salt one man poured on his ear of corn.

In 1985, the roadside fruit and vegetable stands between Kraków and Warsaw, contained a few pieces of poor quality produce, often displayed in a cardboard box. In 1991, after the Berlin Wall fell, at about the same time of the year, road-side farm wagons were loaded with an excellent harvest.

In 1985 we were just barely making it from day to day, so heartfelt was our angst, and so sorry did we feel for Polish people unfortunate enough to live under this Government.

Finally, after a good night’s sleep, Emmy said, “I feel like a new woman,” and I said, “Goodness knows I need one.”