Kraków, Church of St. Mary

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 a Polish fireman was sounding a trumpet call to alert the habitants of Kraków of the invasion, an arrow was shot through his throat, stopping the call in mid-note. In a few moments another fireman picked up the horn and continued the call, and that is what you hear today — a bugle call, an interruption, then the bugle call continuing.

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 throughout 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.

Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square) the heart of the city, attracts tourists with its abundance of cafes and pubs, life and music — it is one of the three largest market squares in Europe. It has an area of 200 x 200 metres (over 650 feet square). Its layout was drawn in the 13th century, and has remained unchanged until the present day. Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) is situated in the centre of the square — a gothic construction now home to various souvenir shops with art and jewellery on the ground floor.