Friday May 17th, 2013
We leave in the morning, the plane takes off 10 minutes earlier and lands 40 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. We rent a car and head to the hotel we booked. Being still early, the rooms are not ready. However, we leave the suitcases and begin to explore the city. We are close to downtown and we head towards the church Sw Elzbiety.
Outside the church we immediately notice one of the many gnomes scattered around the city (we will see many more during the visit). We go straight to the main square, Rynek, we walk around the square and then we stop to eat at a restaurant. While we have lunch, we see the parade of students from various schools of Wroclaw. After lunch we walk a few streets around the square, passing by various churches: Sw. Marii Magdaleny, Sw. Wojciecha, Sobor Sw. Wincentego Jakuba and Sw. Macieja. Then we return to the hotel to put our bags in the rooms and for a short break. We follow the river and arrive at the university, we cross a bridge to the island and another bridge to reach the Ostrów Tumski with the cathedral. After the tour inside, we climb the tower to see the city from above.
We go back to the main square and cross the Stare Jatki, the alley butchers, where today there are some art galleries. Returning to the Rynek (there is a stage where children are singing), we go to the nearby Plac Solny and from there Sw. Dorothy, the Opera and the Parafia Rzymskokatolicka pw Bozego Ciala. We return once again to the Rynek and begin to look for a restaurant for dinner. After dinner we go around to take pictures at the illuminated city: from the Rynek to Ostrow Tumski, through the university and till the cathedral.
Saturday May 18th, 2013
Before leaving Wroclaw, we drive to the Hala Stulecia (the centenary hall), Unesco heritage. Next stop: Czestochowa.
The sanctuary is full of pilgrims. Inside there are some religious celebrations and it is almost impossible to see the icon close. The visit takes longer than expected so, after, we stop soon for lunch. In the afternoon we go to Auschwitz and visit the various areas of the place. We end the tour around 6pm, so we go to Birkenau to see the entrance, but we find it still open. So we visit also some shacks here.
In the evening we reach Krakow, where we got an apartment in the center. In the evening, we don’t do much: we cross the main square, Rynek Glowny with Kosciol Mariacki and we go to dinner. Then we take some pictures of the enlighted square and the nearby Barbican.
Sunday May 19th, 2013
This afternoon we would like to visit the salt mines of Wieliczka, but checking on the official website it seems there are no more places available. We ask a few agencies that organize trips to the mines, but it is too late for Sunday and Monday we would not have time because of the flight. We decide to give it a try and go by car (about 15km from the center of Krakow). Once at the mines we find that there are still places available and that an English tour will start after 10 minutes. So, happy to have found a place, we visit the mines. The tour lasts about 2.5 hours.
We go back to Krakow and then after lunch, we go to the Jewish quarter, from Rynek Glowny, passing by Kosciol Sw. Apostolow Piotra i Pawla, Kosciol Sw. Andrzeja and see the nearby Wawel Hill.
Then we enter in the Jewish quarter passing by: Synagoga Tempel, Plac Nowy, Wysoka Synagoga and Stara Synagoga. We go back to the center, but this time we go up Wawel. Later we go down on the other side and walk along a tree-lined street and passing by Klasztor Bazylika Franciszkanow Sw Franciszka z Asyzu we go back in the main square. There, we enter the Kosciol Mariacki, go to the Brama Florianska and the Barbican. We go back to the apartment for a break and then out for dinner. After dinner a quick tour for night pictures in the square and Wawel.
Monday May 20th, 2013
Last day of our trip. In the morning we go back to the main square, the Brama Florianska and the Barbican. We go back inside the Kosciol Mariacki. Then we go to visit the Wawel cathedral inside, climb the tower and visit the graves. Time passes quickly, and unfortunately we have to return to the airport, we deliver the car, eat something and get back home.
