I was in Poland much of last week—I flew to Kraków Wednesday morning, took a
train to the city of Kielce and a taxi to the nearby village Cedzyna where I
was to spend Thursday and most of Friday taking part in an annual conference
for Polish IP lawyers and academics. On Friday afternoon, I took a train to
Wrocław to spend the weekend with my sister before flying home from there
Sunday night. Thanks mainly to Ryanair, an airline everyone loves to hate, we
have direct connections between Alicante and several Polish cities.
I had a few hours to spend in Kraków, and the weather cooperated, so I walked
around the centre a bit, had a nice lunch at a Georgian restaurant, and visited
the St. Mary’s Basilica on the central square. It is a place which has an
important part in Poland’s history. Kraków was Poland’s original capital city.
In the Middle Ages, southern Poland was subject to frequent raids by the
Tatars. Therefore, there was always a guard on the church tower, to observe the
surroundings and warn the inhabitants in case of danger. According to a legend,
during one such Tatar raid, the watchman was hit with an arrow while he was
playing the usual warning tune. To this day, every day at noon, the tune is
played from the church tower, stopping suddenly at the moment that medieval
watchman was killed. The story is almost certainly not true, but it is known by
every Pole and the simple tune, cut off abruptly, is one of the symbols of
Kraków and it is also played on the radio every day.
With this as the background, I have been to Kraków many times and have walked
around the main square many times, but this was my first visit inside the
Basilica, and the church turned out to be truly magnificent, one of the most
impressive churches I have visited in my life. I also climbed the tower, a bit
disappointing since there is no outdoor viewing platform and you are not
allowed to open the windows (although I did and took a quick photo, pretending
not to understand Polish).
A small gallery of my walk in Kraków and my visit to the Basilica can be seen
here:
https://www.greatpix.eu/Travel/Kraków-September-2026
As always, comments and critique are welcome and appreciated.
Nathan
Nathan Wajsman
photo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.frozenlight.eu
@nwajsman.bsky.social
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