Gary Kirkpatrick

On our way to downtown Berlin for a few night’s stay we were stopped by the water police: bridgework ahead so we could not proceed. The day before we passed under 58 bridges as we circled through Berlin’s south side, almost scraping the undersides, barely enough height even with our rain hood and bimini down. But today we could not get past even one.

As we were pondering our next step, a call came in. A friend was down in the ER in Krakow. That’s in Poland. As we’d already made our final arrangements for the winter, we rerouted from the bridge work to our winter berth. It took several hours. Fortunately it was a glorious day, yet another in an abnormal and nearly unbroken string since we entered Germany on the Moselle nearly two months ago.

We backed the boat into our space, set the lines and booked a passage to Krakow. By plane including the need to arrive early and transfer flights, bus or train it’s about 8 hours. We chose the bus as it was about 25% of the price of the train and even less compared to flights. We left the next morning and by the next evening we were there. We found our friend in stable condition, alert, communicative and on the road to recovery.

Krakow was the capitol of Poland for 500 years ending in 1596. That’s why we’ve been here twice before, in 1998 https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/czech-epublic-to-poland-798/ and in 2018 https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/category/blog/polandtouristblog/. In 1998 things were grim for the Poles. The economy was barely moving. Pensioners had sunk into deep poverty. They were called the ‘enterprising elderly,’ a term that made things sound unrealistically upbeat, but it was true that some sought to make a few zloty renting a room in their homes to travelers. Others sat or stood outside selling household valuables.

We were among very few from the west to make the journey as tourists. In those days a beer cost $.50 or less. You could not find a place to eat breakfast so we asked our hosts to make us coffee. We bought other items the night before. During lunch and dinner the restaurants were sparingly populated. Often it was only us. Hardly anyone spoke English.

Twenty years later brought a world of difference. A beer cost $3.00. Cafes and bars abounded. Restaurants were everywhere, offering very good local food at bargain prices. The museums were open, the exhibits very professionally assembled with excellent English translations.

Seven years later has brought much up-scaling. Now there are sophisticated restaurants and renovated hotels offering plush accommodations. A beer is $4.50. It’s become harder to find basic Polish food in the restaurants as hamburgers, pizza, kabobs and fancier versions of traditional meals abound. Not to worry too much, as there is still plenty of kielbasa, and pierogies abound in the grocery stores. Pierogies are now come in a large variety of stuffings. Bigos, a stew with sauerkraut and pork, is harder to find. It was on the menu in a tourist zone restaurant for a bit over $10. It was served in a bread bowl. The staff was dressed in folkloric costumes while traditional music played, a bit too loudly perhaps but I was glad to hear it rather than the relentless pop that drifts over much of Europe.

At a rooftop joint we had salmon and turkey. Wine was on the menu as it was in the bigos place. As in Germany it is much more expensive than beer. I have not had to courage to give Polish wine a try. They listed Spanish and Italian wines as well.

Back in ’98 we were one of few people in the country speaking English. In 2018 there was quite a bit more and now everyone working in tourist sites speak English. In addition quite a few know the language elsewhere in town, even in supermarkets. Call emergency and supposedly you can talk to someone in English.

But in the ER and ICU we visited there is a shortage of English speaking staff. Fortunately the medical care our friend is receiving is top notch, to my educated layman’s eye. The monitoring and diagnostic equipment appear up to date. They seem to be following rigorous sanitation protocols.

In our spare time, between moves between hotels and apartments- we could not find one with continuous availability right off the bat- we visited the Krakow History Museum at the Krzysztofory Palace. It overlooks the enormous main plaza with the magnificent Rynek Podziemny, the building sitting atop the must see Rynek Underground museum. The temporary exhibits on the 2nd and 3rd floors offer a view of local and Polish culture. The lecture room is lined with traditional portraits of presumably notable figures. Nearby there are several more modern, and if you will, more creative portraits.

The Poles are enthused of nativity scenes. The exhibit includes a walk-in version, with its stunningly bright color scheme. There are a number of very good architectural drawings on the ground floor.

Next: a visit to a half dozen magnificent churches.