CROSSING FRONTIERS

Been back in Plzen for a couple of days now and high time I finished off the blog.

Sunday, as all the other days, was hot and sunny. I seem to be collecting 'Lovelock' pictures where ever I go and Krakow was no exception. Local authorities in many cities must, to say the least, be getting just a bit fed up with this craze of attaching padlocks and throwing keys in rivers.
Here's a link to the story of this craze.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/23/italy-bridges-locks-of-love

A waste of good ironmongery, as a friend commented.

The room at Hostel Atlantis. 5 euro a night.

So the 650km trip home went well, if not rather long. On the way out of Poland, into the CZ Rep, I passed through the town of Cieszyn. The bus from Krakow dropped me right beside the sad looking railway station of Cieszyn. A bus is really the only option for this part of the trip which I am sure this picture might help to explain.

Still used, but by very few trains. 

A walk that I have done several times in the distant past, takes me from the Polish part of town, to the Czech side where a much better rail service awaits. Yes, that's right, this town was involved in another of those diplomatic wrangles that led to it being split between two states after WW1. The Czech side is called Cesky Tesin but in the carve up I think the Poles got the better part. 

Cieszyn. Cesky Tesin - turn left at the bottom.

The now defunct border crossing. The last time I had to show my passport.  

Now to finish I will attempt to upload a video of the fountains in Wroclav. D

Youtube seems to have some pretty sophisticated listening software. They have somehow deduced that the somewhat distorted music used by the fountains is EMI copyright. Anyone know where this music comes from? It sounds like a sound track.

IT'S SATURDAY IN KRAKOW

The thundering streams of traffic are decidedly reduced on the weekend, only to be replaced by the clattering and nattering of thousands of tourists. Saw some massive tour groups today which made me think it was Prague. But I suppose its like this in hundreds of other favourite destinations nowadays. Maybe its all those pensioners with time on their hands swelling the numbers!

So today I spent some time up town again and explored the old Jewish area near here a bit further. The leafy streets and the small green squares, with shady cafes, make it a pleasant place to be in. Krakow is a great place to hang around in, as I have discovered, and a Brazilian guy who's been here for a couple of weeks now - quite unintentionally of course. I only intended a couple of days but its now going to be four. The weather has been as perfect as it can possibly be which makes me wonder if I will end up extending it a little more?

Today's pictures

Wawel castle in the morning 

within Wawel castle where most of Poland's past rulers are buried

its the weather that makes it look so good 

amber is still king in this part of the world 

The Cloth Hall in the square

Another one of those bridges over the Vistula River 

The bridge in the sunset

A huge helium ball lifts tourists to the moon. (It's just left and below the balloon)

They have some interesting fountains in the square. 

A fire act in the evening on the square

Its time to turn in now. There are seven of us in the room and it looks like they are ready for sleep too. D

KRAKOW. DAY 2

Life began with a bowl of cornflakes. Not exciting, I know, but its all part of the daily drudgery of living. Anyway, after that revitalizing breakfast I headed off for the D.E.F factory where Oscar Schindler employed so many Jews, and saved their lives too. On the way there you pass through the old Jewish quarter of Krakow where there is of course a graveyard and the oldest synagogue in Poland.

A large tour group blocks the proceedings very successfully.

The oldest synagogue

If you read the Ireland blog about the Guinness brewery in Dublin, exactly the same thing happened at the D.E.F. enamel factory. My instinct told me that this was going to be a waste of time and money to go in, but I still went ahead and visited this lavish museum.

Unfortunately it looks like a brand new building now that can be found in  any  business  park.

This shot from the movie shows the sign, which is what I would have expected 

Inside the building it consisted of a warren of corridors on several floors crammed with photographs and a few relics, and the customary multimedia devices. I think a book would have done just as well. What I dont understand is why they haven't reconstructed a production hall, there was, after all, enough machinery  in the movie to do it. Totally unrealistic and a waste of money by me and the company that set it all up.

But I think I did spot the stairway that featured in the movie and truck load of steel pots, which were about the only real things I saw.

Suitably rusty!

To change the subject, I saw a couple of local  lads in my wanderings. The first one is no longer of this earth, but his soul lingers on, for some anyway.

A Krakow lad

He doesn't look very Polish. From Mauritius, with his Polish wife. A cheeky  cheerful  chappy by the name of Nick.

After some lunch and a power nap, I felt ready to head up to the old town centre. I'll be back there for certain but I thought a good taster would be the well known medieval market hall in the centre of the square.

Not a good place to actually buy anything

And then the buskers

Elvis all strung up and even Tina Turner is there on the right

Pogo man

KRAKOW, AT LAST

The train to Krakow must have been the slowest thing on wheels. Even if it had kept up an even slightly respectable speed, at least an hour could have been knocked off the journey. Anyway, what does it matter, I have time. The scenery across Lower Silesia is not particularly hilly, only interrupted by vast fields and then forests, and a couple of coal pits. Seemed to sleep a lot.

But first, last night in Wroclav. One place I was advised to see is only about 15min walk from the Dizzy Daisy hostel. Firstly there is the zoo which was of course closed when I passed. But the park further on is where the The Centennial Hall can be found. It was one of the first buildings using reinforced concrete, and built in 1913. Hard to believe.

The Centennial Hall

This example of how concrete can be used artistically is a UNESCO site. Meanwhile, behind this building are the fountains which do a display to music every night. The rather grandly named, Pergola Multimedia Fountain, is a sight not to be missed. Not being a great fan of such things, I was pretty impressed and came away feeling it was a night well spent, and had a pizza to celebrate.

Pergola Multimedia Fountain

Just a couple more pictures from last evening. Walking to the park you have to cross an unusual stylish bridge.  This type of bridge no doubt has a name but what does it matter when its such a pleasing design.

and not a padlock in sight

framework in the sunset

So thats it really, except I am now in Krakow which looks like being just as interesting as it was in around 1997. I have one or two things on my list. Apart from the grand historic town, I'd like to see dear old Oscar's factory which I am told isn't far away. I am sure you don't know what I'm talking about, do you?

Just to finish off, here are 3 shots of my neighborhood. The first is the Atlantis hostel (excellent) and then the street and tramway passing. There is some character about this place. Going home on Monday now, instead of Saturday. Can't summon up the courage to look at the weather forecast so fingers crossed it remains sunny and warm.

Atlantis hostel

from smoker's balcony

DOWN BY THE RIVER

Had a better look around Wroclav today. The river Odra splits into several channels near the old centre of the town which creates a rather nice waterworld. Its here that the cathedral can be found.

no sandbags now

river locks of a kind

Apart from the various religious establishments abounding on this island area, there is another one of those metal structures, this time a bridge, which is used by lovers declaring their eternal love. The padlocks are numerous and if it continues like this the structural engineers might have to be called in. I dont remember where this phenomena began, perhaps Paris? Anyone know?
However, a much more picturesque view is of a disused lock connecting different parts of the river.

A lock of another kind

Before getting to the historic centre, I came across a fantastic indoor market. Not a huge one, but still interesting enough to keep me occupied for half an hour. The Poles seem to like their flowers.

And then a to give the bigger picture. BTW. excellent cheap no nonsense food in a small cafe here.

And finally, another one of those churches appears in the high windows of the market.

I naturally gravitated back to the old town square, or squares, because there isn't just one clearly defined. Maybe it was once one very large square until they found it necessary to expand the town inwards.

My favourite roof in the square.

A very typical student dormitory. Of course its perfect for this summer use. Rooms are small and there are many, so I have a room to myself for the 2 nights here. It doesn't cost an arm and a leg either.

AN EARLY START

Got up at the unearthly hour of 3.15 this morning. It appeared to be the only way of getting to Wroclaw at a reasonable time. However, the eight hour train trip gave me lots of time to catch some sleep. The trip went perfectly as planned with 4 changes of trains, the last being the picture above. It doesn't do it justice; it was far more decrepit than it looks. Seems Poland hasn't invested much in it's railways.
The hostel is in fact a student dormitory for the 100,000 who attend the universities here during term time.
Going to keep it short because the lack of real sleep is catching up fast. Had a look at the historic town centre which is looking far better now as looked in 1997.

The river Oder runs through Wroclav

 As you can see, the huge town square is quite a sight. Unfortunately, apart from the river walks, this is about all worth seeing. There is just one other thing I was advised to see but that will have to wait till tomorrow evening.  D

TIME TO TRAVEL

Although a Barcelona trip is fairly imminent, its always time to travel, with time on my hands.  Heading for Wroclaw very early tomorrow morning and a train should get me there by 12.30. The last time I was in Wroclaw, many years ago, many hundreds of people were standing on the river bank and bridges watching the waters rise, waiting for the deluge to swamp the city centre. Hopefully my feet will remain dry this time. 

Sandbags at the doors of the cathedral 1997. My photo

It seems that Poland's economy, a bit of a rarity in Europe, is booming at the moment so it might be interesting to see one country where people are actually excited about the future. Is it my imagination, or are those countries not using the Euro faring better than those that are involved in a currency that is fraught with problems?