March 13 Friday: Thank God Rachel kept her head and was able to figure out how to meet me at the central railway station! Rachel had to borrow someone else's phone to get a hold of me! Grr.. I still can't figure out how to make international calls. Anyway, all ended well! It was so great to see her again. She got off the train, walked around trapped in Galeria Krakowska (one of Krakow's two malls), and once we escaped ate lunch at Chimera in old city. Rachel came with me to take my Polish midsemester test with Pani Jagoda. That was pretty hilarious. Pani Jagoda "helped" me along with my test. Whenever I started to make a mistake she would stop me and ask me if thats really what I wanted to do. Anyways, afterwards Rachel and I came back to our room to settle down and allow her to drop of her stuff. We then took a tour of the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz. We saw 3 synagogues, the Jewish cementary, as well as the town center. By the time we returned to our room it was late and we had a chance to take a rest before dinner. Matt joined us at Miod Malina (Honey Rasberry) an Italian/Polish restaurant. I had the most delicious traditonal Polish soup "Zurek Polski" this sour rye soup with white sausage, egg, and served in a bread bowl. Immediately after dinner, we joined our Swattie friends, John, Robert, and Judith (WOAH a real group!) at Alchemia in Kazimierz. Again, a smokey underground bar that was converted from a home and still bears some resemblance to a traditional Polish apartment. We danced for a couple of songs on the "dance floor" aka empty space in the bar. Rachel and I walked home early on since we would have an early morning. But the party continued at Alchemia and then moved on to another club.
March 14 Saturday: Woah! John actually joined Rachel and I for a run this morning. W
e were thinking about running up to the Koschuzko Mount but instead ran around Park Jordana and Polwsie Zwierzynieckie. Breakfast of nutella, bread, and banana! Rachel and I decided what we would do for the day. Collegium Maius (pic. left), Wawel, Czartoryski Museum, hot chocolate, food, pictures! It was a wonderful day in Krakow perfect for touristy things. Bright, warm, and sunny. I hadn't been to the Czartoryski Museum yet so it was an interesting find. Although small houses a decent, varied collection including Leondardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine. Pic below.
At night Rachel and I joined up with the Swatties and John for a cabaret concert in the basement of Café Camelot and left early (eye roll) for some eats upstairs. After wandering around all day we were pretty beat and called it a night early. Hopefully I hadn't been a depressing tour guide for Rachel as Polish history tends to lean towards the macabre. But I hope to see her soon at the end (?) of April. It was a wonderful weekend! Now, back to work.
Below: Rachel at Wawel
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