Krakow: The Pigeons of Market Square

Long ago Poland was divided into many lands, cities, and towns.  Henry IV, a Polish Prince residing in Krakow, decided to try and become the king of all of the Polish lands, but he needed gold to help him travel to Rome and meet with the Pope. And so, the Prince contacted a witch, who bargained that she would loan him gold to help him arrive in Rome and to meet with the Pope, but he would have to return a King.  The witch also turned the Prince's knights into pigeons, so they could not escort him on his long journey.  The Prince agreed and left Krakow, leaving his knights-pigeons behind. However, the Krakow Prince never arrived  in Rome as he spent all of his gold in various cities and towns building alliances. The Prince never returned to Krakow and could not meet the bargain with the witch. And so, the Prince's pigeon knights are still waiting for their king on the Main Square...

Krakow: Studio Quilinare

Alan and I love taking recommendations from locals on places to see and eat when we travel.  The girl who manages the apartments we are staying in recommended a brand new restaurant in the Jewish Quarter - Studio Quilinare.  As soon as we entered the garden (terrace/patio) we knew we would love this place.  We had the sweetest waitress, who barely spoke English and as we learned later was starting her 2nd day of work as a waitress.  After we finished a wonderful bottle of Rose we thought we told her that the wine was great, but she heard we want another bottle, so we got another bottle of Rose.  Although she was a brand new waitress, no one had bothered to show her how to open a bottle of wine, so she accidentally pushed the cork into the bottle, instead of out.  The restauranteur of the restaurant immediately rushed to apologize to us - fortunately for the young waitress, it was Alan and I who were her first American customers.  It turned out that we were the first American/foreign customers at the restaurant. Alan and I gave the restauranteur a crisp $1 bill since it's an American tradition to frame the earned dollar.  The restauranteur was so gracious that she gave us an alcohol infused dessert for free.  By the time we left dinner, we had consumed 2 bottles of Rose and 2 alcoholic desserts. Here are some pictures of the entrance and garden, and the aftermath of the restauranteur's generosity...

Krakow: Coffee and a Sundae, on a Thursday

Auschwitz-Berkinau

One of the most humbling experiences of my life. To think millions of people (Jews, Pols, Soviets, Gypsies, and many others) were killed here - only 60 years ago. It only took a matter of 4 years for the SS to create an industry to transport, execute, and recycle millions of people.