had a request for a more visual description of Krakow, so here you go:
> Hugs and Kisses - and how about some descriptions of what the
> place looks and feels like?
mm... when i develop my photographs I'll be able to be objective about it.
The main square of Krakow, called Rynek Glowny, is very very nice.
http://info.cyf-kr.edu.pl/kamera/fullsize.jpg is a realtime photo of the
area. Right now they have set up small quaint semi-permanent stalls
selling Christmas trinkets, from mistletoe sprayed gold to small twigs
tied with a red ribbon given to "bad" children, like coal. Also, plenty
of sweet nuts, christmas ornaments , a few South American stalls selling
woven friendship bracelets and clay sculptures of huts. People bustle
about while the cold wind brightens cheeks. Sometimes they have
traditional polish dancing on a stage set up outside, other times they
pump Christmas carols over a loudspeaker. There are a handful of street
musicians singing and playing Goral instruments (from the mountains).
Quite nice, but not many as its pretty cold out. On every street corner
is a "pretzel" stand, selling obwarzanki, as Lonely Planets describes
them "ring-shaped pretzels powdered with poppy seeds." They are quite
nice, and although I haven't managed to find any warm, the cold ones have
a crunchy outside but a very soft inside. Very good, and cost about 80
groszy, which is 20 cents. a novelty of Krakow. Another novelty: Lodz
has "rickshaws" which are double-seats pushed or pulled by a bike, and
you can pay to be taken up or down the main street in Lodz.
People: everyone is friendly and they have wonderful smiles, although it takes some effort to find the smile. They put up a cold front which isn't too hard to break through for me. Being a foreign woman, I am very interesting to the local men, so my time seems to be spent more with men than women, but the women I've met are very interesting, intriguing, and pretty dominant. Some are dominant because of an inward feeling of inequality, others dominate because of their strong character. I like the tradition of holding doors and jackets for women. It is a sign of respect I'm not used to, and my sensibilities work well with that kind of deference and courtship. (of course).
there's your tidbit for the day. :-)
now lets play a game, and you describe a scene you see everyday. If it's
popular, I'll put them up on the website for the list. :-)
-angelica
