The Bonerowski Palace

On and Off the Road in Krakow

by Roadquill

"Reflections on Krakow"

On every hour the solo trumpet's lonely melody floated down upon the old town square from the church tower. On Sunday morning my expresso has not kicked in and most of those hurrying every which way on the square seem oblivious to the song. Probably the same way I was when I arrived and was taken by the pulse of the City. But now the melody has taken hold and I savor it and my last cup of coffee as I sit in front of the Palac Bonerowski, my home for the past three days.

"It's Too Easy to Stay Until Dawn"

With dawn being at 4:30 it was easy to stay up and watch the sunrise over the market square. Several members left over from the VT Saturday night dinner assembled in the square for a dawn picture. Several of us were joined by the remnants of a hen party complete with devil horns.

Krakow Tourist Card

by Skeptic-jr

Buying it entitles you to use public transport in city free of charge and free entrance for many museums. There are also some discounts for local trips, hotels, shops, restaurants etc.

More thoroughly information is covered in the information brochure, added to the card.

Card's Valid: two or three days.
Price: 45 zloties for two days card (~10 euro)
65 PLN for three days card.

The Card is the size of a credit card and it is made of plastic.It is in your name and cannot be transferred to someone else.

The information about services with Krakow Tourist Card is available in English, German, French and Polish language in the information brochure. You can buy it in Tourist Information Centers, Travel Agencies, Public City Transport (MPK) ticket sales points and selected hotels.

Full list (in English) is avaiable here

http://www.krakow.pl/en/turystyka/karta/?id=punkty.html

Pronouncing Polish words and names

by mikelisaanna

Polish is one of the harder European languages for English speakers to pronounce because many letters are pronounced very differently in Polish than they are in English. Also, adding a symbol to a letter often completely changes its pronounciation. For example, w is prounced as v in Polish, while j is pronounced as y, e with a curl under it is pronounced as "en", and l with a line through it is pronounced as a w. As a result, the city Lodz is pronounced "Woodj" and Czestochowa is pronounced "Chenstohova". The other thing that mystifies English speakers is the combination Szcz, which is pronounced something like "sh". We definitely recommend that you do a little studying of the alphabet and its pronounciations before going to Poland.

No folk band without an accordion

by matcrazy1

Accordion is a basic musical instrument of Krakow's folk bands. Btw I have never seen any accordion played with rock bands :-)).
Instead of Poland and Krakow it's quite popular in France as well, as I remember.

What's that? A box-shaped musical instrument, held in the hands. It consists of a folded central part with a keyboard (too many keys there as for me :-) at each end. It's played by pushing the two ends towards each other. Easy?


The instrument was developed in England in 1828, patented in Vienna, Austria in 1829.
More on history of accordion: click here

Auschwitz

by antistar

Harrowing as it may be, a trip to Auschwitz is almost reason enough alone to visit Krakow. The entire complex, about 50km from Krakow, has been preserved as a museum to honour those who died in the Holocaust. It's estimated that 1.1 million, mostly Jewish people, died at Auschwitz alone. It's a figure that most humans can't contemplate, and can overwhelm many visitors when the reality faces them so abruptly.

The complex is divided into two key areas. The first is Auschwitz I where the inmates were kept in horrific conditions. The barracks that housed them now present haunting exhibits that paint a clear picture of life in this, the most infamous of concentration camps. From the ordinary, the mountain of shoes and spectacles, to the horrific experiments of Dr. Mengele, you won't easily forget what you see. There are also exhibits on each country's response to the Holocaust, from the bravery of the Poles and Dutch, to the less than heroic efforts of my present home country.

The second area is Auschwitz II (Birkenau). This is the death camp where the over a million people were murdered in only a matter of years. A visit here may prove to much for some people after witnessing the horrors of just those who lived in Auschwitz. You'll need to steel yourself before you get on the bus to the Birkenau.

Transport to Auschwitz is relatively easy. There are regular buses from the bus station next to the main train station. The buses take about 2 hours. You can find out which bus is going to Oświęcim (Auschwitz in Polish) on the big timetables inside the station. Just find the bus number in the park outside, and get onboard. You pay the bus driver. There's a timetable for return buses where you get off at the museum.

Buses between Auschwitz I and II run from just outside the main entrance.