A Weekend in Wrocław: National Museum in Wrocław

The last thing I decided to explore was the National Museum in Wrocław, or the Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu. There are several branches of this museum within the city, but the one I decided to visit was the main building. I always have a habit of checking out the primary museum of a city, if it exists, to familiarise myself with the local offerings so to speak, when it comes to art and culture.

A Weekend in Wrocław: The Japanese Garden of Wrocław

I learned that there was a Japanese garden in Wrocław. And because I have a preference for this country and this aesthetic, I decided to visit it on a Sunday morning.

A Weekend in Wrocław: Hala Stulecia

I did some research about Wrocław before heading there. And one of the things I thought was interesting to see was the Hala Stulecia, or the Centennial Hall. This building is located on the eastern side of the city, near its large park area. So I took the tram to get there one afternoon to check out this architectural wonder.

A Weekend in Wrocław: Dwarves and Green Spaces

One thing that I immediately noticed as I was walking around the city of Wrocław was that there were dwarves everywhere. There are these small statues of dwarves, and they can be found all over the city!

A Weekend in Wrocław: Wrocław Cathedral

North of the Market Square of Wrocław is the Wrocław Cathedral. I checked this out, as this is a major Gothic church in the city.

A Weekend in Wrocław: Old Town Wrocław

I had Saturday and Sunday to check out Wrocław. So after breakfast on Saturday, I immediately headed out to the Old Town, to check out this city. Of course, my main focus was Market Square, which is the central plaza of almost every Old Town of Polish cities.

A Weekend in Wrocław

Back in August, I opted to spend a weekend in Wrocław. At that time, I felt that my last holiday was already a while back, while the upcoming holiday was still a few weeks ahead, and I wanted a little escapade in between. So I opted to do a weekend in Wrocław, which was nearby.

Prancing Around in Poland: Food in Kraków

Before I wrap up this travelogue, I want to write about the food we experienced in Kraków. As I already mentioned before, the food scene in Poland was definitely impressive, and Kraków was no exception. I already wrote about our experience dining in a Michelin-starred restaurant, but this post is for the rest of the items that we enjoyed during our stay in the city.

Prancing Around in Poland: Pharmacy Museum of the Jagiellonian University Medical College

One of the last things we saw in Krakow was the Pharmacy Museum in Florianska Street, in the Old Town. This very interesting museum is operated by the Jagiellonian University Medical College, and has plenty of things to discover.

Prancing Around in Poland: Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory

One afternoon, we crossed the Vistula and headed south to check out Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory. It is actually now a branch of the Historical Museum of Krakow, and has a permanent exhibition on Krakow during the War, between 1939 to 1945.

Prancing Around in Poland: The Wieliczka Salt Mine

The goal of our visit to the town of Wieliczka was to visit the salt mine. This salt mine is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and so it definitely is something worth checking out.

Prancing Around in Poland: The Town of Wieliczka

A day after having a splendid meal, we decided to venture out of Kraków and visit the town of Wieliczka. There is a reason why we went here: we wanted to visit the famous salt mines. So we took the bus from Kraków that headed to the town, and found the place to buy a ticket for the salt mines. However, our ticket only allowed us to visit the mines a couple of hours later, so we had some time to burn. We used that to explore the vicinity.

Prancing Around in Poland: Bottiglieria 1881*

Since it has been a while since my husband and I have traveled together, as well as the fact that it was my birthday week, we decided to do something special. We booked a table in Bottiglieria 1881*. This is a Michelin-starred restaurant in Kraków, and the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Poland. The last time I have been to a Michelin-starred restaurant was last July, in Hamburg, when we had dinner in Petit Amour*.

Prancing Around in Poland: St. Mary's Basilica

After spending the morning in the Kazimierz district, we thought that we had enough of seeing Jewish sites for the day, and therefore we headed back to the Old Town. Back in the main square, we checked what our options were, and somehow we ended up visiting the St. Mary's Basilica, a Brick Gothic church adjacent to the main square.

Prancing Around in Poland: Remah Synagogue and Cemetery

There are a few synagogues in the Kazimierz district. So after checking out the Old Synagogue which is now a museum, we decided to visit the Remah Synagogue, which is one of the two still-functioning synagogues in the area.

Prancing Around in Poland: The Old Synagogue

We were concentrating on Jewish sites in Kazimierz that day, so after visiting the Galicia Jewish Museum, we checked out the Old Synagogue. This is the oldest synagogue building that is still standing in Poland. It was built in the 15th century, and while it was devastated during World War II, it was renovated and nowadays functions as a museum.

Prancing Around in Poland: Galicia Jewish Museum

On our next day in Kraków, we decided to concentrate on the Kazimierz area, which is known for its Jewish history. The first place we checked out was the Galicia Jewish Museum.

Prancing Around in Poland: The Jagiellonian Tapestries

As I mentioned earlier, we visited one museum in the Wawel Castle. We opted to check out the tapestries, which turned out to be a very interesting exhibit. Little did I know of this significant collection.

Prancing Around in Poland: Wawel Castle

The Wawel Castle is located south of the main square of Kraków. It is located on a hill, and is definitely a highlight of anyone's visit to the city. It contains several buildings that are built in various styles as they reflect the styles that were common during the time they were built. Nowadays, the various buildings contain several different museums, but because we didn't want to get overwhelmed, we only visited one such museum. This post however would concentrate on the outside views.

Prancing Around in Poland: Views of Kraków

After spending 3 nights in Warsaw, we took the Polish high-speed train and headed to Kraków. We stayed here for 5 nights, and enjoyed the city very much. For this post, I wanted to just show some of the external views I have had of the city.