Krakow [08-06-08]

Woke up early to find the breakfast ready on the common kitchen table. Maardy probably was right, it must have been the work of the leprechaums. I didn't even hear anyone entering the kitchen - or maybe i slept too soundly the night before.

The whole group went for a bike tour in the morning. I would suppose its a BAD idea to have a bike tour consisting of 30 plus people. It was pretty ASTONISHING that a group of us could lose the other half of the group halfway. We waited at this place with lots of chairs facing in one direction 5 metres apart from each other and encountered this shabbily dressed old man demanding money from us. He kept loitering around us touching our things and we were really uncomfortable with his presence. After much waiting, Maarty took us to some places in the Jewish quarters. I have to say that cycling on cobble-stone road was a pretty INTERESTING experience. Well, my butt did suffer.

Where John Paul II meets the Krakowians when he visits Krakow

Castle
The factory of this guy whom helped hide the Jews during the Holocaust

I had McDonald's... YES MCDONALDS for lunch. Ok, i heard it... i should be tasting their local fares instead of eating some junk from a globalised capitalist organisation. But at that time i just want something to eat and it was just there. Call it impulse if you want, and it's interesting to see how McDonald's differs from location to location. I mean its really a good place to see 'glocalisation' at work isn't it?

After lunch, i set off to explore the Jewish Quarters, especially the Jewish cemetery. Ok, i admit i do have a pretty morbid taste but i adore going to cemeteries. I find tombstones really interesting to study and am always intrigued by their architecture and stories behind every nitty details. The Jewish Cemetery was unique, with simple graves with the star of david or the torch at the top of every tombstones.

After the cemetery, its back to civilisation again. In a short note, i visited John Paul II exhibition, Church of St Mary etc etc.



A brass band performance
A streetdancing performance

A banjo performance
Church of St Mary
I really adore Krakow a lot. It's so bustling with activities like musical performances and street dances etc. On hind sight, i really love Central Europe (especially that of Czech Rep and Poland) for they are culturally and musically charged. I think it's really hard for Singapore to arrive at that kind of 'standard' for these things need to evolve naturally and spontaneously. You can't just do artificial planting of such performances on the streets and expect people to appreciate it.

Slept really early due to a careless dose of too much vodka.