You know they've got all this type of stuff in Australia!

Day 24 - June 17th

We awoke to another brilliant day in Krakow as the sun was shining and the air was heating up rapidly.

After breakfast we took a walk to the local bus stop to get a ride into town. On this occasion there were 8 buses that all went the same way, so Michael wouldn’t panic thinking he got on the wrong one.

Our morning was spent wandering around the amazing Krakow town square (the biggest in Europe) and visiting the local market, churches, laneways etc.

Without going into full detail, last year my wonderfully optimistic brother Mark had basically said that there wasn’t much in Europe that you couldn’t get in Australia.

This comment also triggered in Michaels head as he entered the enormous square, to which he said “I don’t know what Mark was on when he said you could get this in Australia. What a dickhead!”

Krakow Town Square - which can also be found somewhere in Australia. Can it Mark?

Michael and Claire cooling their feet on the steps of the Krakow University building. The oldest in the country.

It was actually quite interesting watching Michael absorb and comment on his surroundings. It wasn’t so much that he was amazed by the history of the place, but how they fabricated such amazing buildings and which continue to stand the test of time today.

He was definitely staggered at the amount bricks that were being used and how small they were compared to what we use in Australia. It was also funny to hear this because Mark had said exactly the same things only 2 years earlier. I guess as they both come form a building background it shouldn’t come as much as a surprise.

Lonely Planet Advert?

After lunch we took a walk up to the Krakow castle, which is apparently one of the 7 Chakra points on the earth and a very spiritual place for Hindus. The Polish were not aware of this until the 1920’s when truckloads of Indians started arriving at the castle and going into prayer in an obscure corner of the castle courtyard, where the Chakra apparently lay under a ruin of a church.

The intrepid travellers making there way into the castle.

Ahhh....the Polish Sun!

The amazing square of the Krakow Castle.
Not far from here is one of the  seven
Chakra's - in the northwest corner to be precise.

Although quite attractive from the outside, the castle interior, furniture and artworks were all a little bit boring so we headed back into town had an ice cream and then made our way back to camp.

The evening was spent cooking up a massive Indian feed and watching the Euro cup game (Dutch vs Portugal). It was an entertaining match, not so much for the game but due to the campground being packed full of Dutch and they all got dressed up to watch the game on the big screen and support their team. They also amused us with their chant that ‘All the Germans are Gay’ to the tune of the White Stripes – Seven Nation Army.

Oh and the night finished with a drunken voice message to Mark in Australia who had just turned 32.