Image above: Confetti raining down as fireworks went up in the sky as the clock struck midnight and the whole place erupted. [Thursday 31 December] | [View all photos]
Our second day exploring Krakow during the day before counting down the arrival of 2010 in Rynek Glowny.
A good day always starts with a good breakfast and so we weren’t disappointed by ours at The Metropolitan. And neither by the various sights making up Wawel – perched on the bank of the Vistula River. Both the Renaissance courtyard of the castle and the Gothic cathedral were magnificent and, as tradition dictated, we touched the bell clapper in its Zygmunt Tower for luck in the coming year.
To finish off the afternoon we visited two more impressive religious sites: the cavernous Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was well as landmark St. Mary’s Basilica with it’s renowned wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss.
With all that sightseeing we all took a much-needed nap back at the hotel before dinner. That was sumptuous seafood cuisine at Farina and the then we ventured back out into the cold to join the countdown in Rynek Glowny. It was hilarious as the whole event was in Polish so we were guessing what was happening. At one point everyone just randomly turned to face the back of the square so, clueless, we just copied what everyone else did!
And after a few hours of enjoying Polish music the clock struck midnight and whole square erupted with cheers and hugs and laughter and fireworks as 2010 officially started. A very different way of seeing in the new year and, after getting back in the hotel, we stayed up until 01:00 to celebrate it all over again on UK time!!!
Coming up next … our quiet third day after all the festivities …
- Krakow – Part 1
- Krakow – Part 2
- Krakow – Part 3
- Krakow – Part 4
- Krakow – Part 5
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