Kraków on the edge of winter

I was in Kraków a couple of days ago on business, only the second time I’ve visited this year. It’s always held a certain attractiveness for me due to the beautiful surrounding countryside and the impression that the mountains are close by. It’s large historical Old Town and busy shopping streets also add character and charm.

No takers at the cafe tables today...

The main market square in Kraków is usually teeming with people and it was much quieter than the last time I was there. A small group of British school children crowded past me on their way to another museum and I heard the teacher mumble something about the cold temperature to a colleague. The kids seemed fine and happy though; content not to be in school no doubt. It’s predictable that all school trips from the UK that visit Poland end up in Kraków – I wonder if these kids know much about the rest of Poland?

The usual melee of tourist buggies were missing and I found them all parked up down one of the side alleys, apparently ready for action. Unfortunately, those tourists I did notice appeared as if they weren’t going to take any guided tours and were scurrying quickly through the market place, pausing briefly for a few snaps of St. Mary’s Basilica.  The tourist guides and buggy drivers seemed to be loitering everywhere, attempting to stuff leaflets offering discounted city tours to anyone that passed by. If I was a local here, this might get infuriating. However, perhaps if I was a local, I wouldn’t be wondering aimlessly around the market square at 1pm on a Thursday.

'Wawel dragons' hanging on a street vendor's cart

All in all, the city felt strangely desolate and seemed to miss the magic which I’d experienced in the past. Too much reliance on tourism means that the city is alive in the summer and winter, but at this time of the year hangs in limbo. The empty restaurant tables and large-scale construction work being carried out on the Sukiennice in the market place only added to the drab atmosphere. The horses and their carriages were lined up with no takers and were clearly fidgety and bored.

Still, in a few weeks time snow will arrive and it will become a pitstop for tourists that come to Poland for skiing. As long as the snow keeps it’s crispness and doesn’t immediately turn into thick slush, the cities charm will return once again.