I'm finally starting to develop a sense of direction in Krakow, at least near the old town. It helps to do so much walking and exploring on my own during the day, with a decent map in hand. That's what I did most during most of Sunday. I started off catching up on some rest and then called Kat via Skype when I got up. We had a nice long conversation, and it helped some with the homesickness I was feeling the night before.
It was after 10:00 when I left my room and breakfast in the hotel was being cleaned up. That was fine with me, since it's the same thing I'd had every morning for the past week and I had my heart set on visiting the Metropolitan again. I remembered it as having a very good breakfast menu from my last trip so I checked the address on my map and located it without much trouble. I was torn between the English style breakfast and French toast. The French toast won out and it was very good, covered in hot diced apples and maple syrup. I savored every last bite while I looked through my books and thought about what to do with the rest of my day.
I decided on seeing Czartoryski museum, walking through the Jagiellonian University campus, and taking a walk through the Kazimierz district and the new Jewish cemetery. Throughout the day it would rain occasionally, but it was warm enough and I had my rain coat so it never bothered me. My tour of Czartoryski museum was brief. I bought the English language guidebook and went on a speed tour. The main goal was getting to the painting by Leonardo da Vinci that is housed there. The museum itself was interesting and the collection was spread across three buildings connected by bridges. I was pleased to learn that the bridge near the painters corner I liked so much was part of the museum and I got to walk through it. The da Vinci piece, "The Lady with an Ermine" was very impressive up close. It has an amazingly three-dimensional effect with the play of shadow on her face. I spent some time there looking at it. The collection included a sizeable room with Egyptian artifacts, a mummy, and lots of weapons and armor, all stuff I dig. I'd say about half the collection was closed off to the public for one reason or another. Altogether it was an impressive museum.
After the museum I grabbed a snack at one of the kebab stands and started my walk across Jagiellonian University. I could imagine it would have been fun to spend a couple terms there, not sure if I'd have gotten any studying done with so much to see and do though. Artur tells me he studied physics at Jagiellonian. I'm jealous. Apparently the newest looking buildings on campus are actually the oldest, they've just been renovated recently. Fooled me.
From Jagiellonian I walked to Kazimierz and started the walking tour in one of my guide books. I had been to Kazimierz many times at night, because it has become a hot spot for nightclubs and cafes, but never during the day. I saw what there was to see and then moved on to the cemetery, which promised to be inspiring. I wasn't disappointed. I was moved by the stone wall and monuments constructed of recovered tombstone fragments. I probably spent an hour wandering around all the paths running throughout the cemetery. Besides the well-kept and cleared paths the cemetery was choked with massive tombstones, trees, and green growing things. The overall effect was peaceful and conducive to contemplation.
On the way back to old town I decided to stop by the Orange Hostel, since it was on the way. I was hoping that there might be someone at the desk I recognized, but I had no such luck. I just took a quick look in, saw nothing had changed, and went on my way.
I grabbed a chicken burger at Rooster in old town for lunch, and then went home to the hotel for a nap. I caught up on some emails and blogs and then went back out for dinner. I had probably the most unimpressive meal so far at what I thought looked to be a decent restaurant. It turned out to be one of a small chain of Georgian restaurants in old town. At least that's one place I can cross off the list. I thought about grabbing a drink before heading back to the hotel, but thought better of it since my feet were tired again (yes the theme of this trip is "boy my feet are tired") so I went back to the hotel and bed.
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