Article archive
The Carmelite Church and Queen Jadwiga's Footprint
05/15/2012 09:33
Here’s a strange little story. There’s a Carmelite Church just a few blocks off of the main square on Karmelicka Street. I used to walk by here and would notice a footprint in the stone near the base of the building. As it turns out, it’s not just any footprint. It’s supposedly that of Queen...
Nobel Prize Winners for Literature
05/14/2012 09:28
Poland has a long history of world-class literature, though not as well known in the West. I think a lot of it has to do with the difficulty of the language; it only translates well in the hands of a very experienced professional. Don’t try this at home! Every now and then, though, Poles...
Lovin' the Spuds!
05/13/2012 14:37
Just a quick note to tell you of my love for potato cakes. To tell the truth, I never really appreciated this food when we were kids. Mom always used to make it on Fridays, when she rarely made foods containing meat. I usually wanted something like macaroni and cheese, or pizza, so it...
Learn a Few Words in Polish
05/11/2012 21:22
The Slavic languages belong to those that are really a pain in the butt to learn for native English speakers. I think I once read that they are exceeded in terms of difficulty only by Asian languages like Chinese, Korean, etc. One good thing is that Polish doesn’t use the Cyrillic...
Pigeons on the Main Square
05/11/2012 11:49
Yes, they no doubt poop, stink and beg like pigeons the world over, and you’ll likely have enough of them the first time they dive-bomb your head. You should remember, however, that these pigeons are not ordinary winged hobos. Legend has it that they are knights of old who were turned into birds...
Andrzej Wajda
05/10/2012 08:08
Andrzej Wajda is a Polish film legend. In 2000, he received an Academy Award "in recognition of five decades of extraordinary film direction," and has also received many other accolades, including the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He’s considered Poland’s most famous living...
The Legend of the Krakow Trumpeter
05/09/2012 08:41
While he won’t win any awards for jazz improv, the Kraków Trumpeter will surely become a favorite from the first time you hear him. Every hour, on the hour, since pretty much for as long as people can remember, the Kraków Trumpeter plays a short song, four times, to the north, south, east and...
The Mariacki Church Tower Legend
05/08/2012 09:35
The big church that dominates the Kraków main square is dedicated to St. Mary. It’s called the “Mariacki” (Mar – ee- aht – ski). One of the first things you’ll notice about this building is that its two towers are not quite even in height. The story goes that two brothers built the towers. During...
Smalec
05/07/2012 08:23
You’ve got to respect any recipe that starts out with, “Dice 2-1/4 lbs of white pork fatback (słonina) and render in frying pan until pale golden.” To that, you throw in some salt, bacon bits, onions, garlic, pepper, apple pieces, and maybe a secret ingredient or two in your family’s special...
The Barbakan and the Florian Gate in the Old Town
05/06/2012 10:58
The Barbakan is one of the few parts of the old city fortification system that is still intact. It’s located near the entrance to Florianska St., and in olden times served as a heavily armed deterrence to would-be attackers. Built in the late 1400s, it used to be connected to the Old City wall,...
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