Don't shoot

When I returned to Zakopane, Poland this past weekend I took another shot at a photo op with one of the locals. I paid 5 Zloty last time to have my photo with a certain character and opted to do it again this trip for the same amount. The only difference is that he had a wig this trip. There was another photo op with this guy, but the gun was aimed someplace else and I could not post it in case someone got offended.

Krakow at Night.

Here is another try at a 360 degree Panoramic using PT Gui of the Rynek Glowny (Main Square) in Krakow, Poland. The smaller image is on this page, but for the full size image go to Flickr.com. This Panoramic is a compilation of over 30 photos.

Gofry

While in Zakopane, Poland I smelled something that was great. I could not figure out where it was coming from, but I let my nose lead the way. The smell was a Gofry, which in essence is a Belgian waffle with whipped cream and chocolate. You did have your choice of toppings, but I chose chocolate.

Where to sit

I like the way the movie tickets are sold here in Krakow. When you get to the ticket counter you look at a screen and pick where you want to sit and the screen tells you what seat has already been purchased. Below is a photo of the screen that might not be that clear. Red means the seat is taken and blue means it is available. I wish we had this in the states, because if there were not anymore good seats I would either see another movie or go somewhere else.

And another thing, I did not here one cell phone in the theater or anyone talking.

"Apocalypto" in Krakow, Poland

This evening I went to go see a movie here in Krakow, Poland with a few Polish co-workers. The movie was "Apocalypto" and it was in the original Mayan language with Polish sub-titles.

You may be asking how did you know what the movie is about if you didn't understand what you were listening to and were not able to read the sub-titles. Well, the answer to that is pretty simple. You almost did not need any sound (voices) or sub-titles to really know what was going on in the movie.

All in all the movie was pretty good.

Zakopane again.

I returned to Zakopane this past weekend. More shopping than sightseeing as the prices in Zakopane are almost half the price than in Krakow. Most of the items purchased were either wood products or fur.

If you go shopping in Krakow for souvenirs I would suggest going to Zakopane only 2 hours away. You can buy everything offered in Krakow except for amber.

I did do my fair share of sightseeing and took a good number of fotos. They can be found at Flickr.com. Of course, they might not all be there yet as the server connection at the hotel is not the best.

First Class Ticket to Ride

On my most recent and possibly last trip to the great city of Krakow, Poland I was lucky to be able to upgrade to First Class on Delta. I was actually able to get upgraded to First Class on 2 connections.

The first one lasting only 50 minutes from Memphis to Atlanta. Did not really feel like First Class because the flight was shorter than normal that they opted not to serve drinks. I will say that the seats were well worth being up-graded.

The second one lasting almost 9 hours from Atlanta to Milan. The seats reclined all the way and no one sat next to me. The food was great as was being able to choose from over 10 movies instead of getting stuck watching one you have already seen.

The bad part of it all is that when I arrive to Krakow, Poland for the 10th time my bags did not arrive with me. Luckily, I packed some spare clothing in my carry on.

I have been approached to stay an extra week here in the great city of Krakow, Poland. I wonder if I can get lucky and get an up-graded ticket when I change my flight. Wish me luck.

Make your own Panoramic Pictures

While surfing the internet I came across a little program that lets you create your own panoramic photos. I know most cameras have a panoramic option, but they are sometime limited to how much of a panoramic picture you can take. The program is called PT Gui.

I have used PT Gui to try and recreate part of the Rynek Glowny (Market Square) from Krakow, Poland. Below is an image that I tried to put together from the side that has all the construction going on. Since I will be in Krakow this week, I will be trying to snap a good number of photos of the square and create a better panoramic image than this one.

Go to Flickr.com to see a full size image.

Saint Nicolas Day

Here in Krakow, Poland they celebrate St. Nicolas Day and Christmas. Today they celebrated St. Nicolas day. Here I am in a foto with St. Nicolas that was in the square. He was kind of scary, especially when I saw him smoking his cigarette.

Not Rudolf

While walking around the Square in Krakow, Poland you can normally spot someone taking advantage of the large tourist population. Not complaining. I am one that like the tourist opportunities. This one opportunity cost me more than the more traditional foto ops.

This time it cost me about 40 Zloty for an A4 (a little larger than 8.5 x 11) sized photo with Santa and a reindeer. Ten minutes later I had my print. It would have been nice to have a digital version, but unfortunately it was not an option. Bad part is that I did not smile that much as I was freezing.

Poland to Slovakia and back

Saturday morning, Brian and I headed to the mountains in the Poland Slovakia border. The drive down took much longer than expected due to detours and a crafts fair in the city of Nowy Targ. The return only took half the time. We arrived at Szazawnica where we rented some bicycles and road the gravel trail to the Slovakian border. Once we got our passports stamped at the boarder we continued our ride down the gravel road. We road for about 1:30 -2:00 hours of rolling hills following the Dunajec River down the Dunajec Gorge. If we did not have all the detours we would have kept riding to find a new wooden bridge that crosses the river. We headed back as it was getting late and missed the bridge and the monastery located in the park. Once the ride was done we grabbed a bite to eat. I had some frytki, sausage and grilled chicken. (more to follow on the next posting) Below are some photos and more will be posted at Flickr when I return.

In Krakow.

I have officially made it back to Krakow, Poland. It was an interesting flight. I will be sure to post more about it later tonight. Right now I am about to go to the Square to get a bite to eat and shop around.

Festival

When I arrived in Krakow on August 25th, 2006, I was lucky to be greeted by another festival. This festival seemed to resemble the Art and Crafts Festival that is normally held in Memphis, TN. If was very interesting as I have never paid any attention to the one in Memphis. I might have to go at least once.

Swanky Salad

Just to show you how Swanky Pod Roza was the other night. Check out the below salad presentation. The actual bowl is part of a head of lettuce and the lemon vinaigrette was incredible.

Bicycle Mime

I was walking back to the hotel in Krakow off of Grodska Street and saw this mime on a bicycle. This is actually the first time I have ever seen a mime on a bicycle. He only moved if you put money in his little cup. So I put 2 Zloty in the cup and he did a left turn signal in a robot type motion.

Cycling in Krakow

This past Sunday, September 3, instead of going into the office I ventured out with 2 Co-workers Brian and Tracee W. Our original plan was to hop on a few of the hotel scooter for 5 hours at $20 . Unfortunately it had recently rained and we did not feel comfortable riding scooter in Krakow traffic and slick roads. So, Brian suggested we rent some bicycles for a few hours. We spent about 3 hours cruising tthrough Krakow, starting with the Planty and ending mostly on the Wisla River. We did stop at the Someplace Else at the Sheraton for a bite to eat and something to drink.

All in all it was a great day and am glad to have ridden through Krakow with others. Below is a photo of me with the Wisla in the background.

Swanky Urinals

While eating at Pod Roza, I had to take a little bathroom break and noticed the urinals. This is the firt time I have ever seen a urinal with a lid. Very Swanky.

Sunflower Seeds

I love eating sunflower seeds, but have not really been able to find any here in Krakow, Poland until I walked into theStary Kleparz last Saturday, August 26th. Sunflowers seed are actually sold on the flowers themselves and they are huge. One Flower is easily bigger than my head.

Below is a photo to show how big they are and how they are sold.

View from Hotel Stary - Restauracja

Prior to dinner, the training team and I headed to Hotel Stary - Restaurant to have some cocktails. We sat there for one round, but that was not the best part. The best part was actually the view from the roof top restaurant/bar where you had a perfect view of St. Marys Church. The ambiance and view is definitely worth making your way to this hotel.

Polish Sausage

Today, I tried some actually Polish Sausage. My pops has been bugging me to try it. He said,"If you are in Poland, you need to try the Polish Sausage." I did and it did not taste any different than the Sausage in the states. Though it is not really different you should, if ever in Krakow, really try to experience one of the many outdoor grills set up for many of the festivals here in Krakow. The one that I ate at was called the Bayer Grill.