Chopin Krakow

... atop every hill that could possibly support them. And they all had a "Lord of the rings" type of look. Very beautiful. Krakow is a surprisingly well preserved city. It was a fortified city and a small portion of the walls is still standing. Its ...

... his fiancé Justina met us and we wlked around the square and then to Florians Gate. We found a pink piano advertising the Chopin festival for his 200th anniversary. JB had his picture taken doing an Elton John impersonation on it. They then helped us ...

... time!! It has operated as a mine for 700 years but ceased about 3 years ago and just hosts tourists now. I went to a Chopin, their Polish composer, piano concert Thursday night. The pianist played from memory for 2 hours with about 10 min break and came ...

... Shindler-list factory, a new museum recently opened, the salt mine of Wielicka with its deep tunnels, the salt cathedral and its Chopin music and light show, the sad and tragic Auschwitz camp-site where 1,5 million of jews were killed in the gas ...

... cavern from a mezzanine balcony, a mini concert began, in which the lights dimmed and brightened in synchronization with music (Chopin, naturally). It was hypnotizing and quite beautiful. Finally we returned to the surface and were driven back to town ...

... dinner tonight it was everyone for themselves. It was quite funny really because everyone had these grand plans for going out into Krakow having dinner and then drinks but the majority ended up in the hotel restaurant. Maria and I headed to the restaurant ...

... music scene, new money is continuously entering the economy thanks to Poland's addition to the EU, and everyone speaks English. Krakow's main square surrounds the enormous Cloth Hall market building and is crowned by the Town Hall Tower and the ...

... the course material.  My base course was entitled "The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler," and its field study destination was Krakow, Poland.   This year, the field study was simply tacked onto the end of our Easter break, and we all had ...

... 'Kazimierz' district of the city while on our way back to the hostel. Kazimierz is the old Jewish quarter and has housed Krakow's Jewish community for over 500years. The area is no more famous for a thriving café scene but there are still some tourist ...

... to clear my head. We went to a classical concert at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul which was the perfect antidote. Chopin, Mozart, Vivaldi, and the score to Schindlers’ list in the most acoustic pristine church was exactly what I needed. We ...

... from Poland's sad history as we explored the 'Schlinder's Factory Museum', which gave us insite into the Nazi occupation of Krakow, and the famous list that Schlinder wrote which saved hundreds of innocent Jews. So sad, but very interesting. Poland had ...

... look like Germany, others like Austria, some buildings look like they were uprooted in Venice and brought as a gift to Krakow. It's a beautifully constructed place, carefully and thoughtfully preserved or repaired in some cases. However, once I left the ...

... a cross on top and a Mary statue outside but it seemed to have been converted to apartments.  Disappointed, we started back toward Krakow, knowing we had  a very long drive ahead of us.  We passed the time by playing 20 questions, and then ...

... are a number of events that have been planned to ensure that his talent and his music remains accessible to the people of Krakow – his home. 5 replica pianos had been decorated by local artists and stalled at strategic points around town. So in that ...

... Pope Paul once presided. It has a church within a church concept, with very ornate chapels within the main complex. This is where Chopin and the kings are interred. Phots were not permitted but video was. Beware of the hordes of people, mostly school kids ...

... a half hour bus ride. It was extremely cold over there. Our hotel was a 5 minute walk from the main square. I have to say Krakow as a whole was pretty depressing. The town looks very beat up and worn down. The people were not very friendly and didn't even ...