Tag Archives: Old Town

Jul18

Exploring Krakow

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Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday – 23, 24, and 25-June-2024


My time in Krakow was, unfortunately, quite brief. I was here for a specific purpose, to see a specific sight, and unfortunately I simply didn’t have enough days in my adventure to spend extra time here.

Fortunately, I did have some time available for adventures – just one afternoon and two evenings, but fortunately that would turn out to be enough for me to at least get a quick glimpse into the beauty of one of the gems of Poland.

After the train dropped me off at the central gallery, and I’d forged my way through the throngs of tourists to settle into my home for the next few days, I forged outward. Grabbed a quick bite to eat, took a moment to look over the map of the city… and plotted a route to circumnavigate the walls of Old Town. You know, I really am appreciating these cities with their old towns and their walls… really does make for a simple and easy way to do a quick literal loop of the touristy area, you know?

I saw parks, walls, a fire-breathing dragon (the legendary Wawel Dragon), a beautiful castle garden (the Baszta Sandomierska and the Royal Courtyard), and some gorgeously preserved city gates (St. Florian’s Gate and the Barbican Gate). I wandered, noticed the pretzel-bagel hybrids for sale everywhere, and decided to get one on my way out of the city. I enjoyed the sun, and endured the heat. It was, simply, lovely.




As is tradition – I ate food in Krakow. Crazy, right? I know. As I was only in town for two evenings and a single full day, though, my gastonomic adventures were perforce a bit limited… but none-the-less included some of the best meals I’ve had in Europe to date:

  • Fable Cafe – A quick stop for coffee… and, if I’d stayed in town longer, would definitely have been a brunch stop on my adventures.
  • Andrus Maczanka Po Krakowsku – Long name for a simple stop-in restaurant that served pulled pork and nothing else. Simple and efficient enough, though I’ll admit it wasn’t quite up to the standards of American BBQ Pulled Pork.
  • The Miner’s Cafe – Located underground in the Wieliczka salt mines, I had an excellent lunch – ribs, Pierogi, dippin dots, coffee… I mean, you don’t have other options if you’re in the mines, but that wasn’t a bad thing in any way.
  • Pimiento – This is, as of this post, the best meal I’ve had in Europe. An Argentine steakhouse, I can’t overstate how good their empanadas and desserts are. The steak was good enough, though I still prefer my own, but the empanadas… I still salivate just thinking about the amazing flavor of the filling and the light and crispy shells. And their desserts! Simply staggeringly good “cigar”, which was actually milk chocolate coating over vanilla ice cream and crushed hazelnuts. Great wine and liquor pairings alongside… definitely worth the slightly higher than normal, but still less than the States, bill at the end.
Jul6

Exploring Latvia, in the city of Riga

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Monday, 10-June-2024, through Saturday, 15-June-2024


I liked Riga.



It felt a bit smaller than Tallinn, and didn’t have the strongly-defined (and walled off) old town, but the old town was definitely there, and was absolutely lovely to wander around. Whereas Tallinn was built around the walls of the old town, Riga seemed to be built around the river – beautiful parks running along both banks, with amazing sculptures throughout.

Lots of beautiful buildings, and I definitely spent quite a bit of time just wandering and appreciating the architecture that surrounded me. It definitely felt like it was newer than Tallinn’s old town, with buildings that seemed a bit more… sculptural? Maybe? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was definitely a subtly different feel to the city. Neither good nor bad, but definitely interesting.




In all candor, I was also starting to burn out while I was in Riga. This marked my halfway point for the trip – it was my sixth week traveling, and I was starting to feel it. Museums became a bit more monotonous, and I didn’t quite have the endurance to see multiple galleries in a single day. I was still walking a ton (between 5 and 10 miles a day), but I was taking it a bit more slowly… and needing a bit more down time in the hotel in the mornings and evenings.

There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s part of anything – six weeks of vacation and museums and walking can wear on a soul similarly to six weeks of work… it’s a better type of wear, and I’d choose it every day over going back to the chaos of work, but it’s still there.

I took some days lighter than I normally would have. I rested a bit more, watched a bit more cartoons, and finished the book I was reading. I did laundry at a laundromat downtown, and relaxed at a cafe while the machine tumbled. I didn’t take a hard-rest, but I definitely slowed down a bit… I can’t tell you if it would have been better to fully stop, but I can say that slowing down definitely helped quite a bit.



Ohh! One extra fun part!

I found an archery range! By “range” I mean “a few cloths draped between trees, with some targets set up and a very overworked guy trying to keep the kids from shooting each other”. Like… seriously, how was this legal? I had fun plonking a few arrows into a target… but dear god it was concerning being around there.



Now, the part that everyone loves – Food! Where did I eat while adventuring around Latvia?

  • LIDO – A sort of cafeteria-style place, grab your tray and pick your food. Interesting, and I believe it was fairly authentic Latvian fare?
  • Rozengrals Vinarium Civitatis Rigensis – Very fancy spot, in an old wine cellar, with a strong medieval theme. Fun, but… I don’t know. I went on a Tuesday, and I think it’s more of a “go on the weekend” kind of place.
  • Big Bad Bagels – Awesome and simple. The bagels were great.
  • Portofino – Delicious italian spot… though their website was out of date, which meant that the meatballs that I was craving weren’t on the menu. But still, good food!
  • Caffeine – Awesome and simple coffee shop, beautifully welcoming for me to spend some time blogging.
  • This Place Doesn’t Need a Name – Ehh. This was okay. Wouldn’t really recommend, though the decor was really cool.
  • Cherry Fix – I spent an evening purging my system of this dinner, and then three more days recovering. Do not recommend. This’ll get its own blog post soon enough.
Jul4

Old Town days in Tallinn

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Various days, between Friday 07-June-2024 through Sunday, 09-June-2024


Another quick entry, similar to the farmer’s market – While exploring around the Old Town of Tallinn, I happened across the Old Town days festival!

I ended up staying quite a while, each time I came across the event. One time, watching dancers swing and twirl in synchronization. Another, listening to a full ensemble playing Estonian folk music in the rain. A third, walking around and seeing the different sides and colors of what I believe to be May-day-style colorful ribbon braids.




Now, I’d normally include some historic or similar context for these… some kind of information as to what Old Town Days was celebrating, or when the costumes or music were from. In this case, though, I don’t know any of that information. The festival was surprisingly light on information… which is to say, there was literally no explanation or event charter to explain what was happening.

I asked around, of course, chatting with a few other people nearby… but no one could give a certain answer… and those that could (people in costume) either didn’t speak English, or were busy twirling and dancing.

Instead of clouding the event with context and history, then, we simply see it for what it is. Beautiful music, interesting instruments, and beautiful dance. Even without context, it’s pretty amazing.