This was the last full day – and therefore the only day for us to explore Kraków. Sadly, it was also raining. Pretty much non-stop the whole day. But, when did that ever stop the Coxons from seeing whatever there is to see?!

The Barbican – gateway to the old town of Kraków. What was striking about this was that it is entirely different in style and architecture from all the other buildings. Nige took this picture – basically just to prove I was there too I think.

We took a walk through the town following a route in the Lonely Planet Guide loaned to us by the Grinsteads. It took us about an hour, however the trail they set was supposed to last from breakfast to lunch. The town of Kraków is lovely – however there is not much more than a day needed to see it really. If we’d had another day, I think I would have taken a train to Warsaw.

The walk through the town took us to the Castle area on Wawel Hill, where we tried to get in to see the Royal Private Apartments. However they only have a specific number of tickets for sale in a day and these were already sold out by the time we got there at about 11am, so we bought tickets for the Royal Chambers (what the difference is between the two sets of rooms I have no idea).

It was an interesting tour. The rooms were full of beautiful furniture, paintings and tapestries from the 16th and 17th Century. The contrast was quite striking between the clear wealth and opulence of the past and the Poland of today. This is the courtyard of the castle – the rain stopped just long enough to take the picture.

The Cathedral was beautiful and tranquil, and the entry costs included climbing the stairs of the bell tower with a wonderful view of the city from the top (so Nigel tells me – there was no way I could look through the windows at the top). A statue of Pope John Paul II overlooks the church.

When we left the castle area, we went to a ‘Milk Bar’ for lunch – this is a throwback to the communist era with self-service and a limited menu of good hearty food. The place was fab – a little haven in the centre of town, where half a litre of beer costs about 1.50, and lunch wasn’t much more.

The town is beautiful, and the buildings striking. Whether going to Poland in early March was a good idea or not I don’t know, but it did mean that (when it wasn’t raining) the air was crisp and the tourists were few and far between. It also means that no one else is in the restaurants, and you can get served quickly in the bar!