Winter weather at last.
/2014-12-27/ Yesterday, on the second day of
Christmas in Krakow, fine winter weather
has finally arrived to the city. And it is to stay for a couple of
weeks or longer. Mostly sunny, some snow, somewhat below freezing
point daytime and above minus ten Celsius at night - forecasters.
Mark
Krakow museums at the festive season.
/2014-12-16/ Museums in Krakow
mostly close for Christmas (i.e. December 24th, 25th, and 26th), New
Year day, and January 6th (Epiphany), notably all branches of the
National Museum in Krakow which also keeps shorter hours on December
31st, namely 10 am to 1 pm. The Wawel Royal Castle,
Schindler's
Factory, Old Synagogue, and
Ethnography Museum open on December 26th.
Barbara
2015 NY Eve on Krakow central square.
/2014-12-05/ Again New Year's Eve's open-air party on Rynek
Glowny central square of Krakow, Poland's biggest, hijacked again by
TVN television network. Rock concert will feature
some
Poland's top acts - Agnieszka Chylinska, Maciej Malenczuk, Kayah,
Zakopower, IRA, Wilki, Feel, Grzegorz Hyzy, Red Lips. and Future
Folk. The start planed for 7 pm with live transmission beginning an
hour later.
Kasia
Krakow mayor holds on.
/2014-12-01/ Composition of the local
government in Krakow has changed just a bit in the aftermath of
this year's elections. Yesterday, in Sunday run-off, the incumbent
mayor Jacek Majchrowski has secured his fourth term in office. The
centrists of PO party have lost the majority in the 43-member City
Council and won 18 seats (compared to 23 in the previous vote in
2010) while their rivals of the rightist PiS party hold the
plurality of 19. The mayoral faction run again on an independent
ticket and lost one seat but its six councilors are set to tip the
balance under the circumstances.
Thoma
New Year @ Krakow.
/2014-11-28/ Want to meet the approaching
New Year in Krakow? Better hurry to book
your favorite place. New Year's Eve's parties at the most popular
Krakow clubs are already sold out, or
they say so at least.
Mark
Christmas market 2x.
/2014-11-17/ This year the main
Christmas market of Krakow, the
one on Rynek Glowny central square, starts November 28th and will
last to December 26th, possibly longer. Its younger and smaller
rival called Advent Market opens on November 30th to close on
January 6th, 2015 and it takes place on the square in front of
Galeria Krakowska shopping mall next to
Krakow Glowny central train station.
Kasia
The Nativity extreme.
/2014-11-15/ Like it or not, street
art in Krakow is on the rise, notably in the downtown districts
of Kazimierz and historic Podgorze.
Barbara
2015 Tour de Pologne race
bound for
Krakow.
/2014-11-08/ Next year's Tour de Pologne bicycle race,
Poland's equivalent of Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, will
traditionally finish in Krakow on August 8th, 2015. The 7-stages
road race will start in Warsaw September 2nd.
Thoma
Krakow is the best - the people vote.
/2014-11-03/ Brits have just voted Krakow the best
destination for a weekend break. Last month the UK's consumer
magazine "Which?" with over million subscribers surveyed its readers
and the majority have pointed to Krakow as their favorite city break
outside Britain. Krakow has outstripped Munich, Barcelona, Paris and
the rest.
Mark
Poland vs. Russia in Krakow: Fed Cup.
/2014-10-21/ Fed Cup first round tie of women tennis teams
Poland vs. Russia will take place in Krakow Arena on February 7th
and February 8, 2015. Poland's star player Agnieszka Radwanska and a
native of Krakow is a pillar of her national team. But her Russian
opposite number Maria Sharapova seems rather unlikely to appear on
the court in the Krakow Arena next February as she very seldom plays
for Russia.
Thoma
Thick ICE.
/2014-10-16/ ICE Krakow
Congress Center has officially open. Renting it for a one-day
event costs 70,000 PLN (Polish zloty), an equivalent of about 16,700
euro.
Kasia
All Souls Jazz Festival.
/2014-10-10/ 59th Zaduszki or All
Souls Jazz Festival takes place October 30th to November 9th,
2014 although one additional concert is scheduled on October 19th
and features trio of USA’s jazzmen - trumpeter, keyboardist, and
vocalist Nicholas Payton plus bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Joe
Dyson .
Barbara
Trains to KRK airport: back in autumn 2015.
/2014-10-01/ Some news about the renewal of the train service
to the Krakow Airport. The line will
reopen in September 2015, fingers crossed, after a thorough
rebuilding. They promise a faster, more dependable service and the
station close to the airport terminal.
Mark
2015 ice hockey world championship in Krakow.
/2014-09-20/ Krakow will host next year's ice hockey World
Championship Division I A. Six teams - Italy, Hungary, Kazakhstan,
Japan, Ukraine, and Poland - will compete in Krakow Arena April 18th
to April 24th, 2015. The championship tournament was transferred to
Krakow from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Thoma
Krakow autumn jazz fest.
/2014-09-15/ Krakow Jazz Autumn
Festival starts with a free concert on Plac Nowy square
September 28th. Its program consists of sixteen concerts, most of
them in November, usually featuring known Western European jazzmen
playing free jazz.
Kasia
The Nativity extreme.
/2014-09-01/ Giant szopka traditional
Krakow Nativity scene is displayed at the cloister of the
Franciscan monastery, Plac Wszystkich Swietych square at
Franciszkanska street, free admission. It's an ultimate specimen
indeed: even bigger than usual and showing more Krakow landmarks
than usual.
Barbara
Sausage dogs march on.
/2014-08-16/ Dachshunds aka sausage dogs parade is scheduled
for Sunday, September 7th. At noon it is to leave the Barbacan
(barbican) and proceed down Florianska street to its culmination on
Rynek Glowny central square.
Thoma
Village visiting.
/2014-08-12/ Folk Art Fair starts on Rynek Glowny,
Krakow's
central square, on Wednesday August 13th to last through August
24th. Stalls selling the Polish traditional village crafts and
craftsmen presenting their skills plus occasional gigs of amateur
ensembles performing traditional tunes.
Kasia
National Museum at Kanonicza out of reach for now.
/2014-08-07/ Permanent exhibitions of the Bishop Erazm Ciolek
Palace museum (Palac Biskupa Erazma Ciolka) at 17 Kanonicza street,
a branch of the National Museum in Krakow,
will stay closed till the end of next February. Visitors may see
free of charge a temporary show in the same building called "Krakow
within your reach. Architectural sculpture in the collection of the
National Museum in Krakow", open everyday except Monday from 10 am
to 4 pm.
Mark
New philharmonic season.
/2014-08-02/ New season of the Krakow Philharmonic begins
Saturday, September 27th with a concert featuring music by
Tchaikovsky and Szymanowski.
Barbara
Stained glass for individuals.
/2014-07-28/ Krakow's
Stained Glass
Museum opens up to individual visitors. English tours start on
Thursdays and Fridays half past noon and on Saturdays at noon, 2 pm
and 4 pm. Though Saturdays aren't good if you want to get a glimpse
of stained-glass window making in progress.
Kasia
WSJ: the world's prettiest lake is near Krakow.
/2014-07-19/ The Wall Street Journal has featured five most
beautiful lakes of the world and Morskie Oko in the
Tatry Mountains, two hours' drive south of
Krakow, is among them. Actually, it comes at the top. How nice we
aren't alone in our fondness for Morskie Oko. Other four top
freshwater beauties of the WSJ ranking are USA's
Lake
Powell, Kenya's Nakuru, Switzerland's Lake Lucerne, and Finland's
Saimaa.
Thoma
Festival Music in
Old Krakow, August.
/2014-07-14/ Concerts of classical music, usually in various
historic buildings of Krakow, will take every night throughout the
second half of August. Classy European and Polish soloists and
ensembles performing most likeable works by top composers of the
past.
Barbara
Contemporary music feast in mid-September.
/2014-07-05/ Sacrum Profanum Krakow
Festival of contemporary classical music takes up the third week
of September, namely September 14th to September 20th. This year's
festival lineup includes USA's Kronos Quarterly in the first place.
The famous string quartet promised to play at three concerts in
Krakow.
Kasia
Krakow Summer Jazz Festival in July.
/2014-07-04/ Summer Jazz Festival in
Krakow takes place from July 6th through August 1, 2014 with daily
concerts in Pod Baranami club, 27 Rynek Glowny central square at
at 9 pm and occasionally elsewhere. As many as 16 jazz
concerts are planed for "Jazz Night", July 12th. Other highlights
include New Orleans' Sunday, July 6th with a traditional jazz parade
and an open-air concert on Rynek Glowny central square.
Mark
Festival of Polish classical music on July weekends.
/2014-06-24/ 10th Festival of Polish
Music in Krakow takes place on three consecutive weekends July
4th through July 20th with concerts every night on Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday. The festival features mostly Poland's classical music of
the 20th century.
Barbara
Handy e-guide to 2014 Krakow.
/2014-06-20/ Cut-price
ebook guide to
Krakow, The Best of Krakow 2014, is available through Amazon.com
Kasia
Midsummer one-night music festival.
/2014-06-14/ This year Krakow's traditional Wianki midsummer
festival takes place on Saturday, June 21st. Apart from the usual
festivities on the Wisla river bank opposite the Wawel Royal Castle,
there are planned open-air concerts on Rynek Glowny central square
and Plac Szczepanski square.
Barbara
Games in Krakow? Forget.
/2014-05-26/ Winter Olympics in
2022 not in Krakow. The locals voted 70 percent against in the
referendum May 25th, the turnout was just 36 percent. City
government has abandoned the project in the aftermath.
Thoma
Krakow Film Festival.
/2014-05-23/ This year's Krakow Film Festival is the 54th in
a row. Expect 230 movies, mostly documentaries, to be screened from
May 25th to June 1st. In that number 98 films compete in four
categories: best documentary, best short feature film, best Polish
movie, and lastly the cinematic music. The main festival venue is
Kijow.Centrum cinema at 34 Krasinskiego avenue.
Barbara
Stars to appear in the Fall.
/2014-05-21/ To date two international stars have confirmed
their concerts at Krakow Arena. Smooth jazz singer Michael Buble
will perform on Tuesday, November 4 followed by rocker Bryan Adams
on December 16th. Cheapest tickets cost 225 PLN and 169 PLN
respectively.
Kasia
Student revelries this week.
/2014-05-12/ Wild and colorful traditional student pageant,
Juwenalia, takes place on Krakow's Rynek Glowny central square this
Friday, May 16th.
Barbara
Museum Night, May 17th.
/2014-05-09/ This year the Museum Night takes place on Saturday, May
17th. Expect museum exhibitions in Krakow to stay open late, busier
than usual courtesy of free admission as well as special attractions
here and there.
Muse Goer
Smooth driving to Prague, soon.
/2014-05-08/ Polish government says motorway A1 linking
Krakow with the Czech Republic is finished and its last part will be
opened just in a few days. Thus driving from Prague to Krakow will
take under four hours soon.
Kasia
Wisla Krakow is the champion.
/2014-04-28/ Krakow's women's basketball team,
Wisla Can-Pack, has secured Poland's 2014
championship. It's the 23rd such title the Wisla basketball players
have won to date.
Thoma
Readying for Saint John Paul.
/2014-04-23/ Canonization of John Paul II will take place in
Rome this Sunday, April 27th but Krakow will also celebrate. In
Krakow the main venues for ceremonies are the
Sanctuary of Divine Mercy and the adjacent
John Paul II Sanctuary.
Barbara
Worse than Bangkok
/2014-04-16/ Past two years a business has been developed
where students offer cards in Florianska street and on the Rynek to
visit a strip club or bunga club as they call it. This business has
increased over time and is now out of proportion and in my opinion
destructive for the image of Krakau. One cannot walk on the Rynek
without being approached by at least 10 - 15 people that offer their
service. I visited the centre with some business associates and they
found it is worse than Bangkok. In my opinion not a good commercial
for the city.
DJ
Go-go broke.
/2014-04-15/ Police raided Krakow's biggest go-go club, newly
opened at the heart of the city's Old Town
historic center, after a number of customers had complained they had
paid huge sums for drinks they hadn't remember ordering. One of them
spent an equivalent of about 250,000 euro in one night by courtesy
of a corporate card without a spending limit.
Mark
Easter Monday openings.
/2014-04-11/ All branches of the National
Museum in Krakow will open on Easter Monday this year, from 10
am to 2 pm. Some other Krakow museums will be also open on that
day, notably Schindler's Factory and
Rynek Underground.
Muse Goer
Foodie get-together.
/2014-04-04/ Food festival Najedzeni Fest, most cherished by local
foodies, takes place this Sunday, April 6th from 11 am to 6
pm. The venue is defunct Hotel Forum at 28 Konopnicka
street, on Wisla riverbank. This year's motto is Slow Food.
The organizers have marshaled some 90 participants, from
maverick restaurateurs to inventive cooks to niche food
producers.
Yors Tastycles
Krakow Easter
market.
/2014-03-29/ Easter market takes place on Rynek Glowny
central square from April 11th to April 21st. Starts with a food
festival featuring traditional village cooking of the Krakow region,
April 11th through April 13th.
Kasia
Krakow Olympics: locals to vote soon.
/2014-03-26/ Municipal government, i.e. mayor as well as the
city council (namely the majority),
want the 2022 Winter Games in
Krakow but now they also want
local citizens to vote in a referendum on the
subject. The plebiscite will probably take place May 25th, 2014
together with elections for European Parliament.
Thoma
Pope John Paul II museum opens soon.
/2014-03-18/ John Paul II Museum in
Wadowice, the saintly Pope birthplace, reopens after major
refurbishment and enlargement on April 9th, 2014. It's situated next
to the church of the town's central square.
Barbara
Bus station in turmoil.
/2014-03-12/ Renovation of the upper platform of Krakow's RDA
central bus station has started to last till mid June at least. The
lower platforms works as usual but anyway many buses leave from and
arrive at makeshift stops situated on a nearby street. Expect
confusion for a time being.
Kasia
Pope Francis to visit Krakow in July 2016.
/2014-03-08/ The 2016
World Youth Day in Krakow will take place from July 26th to July
31st. Pope Francis will arrive to Poland on the first day of the
young Catholics festival and will stay in Krakow throughout its
length.
Mark
Krakow marathon.
/2014-03-05/ Cracovia Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, May
18th. Both its start and finish will be on the
Krakow central square, Rynek Glowny.
Barbara
No trains to Zakopane for now.
/2014-03-03/ Trains to Zakopane
have been cancelled to June 18 or maybe longer due to a replacement
of a fragment of the railway tracks. Fortunately there are frequent
buses from Krakow.
Mark
Golden opportunity.
/2014-02-27/ Jewelry and Minerals Exchange, a trade fair,
takes place in Krakow on weekend March 8th and March 9th. Jewelry,
gems, and collector minerals will be on display and on sale at the
University of Economy's sports hall, 27 Rakowicka street, from 10 am
to 6 pm.
Kasia
Krakow airport. Take your time.
/2014-02-22/ Expansion and modernization of the
Krakow airport is under way so till mid
2015, hopefully, it'll more than double its capacity - from 3.8
million to eight million passengers a year. In the meantime a
traveler should expect jams and long queuing, notably at peak hours
between 9 am and noon, and on Fridays and weekends. The airport
management advises passengers to check in two hours prior to
departure time.
Mark
Jewish Festival program expected in March.
/2014-02-20/ This year's 24th Jewish
Culture Festival in Krakow starts on Friday, June 27th and lasts
through Sunday, July 6th. Its program should be published before the
end of March, no doubt jam-packed with events as usual.
Barbara
Long live feasting!
/2014-02-18/ Wierzynek is arguably the best known
restaurant in Krakow. This year
it celebrates the 650th anniversary of the famous Wierzynek
feast thrown by the city council for European monarchs who
arrive to Krakow for a summit.
Yors Tastycles
Krakow Olympic hopes.
/2014-02-12/ Watching Sochi? Be ready for
Krakow Winter Olympics in 2022 .
Mark
Get 2014 Krakow guide online.
/2014-02-11/ Up-to-date
2014 ebook
guide to
Krakow,
The Marvels of Krakow 2014,
is now available online - competitively priced - at
Amazon.com
Barbara
Ready for music.
/2014-02-10/ Krakow's long-awaited Congress Center will
finally open in October 2014, fingers crossed. Its main hall is to
seat nearly 2,000. The center is also meant as the city's top venue
for concerts in Krakow and the architects
promise the best acoustic possible.
Kasia
Euro 2016 in Krakow.
/2014-02-05/ Krakow will host Euro 2016 men's championship
tournament in team handball alongside Wroclaw and a couple of other
Polish cities to be announced in March. Still finals will take place
in Krakow Arena which will also hold six matches of the group stage
and some of the second stage. 2016 Men's
Handball
European Championship are scheduled for January.
Sportie
By road to the airport.
/2014-02-01/ Train service between the city center and
Krakow Balice Airport has been stopped owing to the modernization of the
railroad line. Probably it will be renewed no sooner than August
2015.
Mark
Easter festival of classical music.
/2014-01-31/ This year's Misteria Paschalia,
Easter festival of music in Krakow will
last seven days from April 15th through April 21st. Concerts of
Baroque music, planned for every night, feature Europe's top
performers and ensembles. Single tickets cost from 80 PLN to 160
PLN. Price of a seven-concerts pass is 750 PLN.
Kasia
One more month.
/2014-01-29/ Paid parking zone expansion to the rest of
downtown Krakow has been postponed until March 1st.
Mark
Sailor singing.
/2014-01-27/ Poland's premier festival of sailor songs,
Shanties, takes place Krakow February 20th through
February 23rd with daily concerts in Rotunda club at 1
Oleandry street. It's the 33rd edition of the festival.
Barbara
Deep under: Krakow central train station.
/2014-01-23/ Krakow Glowny central train station goes
underground on February 15th, 2014. Its passenger hall, ticket
offices and other operations as well as services are being moved to
brand-new subterranean spaces built at a cost of 40 million euro
beneath the tracks and platforms. The historic station building is
to be converted into a multiplex (or a shopping center or something
else).
Kasia
Krakow Arena: finishing touches.
/2014-01-16/ It looks like the brand-new Krakow Arena may be
ready to open this April as expected. The giant all-purpose domed
hall will be able to seat maximum 18,000 people and 15,300 at at
standard sport event such as a tennis match. Or an ice hockey game
if Krakow Olympics were to
materialize in 2022.
Mark
Soon no trains to Krakow airport.
/2014-01-14/ Trains linking the Krakow
airport with the city center probably will be cancelled this
February due to modernization of the railway line. As planned the
revamp will take eighteen months. Taxis and buses are to continue as
usual.
Mark
Dreaming about white.
/2014-01-08/ Springtime weather continues in Krakow this
winter. Sunshine, day temperatures hovering above ten degrees
Celsius, and green grass instead of snow have untypically prevailed
in the city since mid December. Forecasters foretell it may change
in the second half of January.
Mark
Nativity scenes until late February.
/2014-01-07/ Newly built Krakow szopka
nativity scenes are exhibited in the City of Krakow History
Museum, 35 Rynek Glowny central square, till February 23rd, 2014.
Admission fee is eight zloty.
Barbara
