The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

We visited Poland (Kraków and Gdańsk) in the summer of 2014. The entry for Gdańsk can be found HERE.

KRAKÓW:

Central city Kraków in early summer is such a wonderful place to visit. The marvelous 14th century St. Mary's Basilica on the square.

The Main Square in Kraków dates from the 13th century and is the largest town square in all of Europe (@ 9.2 acres, or 3.79 ha).

Kraków Main Square with the Cloth Hall (right, now a tourist galleria) built in the 15th century, and the City Hall Tower (left) built in the 14th Century. The original town hall, which was attached to the tower, was demolished in the mid-1800s.

A wonderful medieval tower.

Also on the Kraków Main Market Square is the 11th century Church of Saint Adalbert.

The Main Square is lined by small shops and boutiques . . . and a solid line of sidewalk cafés all around.

The Main Square attracts lots of tourists and, presumably, local children as well.  Her they climb on the memorial statue to Adam Mickiewicz, a 19th century Polish poet.

Making money on the square . . . Monster Photo Ops $5.oo.

Inside the Cloth Hall, now a curios galleria.

Looking out onto the square from the Cloth Hall.

Saint Mary's Basilica looked inviting.  There are not too many 13th century basilicas left in their original state in Europe. I wanted to see the interior of this Polish Gothic structure.

I was not disappointed.  Magnificent . . . which is the idea, one assumes.

Beautiful Christian iconography everywhere.

Beautiful and ornate vestibules lined the main hall.

I loved the colorfully painted ceiling details.  So many churches in Europe seem to think that bare stone is a better look . . . I prefer the color.

A Kraków Christian devotee on a bad day, one would assume.

My wife and I admired the interior of the St. Mary's Basilica for quite a while, but it was a beautiful day outside, and there was so much more to explore.

We left the main Karców city center square to walk around in the narrow streets of Kraków's historic center (on the original UNESCO World Heritage list).

As we walked around in the back streets of the city center, we became aware of the significance that this is a city that had never been bombed in a war and had never had a major fire, as so many of the other major medieval European cities had.  There were no new buildings: it was an intact ancient city . . . and living today.

Interesting and varied architecture all around.

Such a charming city.

I found this tower fascinating.  Towers were very popular throughout Europe in medieval times

The back of the tower was also very interesting.  I enjoy looking at and figuring out these old architectural gems.

One city space leads to another . . . and always interesting and fascinating.

A row of Christian saints.  Notice the advertisement for tours of the Nazi death camps near Kraków . . . we did not go.

Such a charming old church.

Saints Peter and Paul Church, built 1597 in the Polish Baroque style.

A detail of the Saints Peter and Paul Church . . . looking more like a library than a church somehow.

One of the interesting features of Kraków are the many arched passageway through buildings.

When the street you are walking on takes a turn through an arched passage you never know what you will see on the other side.  Wonderful surprises all over town.

Sometimes you pop put of a street passage onto a beautiful park with. . . .

 . . . beautiful flower beds.

Beautiful summer flowers.

What a wonderful hairy moth flitting from flower to flower.

Tourists taking a group selfie in front of the historic Wawel Cathedral, first built in the 11th century, burned in 1302, and rebuilt in the 14th century.

The domed facade of Wawel Cathedral.

Beautiful bread snackage.

I couldn't resist!!!

I absolutely love the architectural style of this city center monastery.

A wonderful city for just ambling around.

Ah! Orchids! Reminded us of our home in Thailand.

We stopped in at a cafe on a small side street only to discover it was on the route of the central square horse carriage route.  They came by every two minutes!

A restaurateur with a sense of humor.

Lovely medieval cobbled lanes.

The old medieval city center as it was 500 years ago . . .

Beautifully decorated and adorned cityscape.

Monumental architecture along a cobbled alley.

Little beauty arrangements here and there throughout this charming old city.

The castle chapel square.

A passage to . . . ?

The courtyard of Kraców's Wawel Castle.

The castle courtyard . . . layers of balconies and doors . . . what mysteries have taken place here?

Turn your head one way and you see a royal insignia . . . turn it the other way . . . 

Strolling along the narrow side streets next to the castle.

 . . . the entrance to a calm peaceful old chapel . . .

 . . . and the quiet garden within.

One of thousands of statues of Mary throughout the city.  Poland is still a heavily Catholic country.

The attractive main shopping area, Floriańsk Street.

Thai massage!  We were tempted!!!  Some of the very old buildings held modern shopping malls in their interiors.

Interesting floor in the passage to a high-end shopping galleria.

Nice the way the old features have been integrated into the modern shopping area.

It was so interesting how many little passages lead back into courtyards filled with shops and restaurants.  I would love to live in this city!

Exploring the little streets, arched passages, and small alleys always lead to big surprises.

A discovery! A market square!  We spent quite a long time here pawing everything!

Kraków is an excellent 'walking city' to spend several days wandering around enjoying yourself.

Our hotel was in this old building just off of the main square, and across from an art museum.

The interior can only be described as "Soviet Era Minimalism." I loved it.

No expense was spared to create the perfect Soviet-workers-on-vacation guest quarters effect.

After entering the hotel from the street, you arrived in this austere courtyard to check in.  Yes, I was correct, the manager said the old hotel had indeed been remodeled during the Soviet era as a workers lodge. Our room had a panoramic view onto this courtyard. We loved it: it was one block off the main city square and it was cheap!

The Palace of Art (circa. 1901) was just outside our hotel.

We spent three days just wandering around this marvelous city.

We loved Kraków by day . . . but at night it became a colorful dreamscape!

The crowds came out on a fine summer evening for a meal and a drink.

All day and evening, the tourist carriage rides never stopped. I assumed they changed the horses periodically, though I never saw it happen.

The pleasant evenings brought everyone out to the cafés on the central square.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves eating, drinking, and chatting.

This one looks inviting . . . lets go in.

St. Mary's Basilica by night.  We loved our short stay in Kraków and would be more than happy to go back again.