Freezing

It may be freezing but why not sit outside in the Square? Nearly all the bars, cafes, restaurants in the square have these outside seating areas. They are heated, so they may be fairly comfortable. I have to admit I have not been tempted to try. I prefer to know I will be warm. Still they keep out the wind, maybe.

It was really dark and overcast today. It was evening by about 3 pm. I don’t think we had any snow flurries during the day, and the wind seemed less than yesterday, but the air felt damp and the roads never dried after the snow yesterday. Krakow is probably a place to visit in a warmer month.

I spent quite a long time in the museum under the Main Square. In about 2005 the Square was excavated to its foundations in around the 13/14 th century. This is about 5 metres down from current street level. (At the time it was either the largest or second largest city square in Europe, I forget which). The square was then resurfaced and the old ”underground” level opened as an archeological museum. Very interesting to visit, I must have been there almost two hours. Unsurprisingly there were several school visits passing through, mostly local but one from Italy.

Just heard the piper sounding the hour from the church steeple. The steeple served as a watch tower from which the alarm could be sounded. On an occasion when The Tartars invaded the piper was shot by an arrow fired by a Tartar (according to legend) while he sounded the alarm. Now a piper marks every hour, 24 hours a day, but the piper stops playing the tune at the point where the original piper was shot.

Looking at my picture of the church two days ago it can be seen the two steeples are not the same. The architects of the steeples were two brothers. One brother was jealous of the orther’s better design, so he killed his brother with a knife. He then threw himself from the steeple. The knife he used now hangs at the entrance to the Cloth Merchants’ market as a warning to dishonest traders. (I think that is another legend, probably unrelated to any factual substance).