This is what separates artists from ordinary people: the belief, deep in our hearts, that if we build our castles well enough, somehow the ocean won’t wash them away. I think this is a wonderful kind of person to be. – Anne Lamott

Our Airbnb may be tiny and lacking in several key amenities, but it is in the best possible location. Not only are we in the Old Town and less than a quarter of a mile from Andrew and Alicia’s apartment, we are also just a few hundred feet from the historic Wawel Royal Castle.

The castle, which goes as far back as 970 AD, is a remarkably intact slice of history that tells the story of Krakow for one thousand years.

The massive edifice is an excellent example of what happens when the ravages and the total destruction of war somehow leave a place physically unscathed. I say “physically” only with respect to the buildings and the infrastructure. The Polish people have been victims of unspeakable horrors and betrayals and wars over the centuries. Yet here in Krakow so much of the architecture is still intact.

Walking out from our apartment, if we loop all the way around the castle before going in, the site is more than a half-mile around.

Then, making our way up the slope and through the main gate, the area inside the walls is huge, room enough for a small town and all the garrisons needed to defend against the Huns, the Mongols, the Goths, the Russians, the Germans, the Austrians or the Tourists – whoever is thinking about ravaging the city that day!

So we walk around, in the biting cold air and the brilliant sunshine, looking over the Vistula River and the Old Town, and amazed at the intact work from 970 and especially the imaginative and innovative epic construction from Medieval times.

Again, all I will do today is to share these next few photographs, all within a few meters of our apartment. More details, and research, and stories when we return to the U.S.A. in the New Year.

This is our amazing world, if you have not explored, if you are not a wanderer, then it is never too late to get started.

Peace and traveling mercies – DEREK

These are the castle photos, in order (around the outside then up the long slope and in), just click the first one then scroll on through. Good stuff!