Yesterday I splurged and ate at Chlopskie Jadlo in Cracow on Sw. Jana Street. It is an expensive place to eat in this city, but worth it once during my visit. They serve you bread with lard and soft white cheese with herbs as an appetizer. Once again once a year I can eat lard. I ordered the sour soup (zurek), pierogi with cabbage and mushrooms, and kompot (cold fruit drink). The pierogi were ok. They were a little salty for me. I think I can make them better. Here are a few photos.
Speaking of food (again!), I highly recommend shopping at my favorite farmers market called Kleparz (in Cracow). It is near the tram stop Basztowa Lot. There you can buy homemade white cheese, vegetables, meat, fruit and dairy products. The prices are reasonable for Poland (cheap by US standards). The market is open every day. Just don't go on Sunday afternoon. Not many sellers will be there. I was ecstatic to find this at the market.
Wild blueberries (borowki) and sweet raspberries. The blueberries are the best!
While I am in Cracow I am looking to complete my collection of books in the series "Dzieje Krakowa" (history of Cracow). I do not have vols. 1 and 4. They are hard to find (and seem to be expensive). I did find vol. 1 here for 260 zloty ($86)! I am not paying that much!! I still have a few places to look. Since they are out of print, you have to look in rare book shops. I found out that there is a vol. 6 as well. It was published in 2004. I believe I can buy it for around $10. First I want see if I can find the rarer books. I don't have room in my suitcase for 3 volumes.
Lastly in this entry I will talk about the festival "Muzyka w starym Krakowie" (Music in old Cracow). It takes place for 2 weeks from mid August to the end of the month. There are several concerts every day in different locations around Cracow (churches, auditoriums). Its artistic director is Stanislaw Galonski. The sponsoring organization is Cappella Cracoviensis. Money comes from various foundations to pay the musicians. I have heard from a reliable source that Mr. Galonski is being slowly relieved of his duties as director. The current director of the Cappella Jan Tomasz Adamus is taking over the direction of the festival. I heard that the concerts are not usually announced til last minute because they are waiting to make sure funding has come through. Tickets can be from 15 zloty to around 45 zloty ($5-15) depending on what kind of concert. The orchestral concerts seem to cost more than chamber music concerts. I went to a solo/duo concert last night with violin and cello (Maria Stabrawa and Norbert Anger). They played well. There were no biographies in the program so I have no idea who they are. They were both young. I preferred the cellist's playing. They played solo works and collaborated for a few duos. No piano. It was in the Sw. Marcin church on Grodzka Street. The acoustics are very live. It covers up a lot of mistakes. You certainly sound good there. Everything sounds so loud (and blurred). I would like to see if I could play a concert for this festival next summer. It sounds like I might not get confirmation very early if were to play. They probably do not pay much either. It would still be nice to play for the festival.
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