We got organised to leave Auschwitz for Krakow around 11. We only found out we were to travel into Krakow LEZ once we plugged the destination into Google Maps. We had to fill in a quick registration form to make sure we didn’t get a fine. 

We then got on our way and met up again at Clepardia Campsite in the north of Krakow. During July and August there are no bookings so it’s first come first served. It was very tight but we got both vans onto what looked like one pitch. However all vans were higgledy piggeldy everywhere so you couldn’t really tell. We had chosen a shady spot and we chilled out there for the afternoon since it was 33 degrees.

In the late afternoon we got on the tram just outside the campsite and went to the old town. We got off at Planty – a park surrounding the old city where the city walls used to be.
We found Jan Matejko, famous historical painter in the 1800s in 2 places.

The only medieval tower left is the Barbican. 
It used to have a 26 metre wide moat.

Entry to the city is via Florian’s gate. St Florian is on the inside. Florianska Street is on the Royal Route into the Market Square centre. 

 It was Sunday so the square was packed.

There was also an outdoor concert market so it was busy! 
We saw St Mary’s Basilica but it was too packed to go in.  It does look amazing though from the quick look I had inside. The two towers are totally different. The legend is that 2 brothers got a job to build the church towers.
Each brother wanted their tower to be taller and better. The younger brother grew angry when his tower was shorter. He killed his older brother with a knife. The younger brother felt bad and jumped off his tower. Work on the towers stopped, leaving them at different heights. Apparently the knife is still on the tower wall.

It was 6pm so we waited for the trumpeter who plays every hour from one of the bell towers. He doesn’t quite finish his tune as it’s in memory of a trumpeter who was shot by invaders before he finished his tune.

The Cloth hall in the centre of the square is from the 1500s run by the merchants for textile trading. It is now full of souvenir shops. 

Sean found a House of Beer which had a large selection of craft beer so we enjoyed a beer and burgers there.

We had decided it was too hot to cook in our vans –  and the vans too close together to safely do a bbq.

We arrived back at the campsite packed with more vans including in the middle of the entry area – and even one outside. It had cooled down a bit so we managed to sleep very well.