It's a wanderful life, so it is

We’ve been in Krakow for almost two weeks now and it’s exceeded all our expectations. The Balkan road trip was effectively a holiday to kick off our retirement and it was just fantastic. Staying in Poland, however, is the first test of our unusual approach to living in our future.  

Part of our thinking behind staying somewhere for a month at a time was the freedom to do no sightseeing in the first few days. We could just faff about instead and that’s precisely what we did here. We arrived on a Saturday and, as the main shops are shut here on Sundays, picked up enough groceries to do us until Monday. Rest assured, this included getting Mhairi the Diet Coke for her vodka! 😊

We wandered into the old town on Sunday for an aimless walk. The way in was gorgeous, with long stretches along a pedestrian boulevard before we got to the Płanty, the tree-lined ring surrounding the old town. Meandering through the streets brought us to the mediaeval main square and, of course, we stopped off for a drink and a spot of people watching. We had to move inside though as a thunderstorm struck and the staff rushed to collapse the parasols before they flew away like Mary Poppins. Naturally, we got soaked on the way home as we weren’t sure how the buses worked and were too wet for an Uber. Though it’s fun rain when it’s warm rain!

We decoded the public transport system on Monday – a 7-day all-zone ticket cost only £14 online – and took the bus to do a “Big Shop” to get us set up in the apartment for our 28-day stay. Ah, the joy of a Big Shop in a massive supermarket abroad when you’re retired and have all the time in the world. We looked at just about everything – familiar and unfamiliar – and gambled on some of our purchases – it turned out our amateur attempts at translation left a lot to be desired! We had so much to carry we ignored our new bus tickets and took an Uber back to our apartment.

We’re staying in a tower block scheme outside the centre of Krakow. I’m sure that carries images of a spartan concrete hellhole but that couldn’t be further from the reality. This is a very desirable, modern gated community, where we must be the oldest people by 20 years. These homes belong to 25 to 45 year olds, full of children and pets and bikes and lots of tech features. Our bathroom, for example, has audio speakers in the ceiling playing Radio Krakow and an automatic night light to save you switching on the big light for sleepy visits, especially handy for those of a certain age: it is even, dare I say it, motion activated.

We’ve seen quite a lot and still have ages to go. We haven’t gone into Wawel Castle yet but have seen the nearby attractions of a Greyfriars Bobby tribute act, Elvis’ walk of fame star and a fire-breathing dragon.

On one particular hot day, we went swimming in a former sand quarry, now converted into a popular leisure spot. We picked one of the beaches and hired sunbeds and umbrellas. They have an innovative activity that’s a cross between a zip line and water skiing and, of course, I would have been straight on it but we weren’t properly insured.

We’ve also joined a walking tour of Jewish Krakow – Kazimierz (the old Jewish quarter) and Podgórze (the WW2 ghetto). Mhairi had noticed that the buses were flying Polish flags so we thought it was for independence day in 1919. In fact, it was the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and, when we finished our tour in Ghetto Heroes Square at 5pm, sirens were going off across the city to commemorate the two months in 1944 when the Polish Home Army fought the Germans without allied support. To say this raised the hairs on the back of our necks would be an understatement!

And the proper football’s back! On flag day, we grabbed a Zapiekanka (french bread pizza) for lunch and went to Duffy’s Irish bar for the Dundee derby and to watch a solid Celtic win to kick off the season. You’ve got to get in early to get the best seat in the house but when you’re retired with all the time in the world, sure what else would you be doing? 😊