(From Krakow): sweet and savvy

Is it really the case that Oscar and B gave up seeing Prague altogether for an extra day in Krakow?

Is it really the case that I was treated to the best red barszcz ever?

Is it really the case that these delicately knit (by a Polish artist) earrings are now mine?

Thanks, Oscar and B. You really know how to make this Pole feel good.

I need this recipe. No other will do. 

delicate work 

(From Krakow): when the heat wave turns into a cold spell

... you use every opportunity to hide in one of the numerous coffee shops and indulge your palate.

a Krakovian cheesecake: with white raisins, orange peel and chocolate 

(From Krakow): a classic

If I were to be asked to summarily present in one photo the "inner psyche" of a young (urban) Pole, I would do so by posting something close to this:

a café moment
 

(From Krakow): in need of a fix

What do these three have in common?

wild 

wilder 

wildest 

...you could say that they're all having a bad hair day.

Seriously, hair color ideas have taken some extreme directions around town. The blue is rarer than the carrot top, but still... And certainly the carrot top is oranger than orange.

My man Jason would make a fortune by restoring sanity to the world of hair color. If ever there was a need, I see it here, right now, immediately. Please!

(From Krakow): outing Oscar

It turns out that Oscar (who is, along with B, in Krakow right now) has an addiction. Or at least a very ingrained habit. And I share it. A dinner cannot end without a nibble on something sweet, preferably chocolate. Try adding black currants to it. Mmmmm...

But what started as an innocent candy bar carried into the room late at night, now has developed into a virtual industry, feeding his admitted craving as well as mine. Last night I was amused (astonished?) to see the size of his supplies as he brought out the stuff. Not only was there choice, but there were multiple bars, just in case some beggar (me) dug in too deeply into a certain favorite.

I'm grateful. It's always nice to have partners in crime. Ones that get to the candy stores before they close.

midnight madness 

(From Krakow): Who are they and what are they doing?

My God, isn’t it obvious? They are Krakowiaks and Krakowiankas and they are living the life of the city:

[BTW, I asked Oscar and B their impressions, now that they have spent some time in both Krakow and Warsaw, and I have to say they won my heart when they said: Krakow is precious. Warsaw is a city. Krakow was allowed to be old. Warsaw was allowed to be new. Krakow is small. Warsaw is cosmopolitan. You cannot see one without the other. You have to experience both. I am paraphrasing, but I think I got the tenor of it right. Oscar is trying desperately to blog and inhale the city all in the course of a day with the limited hours available to us. I know what that’s like. Do check out his blog. It’s a marvel, especially, but not only, given how difficult it is for all of us to hook up -- in the most innocent of ways!]

they're catching a reading of poems by Bronislaw Maj at a local coffee shop (he's up there with Szymborska and Milosz - Krakow's literary heritage) 

now why didn't I try that when I was her age? 

feeding those dumb birds 

(From Krakow): if you have been to Krakow, you’ll know the answer to this:

They are everywhere. At every corner, every street. You cannot walk more than a block or two without running into them. Ubiquitous. Rain or shine. You can count on their presence.

What are they?

Answer: actually, as far as I’m concerned, there are two answers: nuns and Krakowskie obwazanki [i.e. Krakow bagels (to me, they look more like pretzels, and they're often with poppy-seeds), sold from a stand]. The penultimate? When you see a nun eating an obwazanek. Krakow, through and through.

daily fare