Krakow's Hobby Horse Celebration

Each June, Krakow celebrates Lajkonik, which stars a man costumed as a Tatar warrior who rides a hobby horse into Rynek Glowny, the main square, where the mayor greets him with wine. The event supposedly commemorates something that happened during the 13th century when the Tatars invaded the city. No one really knows what it all means but Krakow's been filled with music and merriment all weekend. Fun!


Woman making pierogis. A plate of these for about three dollars is all the food you'll need in a day.


I found Potsie!* He's been making art videos in Poland for the last couple years. I found him licking this bust in the Bunkier Sztuki, a contemporary art gallery built to look like a bunker.


I can't help it. I love kitsch! I like their costumes and they were actually pretty good fiddlers.

*For those of you who didn't know Potsie, he was my cat that went to a special home for troubled felines. He disappeared from there a couple years ago and I always wondered whatever happened to him.




Lots of street musicians and buskers in Rynek Glowny - the main square in Krakow. It's huge and beautiful and feels a teeny bit like what I imagine Olde Eastern Europe might have been. In contrast to Venice where the old buildings still stand but the city has lost its charm.

The weather has been fabulous so hundreds of people sit outside every evening drinking and enjoying the best part of the day in outdoor cafes. These accordion players playing Bach seemed particularly talented.