The changing colours of the medieval city, Kraków.
Kraków, or also known as Krakow or Cracow is one of the oldest cities in Poland and one of the most beautiful as I'm reminded repeatedly by the locals during my press trip during summer this year. The city is a great showcase of historic style architecture as much of the city escaped the wars in the 20th-century, many are the "original architecture" as emphasise by the locals. I really have high hopes after my visit to Warsaw which is also very impressive and beautiful.
After a visit of the Old Town it become clear that Kraków is very popular among tourist, it's full of people during the day no matter when! It is so crowded that it's very hard to get a clear shot of the beautiful architecture without ton of tourist in it. This is my best try during my visit on the first day.
Kraków Main Square.
Colour changing morning
I decided to come back again in the morning the next day to photograph the Old Town in sunrise and also to experience the place differently like I always do.
The hardest part is waking up in the morning as the sunrise is about 4:30am during summer! After getting everything done for the day, I barely have 3 hours for sleep before I have to pull myself out of my bed and walk 10mins to the Main Square.
Upon arriving on location, I'm greeted by one of the most beautiful sky I've witness on this trip so far.
St. Mary's Basilica in twilight.
The period of great light is usually quite short in Singapore so I will normally scout for an angle that I like and stayed there throughout, I rarely get to capture a second angle as the window of a great light is usually quite short.
But as I have only one morning to capture everything I need, it is quite a challenge! I do have some advantage this time as the daylight in summer here is pretty long (about 4:30am to 9m), which makes the progression from blue hour to golden hour quite slow. Meaning I will have the time to do one shot and move on to another place to set up for another. Here are some of my favourite.
Town Hall Tower
At 70 meters tall, it's hard not to miss this beautiful tower. It is actually known as the "leaning tower" as it leans about 55 centimetres due to a particular powerful storm in 1703, must be some scary storm back then!
Eros Bendato
The work of Polish artist Igor Mitoraj, also known as "The Head". It is a popular spot for some interesting photo opportunities. This popular sculpture is always accompanied by visitors as a meeting place and children like to run into it and pop their smiling faces out of the eyes for a photo. I like how the rising sunlight is coming from behind making it a more dramatic shot.
The Cloth Hall
Once a consider the most magnificent building in all of Kraków, it hosted many important guests over the centuries.
St. Mary's Basilica
One of the most iconic architecture in Kraków, one can climb 239 steps of the Bazylika Mariacka for a small fee to get a panoramic view of the city. It's here that the city's famous bugle call is played every hour, I get to witness it while I'm out about photographing in the beautiful morning, quite an experience.
Adam Mickiewicz Monument
One of the best known bronze monument in Poland, Adam Mickiewicz is consider the greatest Polish romantic poet of the 19th century. A favourite meeting place at the Main Square, this area is always fill with people during the day.
Final thoughts
Once awhile you get to experience something special, that morning is definitely one of those time for me. Being able walk on the roads of a medieval town experiencing the charm almost all by myself is something really special.
Useful Links
Town Hall Tower (Google Maps link)
Eros Bendato (Google Maps link)
The Cloth Hall (Google Maps link)
St. Mary's Basilica (Google Maps link)
Adam Mickiewicz Monument (Google Maps link)
Hotel Legend (The hotel I stayed, great location!)
