Czech Republic Trip 2014

If ever there was a place where the mythological dragon did demonstrate its magnificence over other creatures of the Earth, I believe I have found such a place. Whether the title is as such, I do not know, but Poland seems to be the land of the Dragons. Everywhere I go, I find sculptures, figurines, and costumes paying tribute to the great winged creature. With flowing rivers, wide expanses of land, and caverns, it seems that Poland may have, indeed, witnessed the rise and fall of the Dragon. We began today with the castle tour at the top of the hill, called the Wawel Royal Castle. Naturally, the castle was comprised of many different sectors, so we could only tour a few of them. Our first stop, according to the ticket, was to the Armory at 10:00. Naturally, because it is just my rotten luck, I was frisked when entering the armory. Like an airport, there were metal detectors awaiting our arrival. I removed my watch, keys, and camera, but I forgot my belt, and the guards immediately threw up a red flag. In Polish, they spoke very quickly, and, at one point, I thought I was going to be arrested, but they just did a quick check, forced me to remove my belt, and I continued on my way. I guess I just carry too much metal on me because, let's face it, I like to rock hard! (For those of you who got the joke). This armory was like the rest we have seen thus far. A multitude of swords, guns, maces, spears, etc. lined the walls. They came in every shape and size imaginable. There were some pieces of armour that had been reconstructed into a humanoid figure. Down some stairs, there were cannons and cannon balls. Some were as small as my arm, and some were as big as a telephone pole. While it was fascinating for me, I am sure an armory is an armory to most on this trip. We seemed to make our way through there pretty quickly. We had to wait until our next appointment at 11:10, so we sat for about forty minutes on the steps in the courtyard. Our 11:10 appointment was at the royal apartments. Each room was comprised of fancy furniture, decorative rugs, sculptures of important heads, paintings, tapestries, and other forms of artistic pieces. Some paintings depicted the story of Noah, and some depicted the story of Adam and Eve. I apologize for not going into more detail, but you really had to see it for any real justice to be done. We went through it in about thirty minutes, so it was a fairly short crusade. We had one last stop after the apartments, and it was my absolute favorite. The Dragon's Den, or so it was called. Sometime in the past, some bones were discovered, and the people thought, for a while, that they could be the bones of an ancient dragon. However, they later realized that the bones were that of a whale. Thus, the Den received its name, before the epiphany was made, of course. Before we entered the Den, I saw a statue of John Paul the second, who was, recently, canonized. He seems to be quite the hero, here in Poland, since he was the Archbishop here. There was a huge dispute over where he was to be buried, for the people of Poland wished him to be buried here, but Vatican Law stated that he would be buried in Vatican City, like all of the other Popes. Despite this fact, many people come here from all over to pay their respects and to witness the land that once held such a great man. It has become a pilgrimage, more or less. Anyway, we descended more stairs into the Den. It was such an awesome experience. I was half expecting to find bones and carcasses down there, but, alas, I found no such joy. It was like what you see in the movies, with the craggy rock-walls, the water dripping from the ceiling, and the tunnels that branch off and go other directions. It wasn't a big den, nor was it big enough for any Dragon to, properly, fit in, but I still enjoyed the place quite a bit. We were turned loose for the day after the Den, so my group went to find some food. We ended up eating at a Chicken place, where all I had was a plate of fries (I know that some of you did a face palm just now!). After that, we visited a bunch of shops in the square, as I did yesterday, and we then found a place known for their cupcakes. I am pretty sure that it is called "The Cupcake Factory," or something along that line. And, as always, I didn't order the food that the place was most known for. Instead, I ordered a chocolate milkshake (Hey, I was thirty!). They had all sorts of cupcakes, such as Cheesecake, Brownie, Chocolate Chip, Oreo, Reese's Peanut Butter, and a couple others I can't think of, at the moment. It seems to be my way to order something other than what the place is known for. The items of relevance never seem to appeal to me at the particular time that I am there. After that, we visited a book shop, where everything was in Polish. They say that the Polish language is quite similar to that of the Czechs, but I still couldn't understand a word. They say that the languages are so similar that a Pole can, usually, understand a Czech, but a Czech can't, always, understand a Pole. It is like that "every thumb is a finger, but not every finger is a thumb" thing. Anyway, we, slowly, made our way back to our hostel, stopping at some small shops along the way. Tomorrow, we leave for Auschwitz, and then Olomouc. I do believe that, before we leave for Auschwitz, we are going to visit Schindler's factory, so that will be exciting, if we can make it. I think we should have gone today, but that is just one logical opinion, I suppose. Yesterday and today were a bit lazy, and I don't like days like that. I don't have a lot of money, and I can't afford to stay out for too long. Thus, it seems that most of my time is spent at, or around, the hostel, either visiting local places or blogging. Today seems not to strive away from that routine. Anyway, most of the places we have been visiting prohibit the usage of camera or other recording devices, so many ideal pictures have eluded me. However, being the rebel that I am, I did manage to, illegally, snag a few. I guess I am a criminal now, in that case. So, enjoy the few that I did manage to capture, and I hope that your day proceeds as planned. By the way, I found an old man playing his violin in the square for money. This wouldn't have caught my eye, had he not employed the aid of a little girl. She was playing her violin just as well as he was, and they were raking in the money like crazy! It was sick to think that such a small girl, I would say 4 or 5, would have to be a part of such a crude lifestyle. I had to pity the situation, in general. Anyway, if you have heard of the issues occurring in Ukraine and are freaking out, remember, that is in Ukraine. That isn't very close to my present location, like Americans seem to think. Look at me, I am scolding you Americans! Watch out, I may defect! Anyway, rest easy knowing that I am safe and that I am in the land of the Dragons. Be jealous! Bwahaha! "May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!"
-Anthony-