travel diary, kraków … before take off

My flight back to home wasn’t until 6pm – so I had a half day to enjoy more of Kraków. Once again a cold crisp morning.

I had seen when I was walking around in the old Jewish quarters that there was an art exhibition on that looked very interesting. So that was number one on my list … and I had also planned to visit a hairdresser. And another mug of Grzaniec Galicyjski and maybe a light lunch was on the list too.

As I walked to the gallery I gave Oscar things to do … loads of details, even if I had walked the streets before, maybe it was sunshine that made me notice new details. It became a couple of hours of art, both outdoors and at showroom. A great couple of hours. 

The exhibition was held at Museum of Municipal Engineering, (also called MIM) that is located in the old tram depot  – there is a whole area of different museums and exhibitions. Established in October 1998 by the City of Krakow and received the historic halls of the oldest tramway shed as its seat. The origin of the Museum dates back to 1975, hen during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of public transport in Krakow, the concept of creating a transport museum in Krakow emerged.

The Gallery of Steel Figures – very interesting and busy, the kids loved because they could play around with the cars. 

The idea of the project was invented by Mariusz “Jose” Olejnik at the scrap yard “By the tank” in Pruszków, where the first sculpture. The supercars on the show are full size: Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and Koenigsegg plus there were some trucks from the Disney movies.

The figures of Superheros, cartoons, whole Simpson family, Winnie the Pooh with friends, Star Trak and the Donald Duck bunch. 3 great sculptures of Michael Jackson, Marlyn Monroe and Elvis.

No moulds or heavy machines are used to make the figures. This is 100% manual work, made using a welder, burner, hammer, and cutter. The sculptures, supplied directly from local steel scrap yards, are made of gear wheels, gearboxes, chains, bolts, nuts and all types of gears.

The weight of each form is between 50 and 100 kg, although supercar models exceed even a ton. All sculptures are made of recycled metal

I wished I had a little more time because I would have loved to see the “P FOR PARADOX. THE STORY OF FIAT 125 P” too … loads of great images and old Fiat cars.

After the 1 hour in with all the magnificent cars and figures – I had plans for a haircut, but they didn’t have any stylist free, so I decided to enjoy the last mug of mulled wine in the sunshine instead at “Ptaszyl”. Sitting there in the sunshine a Swedish couple sat next to me and … we had a chat, then suddenly it was time to make my way back to the hotel. The airport transport I had booked for 3pm.

I meet a couple of lovely 4-legged creatures on my way to the cafe … a coffee and a grilled panini become my light lunch at a cafe that had my eyes on for a couple of days, Columbus Coffee (great coffee) …before I went back to the hotel.

Well at the airport I had plenty time, they didn’t open the check-in until 2 hours before departure. Nice airport and smooth operation all way through security.

I had my dinner at Warsaw airport by the gate, a Greek Salad.

The journey back home went very smooth, no delays … didn’t have to wait very long for my train at Copenhagen Airport neither, but in Landskrona, there were no available taxis. It was now after midnight. Had to wait for about 20 minutes all alone at the station in the drizzling rain. But I was home … and it felt good. Needed to put my feet up.

“No matter who you are or where you are,
instinct tells you to go home”
Laura Marney