No photos allowed seems to be a common theme in Krakow.

We were in Wawel Hill to get acquainted with Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral, both must-sees and can’t-miss attractions in the city. Problem was that after getting tickets to our first stop, the Cathedral, we only then discovered the no photos policy they had in place, something which always puts a dampener on any trip. Why a church would impose such a policy is a head-scratcher but as was the custom we followed it to a tee nonetheless. While some of the staff were the most sullen people I’ve encountered in this trip – one man in particular whose job was to punch tickets for guests entering the cathedral belfry, was so visibly not in the mood he stayed seated with legs crossed like a royal on a throne while we came to him with our tickets – the interiors were beautifully impressive no doubt, though from an economic standpoint they would surely get more people to visit by dispensing with this archaic rule. The best part of the Cathedral safe to say was the view of the city from the top of the bell tower. The view was worth the climb.

Almost expectedly the neighboring castle, equally historic, also had this same set-up, though this didn’t concern me as much. Imposing as it was it wasn’t anything new from similar medieval castles I’d seen, pretty much the same, and with the warm weather beating down on us it wasn’t as conducive to documenting as I liked. It was a sign that a whole morning in Wawel Hill was enough to call it quits, and it was time to go on to other matters – and hopefully to happier Cracovians.