Wawel Castle, Cathedral, and Environs

The big site in Cracow, however, is Wawel Hill, with its Wawel Castle and complex, cathedral, etc.  The cathedral is the counterpart of Westminster, where kings were coronated and later buried, etc. The whole complex is enormous, over-looking the wide Vistula River; we stuck to the castle state rooms, the cathedral, the dragon cave (see below), and just wandering around.

Approaching Wawel Castle

In the large castle square, random tourists engage in Polish 
folk-dancing

You put your right foot in, you take right foot out...
meanwhile thieves make off with your bags, purses, 
cameras; that's what it all about!

Local boy makes good; outside the Wawel
Cathedral; he was Archbishop of Cracow
before becoming John Paul II

Cathedral Tower with King Kasimir

Both the castle and cathedral have no-pix policies;
here's a clandestine shot in the throne room

And another looking out the window; the dragon is a really
big thing in Cracow, having to do with the founding of the 
city; toy dragons everywhere...

So we did visit the dragon's lair, a fairly large cave under the
castle, by the river

The dragon sculpture, outside the cave

Which spouts flames every six minutes or so

Traditional boats on the Vistula

And traditional lunch for me (with a Zywiec) at the corner
grill; Vicki had a gelato