We climbed the ramp and went to the ticket office to find that most of the castle was closed on a Monday. Oh joy! I booked the armoury, Royal Gardens and Lost Wawel exhibitions, a total cost of 20PLZ, about £4.
The Lost Wawel exhibition showed ongoing excavations and discoveries and it was quite impressive how far down the original buildings were, considering they were only 900 years old. There were lots of glazed clay tiles and stonework as well as models on what the castle looked like through its various incarnations. A lot of the displays were unlit and the general low lighting made it difficult to read some of the info. The medieval footwear they had on display was amazing though, very intricate.
We left the exhibition and walked around outside, trying to workout where to go. There were maps of the site but helpfully, none of the places we had tickets for were actually marked. Eventually we gave in and (Deb) asked a guide! Second stop was the Treasury and Armoury - this was quite amazing. The stupid glass (a specially inbred museum variety) made it very difficult to take pictures but the weapons were quite incredible works of art. Crossbows, muskets and assorted melee weapons all demonstrated superb carving and inlay work. The Polish weapons and armour were surprisingly eastern and it was good to see the gear of a winged hussar at last.
After all this excitement (!) we needed sustenance so we visited the cafe in the grounds. This was actually excellent and we both had salmon with salad for about the same as a Happy Meal back home! Our next visit was to the Royal Gardens, which were quite small but nicely laid out with roses, an orchard and various other bits that Deb could identify. There were also good views over the city. That was the castle done so next was the cathedral.













