St. Mary's Basilica, Krakow, Poland

The icon of Krakow to me was St. Mary's Basilica on the Market Square. Here's the wikipedia article.

On every hour, a trumpet signal - called the hejnał (pronounced hey-now) - is played from the top of the taller of St. Mary's two towers. The plaintive tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city.

You can listen to the trumpet here.

Here are my pictures of the basilica in the daytime and in the nighttime.

The basilica sits on the northeast corner of Krakow's Market Square. For many centuries it was the largest marketplace and town square in Europe. In the center of the square is Cloth Hall. Here's my picture of Cloth Hall.

Also in the square is the Town Hall Tower, built in the 13th century. Here are my pictures of the tower in the daytime and in the nighttime.

Beekman Arms, Rhinebeck, New York

One of my favorite restaurants in the Hudson Valley is the 1766 Tavern at the Beekman Arms. It claims to be the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States.

One night after dining there, I noticed a plaque near the front door. It said that George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette had drilled the Continental Army in front of the Inn.

From Historic Hotels of America:

The Continental Army drilled on the lawn and townspeople took refuge here when the British burned the state capital at Kingston, across the river.

The Beekman Arms is mentioned in the wikipedia article here and their web site is here.

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, New York

Just up the way from FDR's home is the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Cole Palen built this "living" museum of antique aviation.

The first time I stopped by there was on a weekday and the museum was open for a voluntary donation. Oh, they asked us to help us push a biplane around with them. Maybe we got a credit for that.

In addition to the operating airplanes, they have 4 buildings full of other airplanes, cars, firetrucks, and motorcycles.

Their web site is here and the wikipedia article is here.

Don't miss it.