AirVenture 2000 — A Week Among the Aircraft and the Atmosphere
05 Poland 2005 (Fifth Day) – Krakow
By 2005, Poland was no longer a new destination for me. I had visited the country several times since my first trips in the early 1990s and had become familiar with its cities, people and distinctive atmosphere. This return offered an opportunity to revisit familiar places while also seeing how much had changed.
Poland had joined the European Union the previous year and was moving confidently into a new era. Streets and buildings were being restored, transport and visitor facilities were improving, and the country felt increasingly connected with the rest of Europe. Yet its history, traditions and individual character remained clearly visible.
These photographs record another stage in my continuing acquaintance with Poland: not the impressions of a first-time visitor, but observations made on returning to a country that had already become both familiar and rewarding.
The tails of Polish Air Force transport aircraft rise above the perimeter hedge at the military airfield adjoining Kraków–Balice Airport. Balice was home to the 13th Air Transport Squadron, which in 2005 operated a mixture of Antonov An-26, PZL M28 Bryza and CASA C-295M aircraft. Photographed in 2005.
The Berner Cessna 550B Citation Bravo D-CCAB stands at Kraków–Balice Airport amid construction work in 2005. This German-registered light corporate jet has two rear-mounted turbofan engines, a low swept wing and a conventional low-mounted tailplane. The aircraft was built in 1998 as construction number 550-0827.
An attendant serves lody włoskie—soft-serve ice cream—from the colourful counter at Stare Mury in Kraków. The menu offers cream ice cream with apple, strawberry or chocolate sauce. Photographed during my visit in 2005.
A waitress carries a beer from Stare Mury restaurant as pedestrians pass along Pijarska Street. Situated beside Kraków’s surviving medieval fortifications, the restaurant advertises traditional Polish breakfasts, salads and hot meals from its colourful frontage. Photographed in 2005
