Day 318- The Blue of Kościół Mariacki

Have you ever seen a blue so brilliant you think that surely must be the most beautiful colour in the world?

I have, quite unexpectedly I might add, in a Polish Catheral stood slightly askew from the main market square of Krakow. The cathedral is called St Mary's Basilica or Kościół Mariacki.

This was my first sight of the church as I came through a large door into the prayer end of the hall. I remembered the shock of the overwhelming blue left me a little giddy and I quickly knelt down on the pretext of saying a prayer. It was really to steady myself. 

The blue, the blue. 

It wasn´t quite the kind of  blue you see, rather, you experience it. Right from the awe of  my first confrontation to the sense of being enveloped by it, the sensations did not cease even after I left the basilica. 

It beckoned,

calling out from pretty balconies;

and then it hovered,

never quite letting you leave its sight.

Finally. the embrace...

it was as if the sky had fallen or you had risen, to be covered in a blue blanket embroidered in the most artful colours, weaved with the softest cotton clouds.

There were streaming tourists

and a crowd of chattering children

but I heard only the music.

The music that was haunting

and angelic all at once.

This is the music the blue of this church makes.

Henceforth, I shall call it Mariacki Blue and whenever I say its name, I shall remember and experience the sensations I felt that day when I walked through this Polish Cathedral in Krakow.

I dedicate this post to all the friends here who love painted cathedrals but Ewa and I both agree that Betsy is probably the one who will really enjoy it. So here it is especially to you Bets! Enjoy!

I left Poland this afternoon and said goodbye to Ewa and her beautifully generous and incredibly hospitable parents who all came with me to the airport in a cab. Ewa and her family had made my stay in Poland a dream and  I will never forget them.  

Poland was to be the last leg of my Europe trip and in 3 days, I will be home. In the meantime, I am sitting before Eva´s computer in Barcelona and my trip is not over. Tomorrow I will be meeting 6 other miniaturist friends from Spain. I am still excited , sleepless and excited and thinking of the things I will show from Arnhem. In exactly 13 hours, they will all be here and instead of thinking what shall I wear, I am thinking what shall I show first. I still must catch some sleep so I won´t look like a hag.

Good night and good morning, wherever you are!