Spring in Katowice.

Yesterday was a pretty nice almost spring-like day, so Lottie and I set out to enjoy the town. It was nice enough that we walked the couple kilometers to town, but on colder days, this is the train that runs by our flat that we ride occasionally. I appreciate the old-town romanticism married with chewed bubblegum on seat backs that the ride offers.

   It wasn't too far into our walk that Lottie developed a hankering for a cupcake. I'm not sure what her fascination with cupcakes is, but she sure likes the idea of them. There are even a couple American-style cupcake shops here but we have not been to one yet and the one I was most curious about, Baba Cupcakes, was boarded up last time we walked by...

   Baking is taken seriously here and any craving can be satisfied here with a stop by a cukiernia or piekarnia. Typical items include 3-inch tall slab cheesecakes, poppy seed cakes, slab-style cream puff cakes, gingerbread cookies and an assortment of rolls.

   This piekarnia (bakery) on Mariacka is my favorite. The entire street is filled with the homey smell of bread baking, but sometimes you'll just end up with a broken heart. It seems as though the bakers always have the ovens going, but the shop closes in the early noon hours, so even though you may have followed the scent of bread baking for blocks, you may arrive to find empty shelves and a locked door.

   I enjoyed a kapusta (sauerkraut) filled pastry. While Lottie was able to find her long awaited cupcake.

   From the window, she spied these little babka which are typical at Easter. Filled with pudding and topped with a strawberry slice, she was one happy kid. Typically these cakes are drowned with brandy or rum. I never thought to check if this one was, but if it was, she didn't complain.