What would top soccer players be worth in Adam Smith’s barter economy?

Robert Lewandowski: A guided tour of Krakow

Robert Lewandowski has spent the last few years becoming a Polish icon. He’s easily the best player in the Bundesliga, not to mention maybe the best Polish player ever. All you have to do to get a Polish person to start singing his praises is to say the words: “Five goals, nine minutes.”

To get Bayern Munich to give up one of the greatest strikers in the world, you’d have to dangle something pretty impressive. Like a guided tour of historic Polish city Krakow.

Krakow was the capital of the Kingdom of Poland from 1038 until 1596, when the seat of government for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was moved to Warsaw. In 2000, it was recognized as a European City of Culture.

This guided tour would be sure to showcase the full historical and cultural value of the city. Highlights would include visits to the Cloth Hall, the Town Hall Tower and St. Mary’s Basilica. A visit to Wawel Cathedral would also fill the visitor in on an odd part of local folklore. The church is named after Wawel Hill, which in turn is named after a mythical dragon that is said to have lived under the city in medieval times.

The tour would be rounded out with a quick perusal of the numerous art museums in the city. It would take years to fully appreciate the intellectual wealth of Krakow, but this tour is only for the day, so get moving.

You might say that world-class striker Robert Lewandowski is worth more than a guided tour of this cultural treasure. Fine, we can throw in a day in Wrocław, but only if you promise to visit the dwarf monument.