Krakow

I originally intended to do most of my traveling in Eastern Europe while I was here, with the expectation that I would always be lured back to larger Western cities in the future. I figured I would travel to Bucharest and Bratislava because I might never be in the area again. However, with flights to smaller cities being more expensive and the draw of cities like Amsterdam, Krakow, I've realized, it probably one of the few Eastern destinations I'm going to get around to.

I was actually surprised at how much it reminded me of Prague, on a smaller scale. Krakow has its own Old Town Square (photo above), a Jewish quarter, and looks similar to Prague on the outskirts. I was also shocked at much Polish I could read/understand because the two languages are so closely related (ie. Stare Mesto vs. Stare Miasto).

Food at restaurants is a little cheaper, but beer a little more expensive. We ate really well while we were there, a nice Polish restaurant by the main market square on the first night, cheap Georgian food for lunch, delicious Polish apple pie, and I finally got some pierogis on the last night (photo number two, and yeah, forgot to mention that I dyed the tips of my hair purple). I thought the exchange rate in Poland would be worse for us (they’re on the zloty), but I don’t think it was.

Backtracking a little, we actually didn't arrive in Krakow until Friday evening after leaving Thursday at midnight. Now, the trip was a semi-pre-organized trip by CIEE, about 30 of us went. I was really dreading the 7 hour overnight bus ride, but I actually slept more than I thought I would. We stopped for breakfast at a youth center in Poland around 7:00 and arrived to Auschwitz around 8:00. We had a great tour, but it wasn't the easiest after a long night, especially since it was freezing cold and rainy as we walked around. I don't really want to reflect upon everything here, but let's say that our cold, wet, miserable selves probably appreciated the conditions of the concentration camp a lot more, especially as we realized that we were lucky to be there in October with coats and mittens and a warm bus to return to, and our inner complaints seemed a lot quieter. I feel like a lot of what our tour guide said wouldn't have really impacted us in the same way in June.

We checked into our hotel around 14:00, more somber than usual. A few people napped, but most of us went out to explore a little bit and ate an early dinner. We did a little bar hopping around the main city center before getting back to the hotel around 23:30 (!). Now, one of the bars we went to wouldn't serve us because they said we had to be 21. We left a little confused, but moved on.

The next morning, we had a bus/walking tour of Krakow, mostly in the Jewish Quarter, Wawel Castle, and in churches around Old Town. Schindler's List was filmed in Krakow, and basically, the movie restored Krakow. It was a pretty big city with a large Jewish population, but WWII destroyed the Jewish Quarter (there are very few Jews still living there). It was a pretty rough neighborhood before the movie was produced, but it drew in a lot of tourists to the city, and provided a big incentive to restore the area. In fact, Krakow would be nothing like it is today without the movie. We saw a bunch of scenes from the movie on the tour, and the neighborhood was pretty lively with restaurants and cool looking cafes. I really wanted to go back and explore the area more, especially with the local weekend market going on, but we ran out of time.

Anyway, I'll post some pictures soon. The tour dropped us back in Old Town Square, and Kelley and I went shopping on our own for a while. Shopping was so much nicer in Krakow than back in Prague, actual stores in the main district instead of a million touristy shops. I bought a few souvenirs to take home which was nice. Unfortunately, I've had a bit of a cold over the past few days, and it really started to hit on Saturday afternoon. We ate a late dinner and I called it a night after we returned to Camera Cafe for a second apple pie. Apparently I didn't miss much though, since again, people ran into difficulties with the age-21 issue. I still don't understand that!


On Sunday, we checked out early and visited these famous salt mines a few miles outside of Krakow. At first, most of us didn't want to leave Krakow early to tour some lame salt mines, but they were interesting. We went really deep underground, had a historical tour of the mines, saw these crazy salt statues/cathedral/chandeliers, and even got to lick the walls.

The ride back was another long affair, but driving through the Polish and Czech countryside was gorgeous. Perhaps I’m a little biased, but I do think the Czech lands are a little prettier. And driving through Moravia (eastern CR) is much more scenic than Bohemia (back from Cesky Krumlov and Karlovy Vary). We passed all of these small villages with signs for castles, Freud’s birthplace, and two zoos. Fall is in full force here, so all the trees were changing colors and the sun was setting behind these rolling hills… The only things that really gets me is the number of abandoned buildings that we always drive by, I can’t believe how many old buildings with fallen in roofs and missing windows I always see. But still, I can’t help but wonder what my study abroad experience would be like if I was studying in some small Moravian village, mulling cider, and sitting by the fireplace. But then, I’d probably be bored and wonder about life in Prague, who knows…