Krakow

Saturday April 4

Got up around 6 and left around 6:30 to take the bus and the Metro to the airport. Everything went smoothly, and I landed in Krakow around 10:30. Here also I decided to take a cab rather than deciphering the public transportation, and then I just basically been chilling/napping in the hostel all day. But I guess I need to leave and find some food… I did eat, at a restaurant about half a block from the hostel, because they had their menu posted outside in Polish and English. I ordered chicken breast with spinach because I wanted a vegetable (spinach is gross). And, I was randomly served some sort of alcohol (a type of vodka?) when I asked for the check.

Sunday April 5

I got up and made some toast and tea for breakfast, then waited around until the one shower/bathroom was free – I waited for awhile. Then I took a shower and putzed around here on the Internet for quite some time. Around four I decided to wander around outside, checked out the main square, saw a street breaking group called “Missionaries of Rhythm.” Also need to locate something cheap to eat and then figure out how I am going to get to the airport to meet MaryElise. Should I brave public transportation or should I just take another cab? I should find the cheapest option (the bus, I know, but bus systems are sometimes challenging enough even when you do speak the language) or the train and just go.

Ended up taking the train there, and we took a cab back (which was doubly expensive because it was Sunday, ugh). And then basically hung about for a bit and went to bed.

Monday April 6

We got up around 10:00 and tooled around having a light breakfast and checking our emails at the hostel, then decided to just wander about the city. It’s an oddly small city, we covered pretty much the whole of the Old Town in a couple of hours going at a leisurely pace. We grabbed some “pizza baguettes” from one of the many kebab stands – basically a whole half of a baguette toasted with cheese on it, and you can get more things put on as well, and ate them in the main square. We wanted to branch out a bit outside of the Planty but we really had no idea where we were going. So we went back to the hostel to recoup a bit (and I took a shower), and then wandered out again to find somewhere relatively inexpensive for dinner. We ended up at a place that had some Italian foods, I ended up getting lasagne. Then we went out to locate an ice cream shop, grabbed small cones and headed back to the hostel as we ate them.

Tuesday April 7

I had to get up around 6 (but I didn’t actually until 6:30) in order to register for classes for next semester. Then I of course couldn’t really fall back to sleep. I sort of dozed on and off for a few more hours, and finally got out of bed around 10. We finally made our way over to the Wawel Castle, to check out what sort of admission prices there were. Kind of annoyingly, they charge you separately for every exhibition. So we picked one – the crown treasury and armory. Emphasis on the armory. Tons of spears, guns, swords, cannons. And then the treasury consisted mostly of golden goblets, plates, decorative items, etc. Also – no pictures allowed inside, though I took a couple illicit ones before I was informed of that rule. It’s a nice little castle. We wandered around in the beautiful weather some more, and then I think we went over to the Galeria Krakowska to browse the shops – it’s just a giant shopping mall, but whatevs. Oh also, we located one of the many organized tour places that had the lowest price we had seen for a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau (60 PLN), so we paid for that for the next day. We stopped back at the hostel and went out again to find food – we went to a place whose name I can’t pronounce for pierogis (with meat, not cabbage!), and they were tasty.

Wednesday April 8

We got up early to grab a bite to eat and walk over to the meeting point for the bus. After stopping at the other meeting points and picking people up, we got on the road to Auschwitz-Birkenau by around 9:30. They showed a 50 minute video/documentary on the way there, which was kind of unnecessary as the tour guide went over most of the information that had been covered. Anyway, we started the tour at Auschwitz I, where most of the blocks have been turned into exhibitions. Probably the most striking things I saw was the display of two tons of human hair that was cut off upon arrival to the camps and from the bodies of those who were almost immediately gassed – they used the hair for various things, rope among them, I believe. They have rooms and beds and washrooms set up as they were when they were used – also creepy was the cutesy little artworks on the walls of one of the washrooms – which of course we completely unsanitary when in use. We also walked through one of the crematoriums, which was kind of indescribable.

We then had a short break and then a short bus ride over to Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Birkenau is so much bigger, but less well preserved than Auschwitz I. Most of the wooden barracks were destroyed, but a lot of their chimneys were left, and you could get an idea of the number of them. We went into one of the barracks, which housed the latrines, and another that was living quarters, and then we were able to go up into the main watchtower and get an idea of the size of the camp. We were only at the Birkenau camp for about 40 minutes – I wish we had had longer because I believe at one end of the rail tracks there is a memorial that I would have liked to see.

We got back on the bus, and after an early morning and suitably draining day, I dozed for most of the ride back into Krakow. We decided to go into St. Mary’s Church (it was 8 PLN for the entrance and photo permission), which was a good choice because it is a pretty beautiful church. We also decided to get an early dinner at one of the restaurants on the main square (called Sphinx) which had large portions for a not terribly unreasonable price. I got a Carlsberg and was carded, and I was trying to be helpful and show the waiter where it said on my license that I was over 18, but he was confused and just wanted to see the birth date, whatever. We ate, and got ice cream, and chilled in the square a bit, then came back and went to bed early.

Thursday April 9

We got up pretty late today – not until like 11. And then we both took showers and had some light breakfast, then wandered over to the Jewish district called Kazimierz. It was… kind of like every other part of the town. There’s apparently a bustling market in the main square over there on weekends and mornings, but we were there in the early afternoon, so everything seemed kind of dead. We decided to go into the Old Synagogue, it being the thing to do when in the Jewish district (?). They just had some interesting cases of not too old artifacts and religious paraphernalia. We got pizza and smoothies at a restaurant we located, then wandered back and chilled in the main square for an hour or so. Now we are taking a break at the hostel and will probably go back out in a bit to find something to eat for dinner, then likely ice cream again. Or maybe cotton candy.

Friday April 10

The last full day in Krakow! I’m glad, as I miss being in Copenhagen at this point. I didn’t really think I missed it after Paris, but as I took the cab home from the airport that night, I was really happy to recognize places on the streets, and know the rest of the route home. Didn’t end up doing anything extremely exciting today, we both bought something from the market on the square, and looked in shops, and then chilled and packed.

Saturday April 11

Flight back to Copenhagen! All went well.