Krakow; one of the best places on earth

By this point in my trip I’ve visited quite a few cities and traveled to eight different countries. I can say that without a doubt Krakow is one of my favorites. I wasn’t expecting much from this city and wasn’t really sure what the city had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised and am sitting on our bus heading home, wishing we had more time in Krakow.

Our time in Krakow consisted of three days throughout the city. We loaded up the bus at our dorms and began our journey to Krakow on Friday morning at 9am. After our quick four-hour bus ride, we arrived in Krakow at the Wieliczka Salt Mines. The salt mines are located on the outskirts of town and have been used for mining since the 13^th century. We began our journey deep into the salt mines with our guide by descending 53 levels of stairs to the bottom where our tour started. Soon enough, we began to weave our way through the mines while listening to our guide tell stories from centuries before. Along the way we would stop periodically and lick the walls of the mine and fill our mouths with a salty flavor. I would do this throughout the trip just to sample the different kinds of salt. Half way through the tour we came to a vast open area that is used today as a chapel. It was incredible to see how much salt was excavated and the ornate decorations they had there today. Walking through the salt mine, there were two thoughts running through my head. The first one was how all the salt miners did this work centuries before without electricity and modern technology. This had to be extremely tough and exhausting work. The second thought running through my head was a statistic our guide told us. We were down in the mines constantly walking for two hours and only witnessed 1% of the mines. It was hard to wrap my head around how large these mines must be if we say only a tiny portion.

The chapel deep in the salt mines

Later that day we checked into our hostel and then wandered around the old Jewish Quarter to find some food. We sat down at a restaurant called Mama and ordered pierogis and some drinks. I had two amazing wheat beers and the four of us each had a shot of Zubrowka. After supper we made our way to the square and mosey around until our pub-crawl. Most of our group attended this pub-crawl and it was a blast! We all had a great time laughing and drinking together.

David, Lydia, and myself on our pub crawl!

On Saturday we woke up and made our way as a group to the Wawel Castle, which held the armory and treasury. Our guide took us through the museum where we saw different artifacts and some of the staterooms. By now we’ve seen so many museums and old artifacts, it’s honestly just all the same. Nonetheless, it was amazing to see so much history and hear the stories behind them.

After our tour in the morning we were all free to spend the rest of the day as we wished, so of course I started by eating food. In the Old Town Square there are little huts set up selling jewelry, clothes, pottery, Polish food, and even beer. My lunch consisted of a sausage, potatoes, a strawberry crepe topped with chocolate sauce, a beer, and a slushy. Needless to say, I was extremely full and my pants were expanding at an uncontrollable rate. I then visited the church in the town square, walked around the vendors, and made my way down to the river as my food was attempting to be digested.

Soon enough it was time for supper. A few friends and I sat down at a beer garden and each ordered a liter of beer. After our ginormous beers arrived, the waitress brought me my plate of pierogis and my Polish soup. David Burkink and I shared a mixed plate of 24 pierogis stuffed with meat, potatoes, and cabbage. The soup was marvelous and filled with dill, sausage, and hard-boiled eggs. I sat there incredibly full and eventually made my way back to the hostel in order to have more beers and begin to pregame for later that night. We kept drinking and after searching the streets for a few minutes found the club. We made our way inside and explored upstairs and downstairs of the club while dancing to some great music.

We were also lucky enough to have our hostel provide breakfast for us each morning. Although this sounds great, it’s not as great as it sounds. European breakfast consists of bread with some type of spread, some vegetables and cheese for a sandwich, and maybe some fruit. It’s something to eat in the morning, but not very filling and definitely not what we’re used to back in the states. And I forgot to mention the warm milk. Sunday we woke up had breakfast, packed up our bags, and went to Schindler’s Factory. I was slightly disappointed in this museum.  I was expecting to hear the story about Schindler and what his factory was about. Instead, it was our guide essentially talking to us about the Holocaust.

I’m now finishing this post as I sit in my dorm room at Neredin back in the Czech Republic. Krakow was amazing, but it’s always great to be back in Olomouc. The end of the trip is winding down rapidly and I’m not ready to wake up from this dream I’ve been living. Only 29 days until I’m homeward bound.