I arrived in Krakow on June 3, 2013 in the afternoon. It was quite a long travel day from Vienna. First I took a bus from there to Katowice and then another bus to Krakow. I did not get a chance to exchange my money to PLN yet and a very sweet Polish couple who was on my previous bus was kind enough to take me to the bus and also pay for me. I wanted to pay them back and so I gave them what the cost was in euros.
Tomek picked me up from the bus station. He was kind enough to welcome me to Poland with some traditional dishes such as a special sausage with cheese, grilled onions, beet soup and pickled herring. I can't claim that I would have ever given beet soup and especially herring a chance before, but as the old saying goes "When in Rome", I have definitely opened up my mind to giving almost everything a chance. All of the food was delicious! The herring was good for a few bites, but just not something I was used to so I didn't eat much.
Krakow is a very beautiful city! It is one of the oldest cities in Poland. I just love cities like this, where the history really shines through in the architecture and ambiance. It has a very large city center and a lot of churches. The Jewish quarter, Kazimeriz, is famous for having the best food, not necessarily Jewish. The first few days I was there was pouring rain, but then the weather improved to very sunny, hot even.
City center
The legend of this church is that two brothers were building these towers. One killed the other for being quicker than him and then built the taller tower on the left.
Wawell Castle
Kazimeriz-Jewish Quater
"Polish Toast"
Man made mound with an amazing view.
Soaking wet!
On June 4, I went to a pool, jacuzzi, sauna house with some friends in Krakow. It was nice to have a swim as it is my favorite personal sport. The remainder of my days in Krakow, Tomek took me around and we went out with his friends. On June 7th, Maria and I explored Krakow together because it was her first full day there. The first place we went to was Oskar Schindler's Factory. It was so great to see such a historical site. Oskar Schindler was such a great man that saved about 1,200 Jews from going to concentration camps. We all know Schindler's List the movie is phenomenal as well!
Jews that were saved by Schindler.
Krakow was my home base, but I was lucky enough to venture off to a few other places in Poland which I will write about in other posts. If you ever go to Poland, Krakow is a must! I love Poland, Polish people and food. What a wonderful place!
"Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art". -Frederic Chopin
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