Sometimes the best drug is a little Placebo

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Geo: 50.0272, 20.0221

Shared a sleeper compartment with Haydn (Vancouver) and Steve (Aussie). Both living in Belfast. Not much sleep on the train - I was very tired as I arrived at 5:44. It took forever to get out of the train station. There was loads of construction going on and we couldn't figure out where to go. Of course, having only a few hours sleep probably contributed to our confusion and stupidity.

I couldn't figure out which tram to take to the hostel so I walked instead. The hostel is interesting, to say the least. Breakfast is only bread and jam. Crappy. I had read in the guidebook that Nathan's Villa Hostel employs "amateur models", jokingly. But holy crap - the girl at the reception (I think her name was Magda) was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life. Petite, brunette, beautiful eyes, delicate facial features ... I was at a total loss for words.

I've been told that Czech women were beautiful but I found that many were all done-up supermodel types. The women are much more natural and "real" in Poland (at least, so far in Krakow). Still not quite Spanish quality, though 😊

Off to Wawel castle. Some decent impressionist paintings were inside (surprising). There were also many brilliant tapestries - most had a Noah's ark theme to them. There were some very intricate carved ceilings with gold inlay, too. Some paintings in the castle were "finger" quality.

Part of the castle visit was a guided tour - I was too tired to really pay attention. It was actually quite boring, in fact. I had a bagel sandwich - the Polish variety is different. Hard, dry ... not for me! I had some juice and a vanilla cake (dipped in chocolate with coconut shavings). A little dry, but good. The juice was simply for hydration and was a pick-me-up. I'm not used to the heat anymore so 30 degrees is quite unbearable.

The Cloth hall - had some sculptures, portraits, and some decent impressionist paintings. The best part was that it was free on Thursdays! The Czartoryskich Museum - also free today. Otherwise, it isn't worthwhile. Went to Lake Zakrzowek with Elisabeth, a Polish girl (born and raised in Paris) that is also staying at the hostel. The lake is an artificial one and used to be a rock quarry. Beautiful, but spoiled - lots of trash (water bottles and litter) was floating in the water and on the shores.

We hiked around it a little bit and then walked back to town along the river. She showed me the dragon statue - it shoots flames out of the mouth and is quite lame. But there is a cool part - you can activate the flames by sending a text message to a certain number.

We had dinner at a vegetarian cafeteria - beautiful locale in a courtyard with vines overhead. Dinner by candle-light - so romantic ... too bad there was no chemistry! She was a nice girl, though. She's an admin that works for a temp agency so she has lots of freedom to travel. She visits her family in Poland every year - this year, her trip is open-ended. She's not sure when she will return to Paris. Being unemployed is great sometimes, but only when it's your choice!

Had a blackcurrant juice with dinner. My 6 choices were salad w/ tuna, cheese crepe, quiche, broccoli salad, fruit salad, and dirty rice (I love that name! I'll have to use it as an on-line name sometime - [e-mail]!). Aaahhh .... fruit salad ... yummy. Overall it was decent with good variety and a good price. I need to start using the Lonely Planet guides - they have great restaurant recommendations. Let's Go guides seem to be crap - outdated information and hit or miss recommendations.

Too bad that I couldn't find a "milk" bar while I was here. Back during communism there were government subsidized cafeterias. It was a way of keeping the people happy - they couldn't afford to eat out on their own so the government pitched in. They are still subsidized so you can have a meal for almost cheaper than cooking it yourself.

Back to the hostel - had some beers with Michael and Stephen (Germany), Elisabeth, and Tanya (Winnipeg). It's a very social hostel with a good patio (but only until 10 PM). After we were kicked down into the bar - nice and cavernous. Great music. Any place that plays Placebo is good for me. They are quite popular in Europe but not in North America, I guess. I slept well - a little tipsy from all the beers!

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Photos

a
Cathedral at Wawel castle.

b
Gardens at Wawel.

c
Look closely at the restaurant sign .... finally, we know what Ben is!!! He's Polish!

d
Alkohole ... is that an alcoholic a-hole?

e
Just another church.

f
St. Mary's Cathedral. Who was St. Mary? I have no idea - I only know one Mary and believe me, she's no saint.

g
Cool statue on the Rynek square.

h
3 little musicians. Aaaaaaawwwwwwwww .... how cute!

i
BBQ .... drool .... aaaaaaahhhhh

j
The artificial lake. If you look really closely you can probably see all the water bottles floating in it.

l
That's why I rarely put myself in pictures - what a dork! Notice how long my hair is getting. Time to buy an afro comb.

m
We hiked all the way down only to find that it was a private beach. Bastards!

n
Luckily Elisabeth is Polish! She told me that the plaque states that Pope John Paul II once worked at this lake.

o
o

p
The statue of the famous Krakow dragon. It can shoot flames out of its mouth but its not that impressive. After I eat hot wings I sometimes can shoot flames out of my butt!