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Krakow, Poland was a little gem of a city to visit. I had booked the first weekend of November to go to Krakow with the main purpose of the trip to visit Auschwitz, Europe’s infamous and most notorious concentration camp. However, Krakow pleasantly surprised me with its charm and I really enjoyed my stay there.
Another early morning flight means another early start to get to Stansted airport by the coach. The flight to Krakow was pretty uneventful and I’m pretty certain I slept the majority of the 2/2.5hours it took to get over there. Once at the airport and through immigration, I stopped at an ATM to get my zloty (Poland’s currency) for the weekend and hopped on the train to take me into the city centre. My hostel wasn’t far from the main train station and once I’d checked in, I headed out to the Old Town to start exploring Krakow for the afternoon as I only had 3 days here. Following the cobbled stone streets, I easily found the centre of Krakow's Old Town and also a small food market so I stopped by for lunch and treated myself to some pierogi and mulled wine, which was
perfect on this cold winter’s day. After some food in my belly, I went to the Main Market Square and into St Mary’s Church (recommended by Michael who had been in Krakow before meeting up with me in Munich and had nothing but good things to say about it and Krakow). There’s a small entry fee to go inside and walk around or there’s a bit at the back for people wanting to pray but it’s absolutely stunning so definitely worth a look in either way. The ceiling and carved wooden altar were standouts however, the entire architecture is beautiful. Fun fact – every hour a trumpet signal is played from one of the towers of St Mary's however the tune breaks off mid-stream to commemorate a trumpeter from the 13
th century who was shot in the throat whilst sounding the alarm (back then, the trumpets were used as an alarm to warn the city of attacks). Afterwards, I headed to the Cloth Hall which is a building in the middle of Market Square and lined with various market stalls dating from the 1300’s although now mostly selling souvenirs. I then spent the afternoon aimlessly wandering around the city before
heading back to the hostel for an early night as the following day was another early start.
The next day I had left my hostel by 7:30am to get a bus from the coach station adjacent to the main train station out to Oswiecim, a small town where the Memorial and Museum of Auschwitz is located. Rather than do a guided bus tour departing from Krakow, I had opted to make my own way there using the directions and advice on the internet however, I had booked to do a guided tour once at Auschwitz. You can elect to do a guided tour or a self tour however, for either option a booking must be placed online in advance as they only have a certain amount of spots for each timeslot. Once at the bus station, I purchased a ticket for the next bus leaving to Oswiecim and grabbed a coffee and some breakfast from a bakery whilst I waited for the departure time. It took approximately 90 minutes and the bus drops right at the front of the Auschwitz museum. I arrived about an hour before my booked tour was due to start so wandered around the front
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Entrance gates to Birkenau - surreal after seeing this same image in books/movies depicting the war reading all the boards of information until it was time for me to go through the security at the entrance and sign in for my tour. The tour lasted for 3/3.5hours with the first part going through Auschwitz followed by a 15-20 minute break then taking a shuttle bus over to Birkenau, also known as Auschwitz II. There was so much information to take in with both camps and the guide was very knowledgeable however it was a very sombre tour. It’s set out similar to the other camps I had visited previously but on a much larger scale. It was also a lot more confronting than previous camps as there were displays upon displays of the victim’s personal belongings such as suitcases, glasses, shoes and crockery. It's hard to put the visit into the right words knowing the history and horrors that took place there, even now months later. Once the tour had ended, I headed back to the main entrance to catch the bus back.
By the time I got back to Krakow it was dark so I grabbed some dinner and took back to the hostel, having an early night after such a full on day.
The next morning, I checked out and left my bag at the hostel to pick up later closer to my flight and headed off back to the Old Town. As recommended I had booked a bike tour around Krakow which was a really nice way to see more of the city. Starting off in the city centre, we stopped by some buildings of interest in the city centre before cycling up to Wawel Castle and stopping by the fire breathing dragon, and then cycling along the Vistula River and heading over to the Jewish Quarter. From here we went to what was once the Jewish ghetto used in the war to segregate the Jewish community and finished the tour at Oskar Schindler’s factory before heading back to the tour company’s office to return the bikes. The tour itself was really good and I’m very glad I took the recommendation as it was a really nice way to spend a few hours whilst hearing more of the history of the city that I may not have known wandering the city alone. My only gripe is that the bike I was given wasn’t very good however, I didn’t notice until we had
set off and it was too late to say anything. The seat was broken which was more annoying than anything, and I had no bell which again annoying especially when riding around swarms of tourists. But overall, it was a good tour. Afterwards, I only had an hour or so left so I settled in at a quiet bar on the main square for a couple of drinks before heading to the airport. I wish I’d stumbled across their happy hours earlier or had an extra night to stay as I was getting a shot of flavoured vodka with my pint of beer for approximately £3 (just under $6AUD). It was a lovely way to end such a quick trip. I had originally come to Poland to visit Auschwitz but Krakow itself offered so much more than I thought it would and I would not hesitate going back.
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