The past three days.

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Kraków
June 19th 2006

Published: June 20th 2006

So I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Krakow right now and Jeff and I just finished dinner a little while ago. I even drank a beer, or most of it anyway!! It was piwo z sokiem, or flavored beer, and I had lemon lime. After about four sips, I already felt tipsy and I had to pee like none other, but I tredged on and Jeff only had to drink about the last fifth of it.

As far as the past few days, they've been really hectic and tiring, and we haven't got up past 7 in the morning. On the 16th we got here at about 2 and after being picked up by Basia and her husband, they dropped us off at our apartment, which is really Baba's friend's apartment. We were super tired, but we went for a walk to the Bankomat, the ATM, and got some money for Krakow. After that we went back home and were sleeping at about 8 or 9.

The next day, the 17th, we were out of the apartment at 8, with Basia, her husband, and her son Andrzej, headed to Wawel Castle and Cathedral. I have to say, the Castle was somewhat underwhelming: though pretty extravagant, it was rather barren inside. The Cathedral was better though, and many of the statues and monuments inside were cool to see. We also saw the Smocza Jama, or the dragon's den, which is a cave underneath Wawel Castle where a dragon supposedly used to live. After that we went out and had our first meal out in Krakow, which ironically was Mexican, as per Basia's recommendation. It was actually pretty good, but very Polish: my Burito Wegetariankie had random mushrooms, brussel sprouts, and corn in it. While we were at the restaurant it started to rain and we were pretty exhausted, so Basia and the gang dropped us off at the apartment. We (or rather I) took a nap and then at 6, Basia and her husband came to pick us up and show us the train and bus stations that we'd have to become familiar with. Eventually Basia, Jeff, and I made our way to Rynek Glowny, which is the main market square in Krakow and we saw Kosciu Mariacki (St. Mary's Church), Sukiennice (literally Cloth Hall, but realistically a large indoor market with mostly souveniers), and other various churches. At about 8, Basia left us to hang out in Krakow ourselves, and we just walked around and eventually took a bus back to our apartment. Good times.

Yesterday we went to Wieliczka Salt Mine, which is an old salt mine just outside of Krakow. There are various statues of famous Polish leaders and figures, as well as religious figures, that have been carved from salt inside the mine. After that, Ignac and little Andrzej and Jeff and I went to this new church called Kosciu Lagiewniki, I think. It's really cool and has very modern construction. Then we went to Kazimierz, which is an old Jewish Ghetto near the city. It was cool to see that part of town and to go into an old synagogue (Isaak). Finally, at about 2 we left to go back to Basia's house, where we had lunch with the family + Adela. Lunch was good and we sat and talked in Polish/English/broken Polish/broken English, so that was fun. Later, my cousin Natalia and uncle Marian came to pick us up and we went to their house and met her mom and their dog Argo, who is going to die from all the chocolate they feed him, haha. They took us to this big mound, Kopiec Kosciuski, which was dedicated to Tadeusz Kosciusko. That was pretty cool, with great views of the city. Then we saw a wax museum with a few famous Polish figures and their biographies. Finally, they took us to .... KFC!! Lol. Then home and sleep.

This morning we set out on our own, finally, to Oswiecim, or Auschwitz. It was pretty moving at times, but overall very had to imagine that we were actually standing where millions of people were exterminated. Very unreal. After taking the train back to Krakow, we walked down Florianska and had dinner and now we're here.

So anyway, I'm alive, things are great albeit hectic, and I'll write more later. Until then,

Kasia

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