Day 06: Welcome to Krakow (Jun 2018)

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Thursday, 14th June 2018

Krakow was where we would be staying for three nights before flying back home on Saturday evening.

We arrived at the city yesterday evening and it took a long time before the airport train arrived to bring us straight to the main train station. The train station in Central Krakow is flanked by a huge shopping mall, the Galeria Krakowska. We were staying at the Ibis Hotel which was about 10 minutes walk away. It was easy to decide on McDonald's for dinner as we were tired out from the whole commute from Berlin. We just needed a quick bite before bed-time.

Our sightseeing plans resumed on Friday morning when we travelled south across the Vistula River to Plac Bohaterow Getta where the Tadeusz Pankiewicz's Pharmacy Museum is located. The pharmacy is located within the former Jewish Ghetto where thousands of Jews were confined and eventually deported to the concentration or extermination camps in 1944. They were rounded up at the Ghetto Heroes Square in front of the pharmacy before embarking on their ill-fated journeys. For many, this would be a one-way journey, a journey of no return!

For lunch, we opted for a wholesome meal at one of the traditional Polish restaurants in the vicinity, the Jadłodajnia Wczoraj i Dziś. Food was awesome where we ordered the traditional pork dumplings, pork cutlets and apple pancakes. Service was great too.

After our meals, we continued with another museum visit at the former Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory about 15 minutes away. Apparently, this is a very popular site where lines to enter the museum premises spilled onto street level. It wasn't difficult to comprehend its popularity given its vivid display of artefacts that told the story of Krakow under the Nazis Occupation during the Second World War.

After Schindler's Factory, it was time for another round of desserts at Jadłodajnia Wczoraj i Dziś before heading back to our hotel room for some rest. In the evening, we headed out to the Krakow Old Town, took lots of beautiful pictures against the backdrop of setting sun at the Old Town Square. We ended the day with dinner at Sausages from Blue Nysa, an iconic takeaway van that was extremely popular among locals and foreigners alike.

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