Days 26-27 Krakow

Day 26 Driving through Poland and Auschwitz-Birkenau

We left Teplice in the morning after a little breakfast by way of two charter vans driven by two very nice Polish guys. The one guy was hilarious, always joking around. The Czech and Polish countryside is very beautiful and the drive was very nice. We stopped in a small town called Nysa I think for money and coffee, it was and interesting little town. After that we drove for a while and finally came to a place for lunch where I had my first Polish Perogis actually in Poland. The were very good and I also had a Zwiec Pivo which was also very good. On our way to lunch we briefly passed through Gliwice, which is Ania's home town where I will be heading back to later on in the trip. We then drove to Auschwitz-Birkenau for a guided tour by a Polish guide through both concentration and death camps. Like most people I knew a good amount about the Holocaust prior to going there, but it was very sobering to actually see the place where these horrific acts were carried out. I am not going to dive into it too much but if you are ever near there I think you should go see it.

We got into Krakow in the evening and went out to a small restaurant just off of the main square for dinner. It was a place where you could just get a salad plate so thats what I did. It was tasty but I was looking forward to the following day when I would get some Go³abki (pig in a blanket).

Day 27 Krakow

The next day I grabbed lunch at what some call the University Cantene, the sign looks like a crazy old lady and I think the translation is Grandmas cafe. Our tour leader recommended it for Authentic and reasonable Polish food. I didnt even look at the menu but just asked for Go³abki. They had it and wow was it fabulous. It came with a sauce that had large pieces of Polish sausage and mushrooms and two lumps of mashed potatoes.

We then hit the roads with an American guide by bike. We covered all of the major sites in and outside of the main square. We saw the bugeler play his partial tune, we saw the Jewish area, the Ghetto, Shindlers Factory, etc... It was a great time and I would recommend doing this to anyone wanting to see the sites outside of the main square. The office is tucked away in a side alley on the corner of the square that would be to the right of the two towered church if you were staring at it.

I checked my email after the ride and Jason had setup a meeting time so that we could meet up with he and Katja. We showered and got ready and met them in the square. We went to a local pub and had a few drinks and then Drew and I hadnt had dinner so we went searching for somewhere to go. It was 9PM at that time so there were not many options. We stumbled upon an Indian restaurant and checked it out. We had Somosas, Naan, and some butter chicken, it was the best Indian food I have ever had, very good flavors and spices, I highly recommend finding it. It is just off of the main square but I cant remember exactly where. Then we went to a few clubs where we dance a little. The better of the two we went to was called Carpe Diem II. There were all sorts of old motorcycles everwhere and there were people dancing, which for a Tuesday seemed like a rare find.

Overall I loved Krakow, it has a lot of history, beautiful buildings, friendly people, and great food.