Krakow!

Clark, Amanda, and I arrived in Krakow around 8pm.  We then took a bus and a tram to our couchsurfer's house.  Thankfully all went well and it was easy to locate.  However while getting to the tram, Amanda and I jaywalked as Clark tried to stop us from the other side of the street.  Turns out the police in Krakow run on bribes, so they basically find the tiniest infraction and then ask for an obscene amount of money to make it go away.  Needless to say, after Clark informed us of this we did not jaywalk again!  After we met our couchsurfer Alina, who is incredibly sweet and friendly, she took us to a plaza lined with bars in restaurants.  We were quite hungry so we got in line for some food at one of the faster food restaurants (not McDonalds or anything, but they’re definitely aimed at the people who stumble out of the bars or people who want a cheap meal before drinking).  We ordered these pizza baguette things.  It was half of a baguette cover in mushrooms and cheese and then the ingredients of your choosing.  They were incredibly delicious and apparently Krakow is quite famous for them.  So our first meal turned out to be a great first tourist activity.  Then we went to a bar where you walk through an armour to get to more seating.  It felt like we were entering Narnia!  After one beer each we decided to head home since we were all exhausted.  

Our second day in Krakow was our sightseeing day.  First we walked to the castle and took the longer route so we could walk by the river.  On our way we saw a statue dedicated to Dzok, a dog who waited for a year in a roundabout for his owner to return.  Unfortunately his owner had passed away in that very roundabout.  The castle was beautiful and it had a nice cathedral attached to it as well.  Then we headed to the main square, which was incredibly beautiful.  While we were in the main square we went to the tourist desk and bought our tickets for our day trip the next day.  

The woman there also told us about a good restaurant so we made our way over there.  Unfortunately it was quite crowded, so we went to the one across the street (Clark’s friend recommended it!).  I'm not sure how the other restaurant was, but this one was fantastic.  We got the menu of the day, which consisted of soup, a main dish (I got some pork thing), two sides (I chose mashed potatoes and sauerkraut), and it finished with a delicious cheesecake desert thing.  After lunch, I parted ways with Clark and Amanda and headed towards Schindler's factory (as in the one from the film) because they wanted to see other things and didn't want to pay for the museum.  It houses a museum about Jewish life in Poland.  I took the tram, but thankfully I bought a ticket first because right before my stop a man came on the tram to check them!  We have kind of gotten in the habit of not paying for trams when we travel because a lot of them don't sell the tickets on the tram or at the stop (and most people, tourists and citizens alike, do it as well).  How we are supposed to buy them I never know!  Once I got off the tram, I wasn't quite sure how to get to the factory, but I saw a free walking tour guide so I decided to join the group in hopes that they were heading towards the museum.  We made one stop, at the old wall of the Jewish Ghetto, and then made our way to the museum.  So I got a little more information about Krakow than if I had walked by myself.  At the end of the tour, the guide told us that the museum was free today and that it was some sort of holiday and that they were serving some refreshments!  So after the museum I grabbed a bowl of soup and made my way back to the Alina's house.  

The next day we went on a tour of Auschwitz.  We took a shuttle to and from the camp along with several other people.  It was a sobering experience, but also a little difficult to soak everything in and really reflect because we were in a large group that basically just walked through without many moments to pause and contemplate.  I also think the tour guide was a little inexperienced and was not able to tell us as much as some other guides.  Or perhaps I just know more than the average person visiting the camp.  I have always been very interested in World War II and the Holocaust, so it was a very meaningful experience, even though it is a very hard subject to digest.  While most people use Spring Break to party and go to the beach, I was soaking up history and remembering a horrible time in the past.  Not your typical Spring Break, but a worthwhile one.

That evening, after the mandatory pierogi dinner, Alina went with me to the bus station because I was taking a night bus to Prague!  Thankfully she was there to help me because the station was doing renovations and my bus stop was on a side street nearby.  Also she was able to call the bus (apparently that's a thing you can do in Poland, just call the driver and ask how late he will be) and tell me that it was an hour and a half late.  She waited with me until my bus came.  She was an amazing host and I hope to see her again someday.  She asked me to send her a postcard from Chicago since she's never been.  Let's hope I remember!