Krakow has been a big blur. But an excellent one. I finally got to “let loose” a little by participating in consuming the local alcohol in excess. I feel by backpacking alone in Europe for 3 mo., this is often a dangerous and stupid thing to do. But these hostels were amazing here. And everyone was so friendly, both the staff and the other guests, so I felt at complete ease to participate with them.
To start out, Polish trains are more rickety than a riding a bike with wooden wheels on a cobblestone street. I have a feeling I will be completely nauseous after I get off this thing in 3 hours. I am meeting up with my friend Karina’s mom at the Warsaw train station, and it’s her birthday today. Meant to arrive with fresh tulips (they’re cheap here!), but I lost track of time and had too many pieces of toast 4 breakfast—I realized I was almost late to my train! Woke up at 8am after a night I can’t quite recall the end of. I just know it started with my hostel’s 2 year birthday party and too many Mad Dog shots. And ended with me pissing off a street vendor bc I accused him of shortchanging me.
So a recap. Arrived with an Aussie named Emmean from Prague. We were riding trains together the whole day and didn’t realize it till we got to Poland. Originally thought we were staying at the same hostel, Greg and Tom’s, but oops, he was actually at Greg and Tom’s Junior. We ended up crossing paths lots anyways in the end, so it was fun to have a friend in a new place right away. Lots of guys in the hostel, esp Aussies, so it was a riot to sit around the dinner table that night (Greg and Tom’s cooks complimentary full amazing dinners each night!! And everyone eats around the big dinner table in the middle of the kitchen….so homey!)
K, have to pause, train is so rickety I can’t read what I write…..
K, back.
This next part is kind of detailed about things very hard to write. Skip the next 2 paragraphs if you do not wish to read about my concentration camp visit.
I went to Auschwitz concentration camp on my first day in Krakow. 8am tour that last about 6 hours. Auschwitz was the concentration camp with the most people during the Holocaust. And after visiting different camps in Auschwitz (Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II and Birkenou), all I can say is the same thing I said after visiting India: “I don’t really have words to describe it.”
It was almost unreal…like I was strolling through a movie set. (just like with India). My tour group was small, and our guide was very very knowledgeable. We didn’t go through all the museum sections, but that’s okay, because after 4 hours, I was pretty much too overwhelmed. The hardest part of the visit to Auschwitz was when our guide took us inside the gas chamber in Auschwitz I. It was cold and dark and the walls, though repainted many times, still bore the smells that will just never leave. Auschwitz I used to be an army camp. That’s why they decided a concentration camp to be there. It was weird…so many trees and green grass and flowers while I was walking around Auschwitz made it almost seem…pretty. Whenever we watched films or saw pictures of the Holocaust, the campgrounds seemed bare and ugly. Such a eerie feeling to walk around. And the museum emphasized just how many victims there were at Auschwitz. They stacked the shoes found, the suitcases found, the eyeglasses found, even the hair that was shaved off the heads of female victims as soon as they arrived at Auschwitz. It was too much. We visited Birkenou, the part of Auschwitz that the most victims were gassed at. The camp stretches out as far as the eye can see….So…many….people.
After Auschwitz, I returned back to the hostel and went for a run. Around the main part of Krakow, the Old Town, there is paths that circle it with grassy little fields in between lots of benches and scattered monuments. A moat used to lie beneath this area of paths because the Old Town was isolated. I ran around the Old Town and felt completely out of shape. Bleh. But it was a beautiful, warm sunny day, so I couldn’t quite complain. Had me some yummy hot dogs for dinner during my abundandant home-cooked hostel dinner. Then, went out for the night with new friends.
Saturday, I was overly motivated to see the town. I didn’t know much about the sites, but free walking tours are a tempting, efficient way to see the town then move on with your life. As I was walking through the Old Town to meet the tour in the main square, a funeral was beginning in the St. Mary’s Church where I was supposed to meet the tour leader. The funeral was huge, I could tell. High security was surrounding the church and police had blocked off many streets leading to the main square. They were remembering a prestigious Polish general who died in the plane crash a few weeks back. 97 people died in this plane crash, most of them major Polish government officials. It was weird to think that they were still holding funerals. It really showed how widespread this plane crash reached through the Polish community.
St. Mary's Church in the Stare Misto (Old Town)
The decorations for the funeral at St. Mary's Church. :(
The Pope's Window is the middle top window. This is where Pope John Paul II, originally from Poland and who lived in this building in Krakow, used to stand and wave to the people. He would return to this building and reside here whenever in Poland.
The Castle, Walwal. This is where the Polish President body now resides.
The Krakow symbol, the Dragon.
I had to switch hostels this night because I last-minute added an extra night to my Krakow stay and my amazing hostel didn’t have any room left in theirs. I met a guy on my walking tour from Belfast, Ireland who was also staying in my hostel. He was really fun to talk to…his accent was so cool! We went together to our second walking tour of the day, the one in the Jewish Quarter, which had become a ghetto because of World War II. We saw many places where Schindler’s list was filmed and got a background of Steven Speilberg’s impressions of the city. He didn’t even want to film Schindler’s List in Krakow because it was now too modern. Much of it had to be rebuilt after WWII. So it didn’t quite look as it did for his movie’s purposes. He was forced to film it there anyway and made do.
WWII damaged buildings in Krakow.
The stairwell where the woman in ruby hid in Schindler's List.
Wierd thing on the corner of a street in the Jewish Quarter of Krakow.
A plaque for Oscar Schindler and his factory.
The first hostel I stayed at invited me to their Saturday dinner even though I wasn’t even staying there anymore—they were that cool. It was a typical Polish dinner and I tried liver for the first time. Ew gross. But I did it.
Saturday at my new hostel, Mosquito Hostel, they were celebrating their 2 year birthday. It was awesome. Lots of snacks, lots of vodka tasting, lots of people and decorations. And we even continued the celebration at a club with our own reserved table. It was pretty sweet. Late fun night.
I left for Warsaw this morning. It’s Sunday, the 25th. Paul was nice enough to walk me to the train station. This was the culmination of my adventures in Europe alone. I was now to meet up with Karina in Warsaw and spend the remainder of my time in Europe with her. I was ready, but of course, got that feeling you get where suddenly, the grass on your side really wasn’t that bad afterall. It was a bittersweet moment to leave Krakow on my own, just as it will be when I actually leave Europe to head back to my life in the States.
Btw, did I mention that ancient Polish trains are still in use??? This is the most rickety, scary, loud, nauseating, wobbly, rickety, wobbly, loud, rickety train I’ve ever been on. But I’m now in Warsaw, so hey, I’m safe and that’s all that matters, right?
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