Krakow: Krakow, as a city, has a lot of churches. It has a lot of other things too, like bars, and clubs, and restaurants, and museums, and trams; but it also has a churches. Is this a bad thing? No, not really. Churches in Europe are tourist attractions as much as places of worship. All the Churches in Krakow were beautiful, better than the best church in the US, with ornate carvings, astounding paintings, high, haunting arches. Everything about those churches, starting from their staggering age, is great.
To be honest, I don't remember which church was which anymore. The best, and most notable, was St. Mary's Cathedral in the Main Market Square, which became kind of like my Krakow Version of the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town; my central place. The Church immeidately stands out for its size and height, a regal building. Inside, it is definitely the most visited, as it had the most lights on of any church. Because of this, the ornate design stands out more than in the others.
The other best churches were the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Franciscan Church, and mostly for religious importance, teh Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy, home to the miracle appearance of Jesus to Sister Faustina, since made a Saint.
Now, to get to less religious things: drinking and having fun. Krakow is as good at these things is at is at churches. Krakow claims to have more bars per square foot than any city in the world. I'm not sure how true that is, but possible because a lot of bars and clubs (mostly clubs) are well hidden during the day time hours. At night, they're basically every three feet. Some are more notable than others. My favorite, and the one I went to more than once, was called CK Browar, a brewery/restaurant slightly outside the walls of the Old Town.
CK Browar brews its own beer. There isn't much variety, but the beers they do make are all good, especially their Weisse (wheat) and Ginger beers. The food there isn't the best, but no one really goes there for food. I was there for Manchester United's stirring comeback against Olympiakos, as Champions League games run nicely in primetime in Europe, which allowed me to meet a lot of futbol fans. I went out with them after to Wodka Cafe, an all-Vodka bar that isn't as trashy as it sounds. It's actually quite an educational experience. The guy behind the bar picks the Vodka's for you. They're all strange, but all quite good.
Overall, what I liked doing more than anything was having a beer sitting on an outdoor table of one of the umpteen restaurants lining the sides of Krakow's main square. It's more picturesque than any of the Platz-es in Berlin, a more European looking space. No cars are allowed, and it's just a clock-tower on one side, St. Mary's Basilica on the other, and a long, ornate building called Cloth Hall in between. It is really active during the day, but never really quiets. I used to go for my daily people-watching beer around 6PM, and it was still full.
Food in Krakow was really good for the most part. I went to mainly Polish places, and while I was slightly dismayed that most Polish cuisine was largely German cuisine in Berlin, they offered their own takes. What I really loved about the Polish Restaurants were their ambience. A great spot I went to was Restauracja Zdylaca, a little restuarant right off the main square that served an amazingly presented Cream of Vegetable soup (my Mom is probably really surprised reaading this that I had something like that), and even better Lamb Sausage.
My favorite restaurant, though was about a one-minute walk from my Hostel (not why I liked it). It was called Moriaska Oko, a Polish restaurant designed in the style of the Highlander people that once reigned supreme over a seemingly more Austrian part of Poland. They have live Polish music from Wednesday-Sunday in the evenings, and good food, so I couldn't resist. I actually went there twice, which probably wasn't the best idea given the range of options in Krakow to eat, but I enjoyed both meals.
OK, I've put it off too much, the most impacting site of Krakow, or in this case a-bus-ride outside of Krakow, was Auschwitz. Let's not delay this too much: it is an incredibly impacting, life-altering visit. I've been to one concentration camp before when I was 9. It was Dachau, arguably the 2nd most infamous camp. I don't remember it too well. I've also visited the sites of the Cambodian Genocide, and while that reign of terror was arguably more awful (just to reposit: they killed kids by bashing their heads against trees), but not nearly as large of a scope.
No, this was different. Undescribeable, really. In each room you visit, each 'barrack' as the Nazi's cruelly called it, there are pictures and evidence of the nazi's incredible breadth of terror. The guide, which is mandatory if you arrive after 10AM, doesn't hold back anything. There is a barrack that is created where each room shows you an incredible amount of some object that was discovered when the camp was liberated, like eyeglasses, suitcases, hairbrushes, and most awful, hair itself.
When those objects became part of the tour, as I saw many people start to tear up, including many in the various Jewish tour groups that were around. I can't imagine what this is like for them. It's hard even if you aren't connected to what happened. In a way, I started to ask as the guide told more and more disturbing stories of the Nazi's reign, I wondered if the (vast majority of) people that were sentenced to die immediately when arriving to Auschwitz-Birkenau didn't have it better off than those that had to live in those squalid conditions.
Visiting the camp should be mandatory for everyone, as I can't imagine anyone wanting to perpetrate any evil after going there. Visiting Auschwitz leaves a mark. A mark that I will never forget. I am so glad I got to have this opportunity. It is a part of history. World War II always will be, also as a lesson, and a marker. Never again there should be a reason for a World War, especially not on such heinous, terrible grounds.
To be honest, I don't remember which church was which anymore. The best, and most notable, was St. Mary's Cathedral in the Main Market Square, which became kind of like my Krakow Version of the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town; my central place. The Church immeidately stands out for its size and height, a regal building. Inside, it is definitely the most visited, as it had the most lights on of any church. Because of this, the ornate design stands out more than in the others.
The other best churches were the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the Franciscan Church, and mostly for religious importance, teh Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy, home to the miracle appearance of Jesus to Sister Faustina, since made a Saint.
Now, to get to less religious things: drinking and having fun. Krakow is as good at these things is at is at churches. Krakow claims to have more bars per square foot than any city in the world. I'm not sure how true that is, but possible because a lot of bars and clubs (mostly clubs) are well hidden during the day time hours. At night, they're basically every three feet. Some are more notable than others. My favorite, and the one I went to more than once, was called CK Browar, a brewery/restaurant slightly outside the walls of the Old Town.
CK Browar brews its own beer. There isn't much variety, but the beers they do make are all good, especially their Weisse (wheat) and Ginger beers. The food there isn't the best, but no one really goes there for food. I was there for Manchester United's stirring comeback against Olympiakos, as Champions League games run nicely in primetime in Europe, which allowed me to meet a lot of futbol fans. I went out with them after to Wodka Cafe, an all-Vodka bar that isn't as trashy as it sounds. It's actually quite an educational experience. The guy behind the bar picks the Vodka's for you. They're all strange, but all quite good.
Overall, what I liked doing more than anything was having a beer sitting on an outdoor table of one of the umpteen restaurants lining the sides of Krakow's main square. It's more picturesque than any of the Platz-es in Berlin, a more European looking space. No cars are allowed, and it's just a clock-tower on one side, St. Mary's Basilica on the other, and a long, ornate building called Cloth Hall in between. It is really active during the day, but never really quiets. I used to go for my daily people-watching beer around 6PM, and it was still full.
Food in Krakow was really good for the most part. I went to mainly Polish places, and while I was slightly dismayed that most Polish cuisine was largely German cuisine in Berlin, they offered their own takes. What I really loved about the Polish Restaurants were their ambience. A great spot I went to was Restauracja Zdylaca, a little restuarant right off the main square that served an amazingly presented Cream of Vegetable soup (my Mom is probably really surprised reaading this that I had something like that), and even better Lamb Sausage.
My favorite restaurant, though was about a one-minute walk from my Hostel (not why I liked it). It was called Moriaska Oko, a Polish restaurant designed in the style of the Highlander people that once reigned supreme over a seemingly more Austrian part of Poland. They have live Polish music from Wednesday-Sunday in the evenings, and good food, so I couldn't resist. I actually went there twice, which probably wasn't the best idea given the range of options in Krakow to eat, but I enjoyed both meals.
OK, I've put it off too much, the most impacting site of Krakow, or in this case a-bus-ride outside of Krakow, was Auschwitz. Let's not delay this too much: it is an incredibly impacting, life-altering visit. I've been to one concentration camp before when I was 9. It was Dachau, arguably the 2nd most infamous camp. I don't remember it too well. I've also visited the sites of the Cambodian Genocide, and while that reign of terror was arguably more awful (just to reposit: they killed kids by bashing their heads against trees), but not nearly as large of a scope.
No, this was different. Undescribeable, really. In each room you visit, each 'barrack' as the Nazi's cruelly called it, there are pictures and evidence of the nazi's incredible breadth of terror. The guide, which is mandatory if you arrive after 10AM, doesn't hold back anything. There is a barrack that is created where each room shows you an incredible amount of some object that was discovered when the camp was liberated, like eyeglasses, suitcases, hairbrushes, and most awful, hair itself.
When those objects became part of the tour, as I saw many people start to tear up, including many in the various Jewish tour groups that were around. I can't imagine what this is like for them. It's hard even if you aren't connected to what happened. In a way, I started to ask as the guide told more and more disturbing stories of the Nazi's reign, I wondered if the (vast majority of) people that were sentenced to die immediately when arriving to Auschwitz-Birkenau didn't have it better off than those that had to live in those squalid conditions.
Visiting the camp should be mandatory for everyone, as I can't imagine anyone wanting to perpetrate any evil after going there. Visiting Auschwitz leaves a mark. A mark that I will never forget. I am so glad I got to have this opportunity. It is a part of history. World War II always will be, also as a lesson, and a marker. Never again there should be a reason for a World War, especially not on such heinous, terrible grounds.
