Krakow & Katowice, Poland

Katowice

Okay, so getting out of Ostrava was a pain in the ass. The train system is terribly confusing and limited English was spoken. We couldn’t find a train to get us directly to Krakow so decided to get to Katowice and assess the situation. We were overjoyed to arrive to a vibrant, modern, young city. It’s super hip. We found a bus to Krakow, running every 15 minutes. This is where we ate our first American fast food, McDonalds. It was delicious. McDonald’s is not as abundant as in the states but it is around and the menu is extensive, creative and fresh. They often have an adjoining café with cool seating, espresso and dessert bar. We enjoyed the vibe here so much (in Katowice, not just at McDonald’s) that we stayed the night here on our way to Bratislava, Slovakia (which we aren’t going to blog about, but it is worth checking out.

Including castles both in and outside of town and an old town with a rad Portlandesque vibe, with great food). We splurged here on a mixed seafood grill platter with a bottle of white wine, made at a local family owned vineyard who sells only to a select few restaurants). The platter included salmon, shrimp, fresh caught trout and another white fish all simply yet perfectly grilled. We topped this off with three desserts (we meant to order two, but love this translation error) and with tip paid less than $70. It continues to be one of our favorite restaurant meals to date and well worth the splurge.

Krakow

Krakow and Warsaw are not names that summon images of beauty. They in fact made my mind suggest images of gray tones and basically the entire Great Depression. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Krakow is alive and vibrant! The vibe is energetic and hip. We stayed at a super cute apartment with a loft and bumpin’ air conditioning. One of my favorite television shows, before leaving the States, was anything about tiny house living. (My favorite show currently is Drop Dead Diva, I freaking love Jane.) I would watch this with one of my little buddies, Miles. This was tiny house living (Rome was the smallest tiny house, coming in at about 100 square feet) so this was like, moderate size tiny house. Perfectly located to hop on the electric tram and get anywhere in the city within minutes. Krakow is a park city. A long park runs throughout the city, providing the explorer with an ever ready park bench and shade. We took a day to walk around, walked by and through the castle, but didn’t wait in line or pay entrance fee to go in. Again, it’s all starting to look the same to us. The main square was bustling with energy. There's a cathedral with beautifully painted ceiling, blah, blah, blah. The most interesting thing in the square is a large, bronzed, male head, the product of crude decapitation as the jagged cuts on the neck suggests.

The Poles aren't exactly sure what to do with the head and it is always in transition, currently the head, "Eros Bendato", rests outside the Town Hall Tower which was once a city prison with medieval torture chamber.

The only thing this city lacks is a good sized grocery store, these are all located on the outskirts of town, the inner city only provides the bare necessities. But food is delicious and affordable. Our friend, Eric, asked us to check out Chimney Cake Bakery for a tasty ice cream filled treat. We had the caramel one.

So, the "cone" is similar to a cinnamon sugar doughnut, but with the consistency of a thick pancake. These are baked, rotisserie style over an open flame. They unravel as you eat them like a cinnamon roll. The inside is then coated in a thick homemade caramel sauce, overfilled with vanilla soft serve, then drizzled with more caramel sauce and topped off with two large chunks of caramel. It sounds like a sugar coma is about to occur, but it's surprisingly not that sweet. This was a delicious afternoon treat and highly recommended.

If you find yourself in Krakow it's because you are going to Auschwitz or checking out a music festival. The tourist board knows why you are here and have made it as simple as possible to get to get there. The bus and train stations are connected making it easy to get in and out of the city. The train station is also connected to a beautiful shopping mall with a delicious and affordably priced food court. A bus is a bit quicker than taking the train, which is included in your Eurail pass, but only runs several times per day, whereas busses run about every 30 minutes. Buy your tickets at a ticket window to ensure yourself a seat. Once all the ticket holders are seated and all seats are taken, they load in the people who buy tickets from the driver. These poor saps stand in the isle and then they continue to pick people up along the 90 minute journey. This was in a small van. Don’t buy round trip tickets because you don’t know how long it will take you once you get to Auschwitz, so just buy your return ticket from the bus driver when you want to return, we recommend getting on one of the larger buses, which is only about $0.50 more than the van, and stops just outside the main entrance. A free shuttle is included upon entry to the camp and takes you to Birkenau, we recommend taking the shuttle and not walking. It's hot and a bit of a walk. Make sure to plan on treating yourself to something once you return to the city after a day at Auschwitz, we recommend a Chimney Cake, or two.