Krakow & Prague

On June 3, we packed up the campsite in Budapest and left for Krakow, Poland. I was really excited about going to Poland because I know a few people who have traveled there, and they all had nice things to say, especially about Krakow.

We were staying in a hostel on the outskirts of the city, so we checked in and had a little time to relax and freshen up before we ventured back into the city via our tour bus. Our trip leader Dan took us on a walking tour of the city so we could get our bearings. I was surprised by how pretty and picturesque the city was, and even more so by how old it was. So much of Poland, particularly Warsaw, was leveled during WWII that it was pretty amazing to see this beautiful medieval city still intact.

Cloth Hall in Main Square (now a market)

St. Mary's Basilica

The Krakow Barbican (a fortified outpost)

After our quick tour, we went out for dinner as a group, and then some of us went out for drinks after. I enjoyed both the Polish nightlife (we saw some real...characters while we were out) and also getting to know some of the people on my tour.

In the morning, we went back into the city. Our first priority was to explore the castle district, which is the oldest part of the city and is of course situated on a hill overlooking a river, because every old city has the same setup.

Pope John Paul II, the bishop of Krakow before he became pope

Closeup of the cathedral

Wawel Castle

Cathedral from a distance

While we were there, we also went looking for the dragon of Krakow. The dragon is the symbol of Krakow because of an old legend. Like all fairy tales and folklore, there are many versions, but here's the one I know. During the reign of King Krakus, for whom the city is named, a dragon that lived at the foot of the castle hill kept eating all the maidens. When the only maiden left was the princess, the king got a little desperate, and he decreed that anyone who slayed the beast could have his [beautiful] daughter's hand. Of course men were falling all over themselves to slay the dragon but everyone failed, until a humble shoemaker gave it a shot. He stuffed a sheep full of sulfur and baited the dragon with it. When the dragon ate the sheep, his stomach started burning from the sulfur, so he went down to the Vistula river and started drinking in great gulps. But the sulfur and the water had a powerful reaction and the dragon exploded, so the humble but brilliant shoemaker and the beautiful princess lived happily ever after. All of that being said, there's a dragon statue that breathes fire at the foot of the castle district, so we went to check it out.

Fire-breathing dragon (the photo doesn't do the fire justice)

A small group of us then ventured over into the industrial part of town, which used to be part of the Jewish quarter and then the Jewish ghetto during the rise of Nazism in Poland. We wanted to visit the Oskar Schindler factory, the basis of the famous movie Schindler's List, which has since been turned into a museum. The movie of course dramatizes the heroism of Herr Schindler but it's still an amazing story, and the museum was really moving. I was particularly unsettled by the recreation of the Krakow ghetto that was part of the walk-through.

Walking through the old Jewish quarter

Recreation of the Krakow ghetto

We then headed back into the main square for a late lunch, and I took a walk through the old Cloth Hall, which is now a souvenir market (and admittedly a big tourist trap).

Town Hall tower

Town Hall tower and market

Inside the market

That evening, I had authentic sweet cheese Polish pierogi and basically thought I died and went to heaven.

The next day, we were heading for Prague, but we had an important stop to make. My overall tour included a guided tour of Auschwitz concentration camp and the adjacent Birkenau extermination camp. It's hard to adequately express what it was like to visit those places, so I'm not going to attempt it. But if you find yourself in a part of Europe that allows you to visit a concentration camp, I think it's really important to go. So I'm not going to try to write about it but I will share some of the photos that I took.

Auschwitz from the outside

Auschwitz entrance

Prisoner blocks/barracks

Birkenau

We continued on to Prague in the afternoon. We had to drive through the city to get to our campsite so we got a nice view of the city first from a bus, and then after we set up camp and had dinner, we went back into the city center to do a quick nighttime walking tour before visiting the largest nightclub in Europe, which has five floors, all of which play different kinds of music (the Oldies floor was my favorite).

Our first priority in the morning was to go to Prague's castle district (which is also situated on a hill overlooking a river, in case you were wondering). It was basically a hike to get to the top and after having visited the five-story nightclub the night before, I wasn't exactly in top form. But boy, the views were incredible.

View of the city from the castle district

Just as a side note, there isn't actually a castle in Prague. I was befuddled by this because everyone talks about "the Prague castle" but there isn't one; they're talking about the castle district, which houses an incredible cathedral and the royal palace, but there's no castle in sight. Just an FYI for those as ignorant as I am.

St. Vitus Cathedral

Royal palace

Royal Palace changing of the guard

We stayed at the palace long enough to watch the changing of the guard, which was just as elaborate as the famous one in London but not nearly as crowded. We then walked back down from the castle district and crossed the very famous Charles Bridge to get to the Old Town Square, because our trip leader had said there were amazing views from the top of the town hall.

Castle district and the Charles Bridge from the other side

Old Town Square

Town Hall tower

The clock you can see on the tower is really famous, because it was installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest that's still functioning. But anyway, climbing to the top of the tower was surprisingly easy because there are inclined ramps to get to the top instead of stairs, which just made my whole day.

Closer-up of the astronomical clock

Square and Our Lady before Týn church

Square and St. Nicholas church

We had lunch after we descended the tower and then wandered through the Jewish quarter, getting the famous ice cream in donut cones I've read about so many times, and they were delicious. But I had one more place I had to go, and that was, of course, the John Lennon wall.

John Lennon wall

If you think wearing this shirt was a coincidence, then you don't know me at all

Donut-cone ice cream with Nutella

We were pretty beat after all this walking (and the side effects of the five-story nightclub the night before) so we got Subway sandwiches to go and brought them back to the campsite, where we hung out for the rest of the evening.

I was really excited about the next day, because we were venturing on to a different country which happens to be one of my favorites: Germany.