on my mind: excitement, anticipation
So far we’ve kept most of our travel Peace Corps pertinent — seeing Romania, collaborating with other volunteers, integrating into this country, etc. But a week from today, we’ll be using some hard-earned leave and hitting the road to new places — Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Krakow. These are some of the crown jewels of Europe and we’re excited to explore and relax. On Facebook, we’ve been asking for tips from friends. So we’ll put the same request here on our blog — Have you been to Budapest, Vienna, Prague, or Krakow? What shouldn’t be missed?
3 Comments
Jenny
July 9, 2010hello, I don’t know if I’ve ever commented on your blog before but I’m a regular reader, I found you as I was thinking about applying for the Peace Corps myself and wanted to hear some other peoples’ experiences.
I lived in Krakow for 4 months as a student, I am so glad you’ve chosen to go there!!! It is a beautiful city and I couldn’t recommend it more highly. I wish every day I could go back. You should definitely spend your day just enjoying walking around the city, sitting at the sidewalk cafes, peeking in the beautiful churches, strolling through the Planty (grassy gardens surrounding the city center) and the river. there are almost always street performers out, and often some sort of festival on weekends so there will be plenty to see. of course you must also visit Wawel, the castle. after leaving Wawel, you can easily find your way to Kazimierz, the historic center of the jewish community in Krakow, and it might be nice to take a walk around there as well. perhaps while you’re down there you can stop in to the VERY popular Alchemia bar. it has a terrific atmosphere, and is a great place to stop in for a cool, quiet snack and a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic…i’ve gotten some terrific hot chocolate there). there are also some great Jewish restaurants in kazimierz, many of which have live music during the dinner hours. If you’re interested in the ghettos, there are still some remnants of walls standing, as well as shindler’s factory, in Podgorze, which is on the opposite side of the river from Kazimierz. there was also a concentration camp there too, which is mostly just a nature preserve now, but there is a nice memorial and a few otherwise nondescript buildings. If you’re only there a few days Podgorze, while interesting, is probably not worth your time.
Krakow is easy to get around, you can probably walk around most of it in a day, just depends on where you want to focus the most of your time.
if you’re interested in very basic, traditional polish food, a Bar mleczny might be a place to stop in for lunch. you can get pierogis, golabki, salads, and other polish foods for a very cheap price.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_mleczny)
i used to often eat at one on the corner of Karmelicka and garbarska streets, not too far from the city center.
of course, outside the city you may want to take a day to explore Auschwitz, which is less than an hour away and shouldn’t be missed, and also the Wieliczka Salt Mines, which are easily reached by city bus. If you have another day, Nowa Huta is an interesting district to explore, and there are some great tour companies that can give you “communism tours” that i’ve heard interesting things about.
if you want any recommendations as to anything (restaurants, bars, hotels, etc…) feel free to ask! like I said Im always excited when people come to krakow, it is a beautiful city, even in the rain its beautiful, and i hope you fall in love with it as much as i have!
veronica
July 12, 2010Wow! Jenny! You made my day! I figured just my mom, in-laws and a few friends read our blog! Yay for informative fun strangers reading it! I hope that our little life isn’t too boring!
Anyway, we are super excited about Krakow. We have three full days and plan on one being for Auschwitz. I’ve printed out your advice to take with us on the road! Personal experience is so much more helpful than travel guides. Again, thanks for reading and commenting!
Joslyn
July 14, 2010hey guys!!! my friend lived in Krakow for a while and traveled alot and is very passionate about it being his favorite city in the world. so i’ll as him about it for you!!!