So, I haven’t even been in Prague a full week yet, and my friend Meike and I, along with a group of 10 other Thunderbirds decided to take advantage of our first three-day weekend, and head north to the land of the Poles – Krakow, Poland.
So, by now, you can imagine that I can’t go anywhere without some sort of an adventure, and sure enough, about 2 hrs into our overnight train from Prague to Krakow a bum of questionable origin opened our stupidly unlocked train compartment and was demanding a cigarette! He didn’t believe us that we didn’t have a cigarette, and with his impressive list of English vocabulary consisting of “f*ing, sh*t, cigarette and friends,” he decided to sit down right next to me, and tried to carry on a conversation with us. Meike was up like a shot as soon as the door opened, and was already trying to usher the bum out by the time I even rolled over from my deep sleep… but to no avail, as the bum was intent on riding with us for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the bum, we’ll just call him the Czech bum heard his other booze buddies singing a few compartments up, and decided to head over. So, as soon as the Czech bum left, we locked the door and drew the curtains…. But, that didn’t seem to deter him, because about 5 minutes later, him and his loyal bum band of belligerent followers showed up again and tried to open our door! Luckily we were smart enough to lock it this time, so that was able to keep them out, and after about 5 minutes of trying to get in, they decided to harass the poor souls in the next train compartment. Phew!
After a long 9hr train ride, the Thunderbirds arrived into Krakow at 7am and immediately headed over to our different hostels. Now, our hostel was awesome! Nathan’s Villa. For those traveling to Krakow, I’d totally recommend it. So after a quick freshening up and unpacking, it was time to begin on our 2-day whirlwind tour of Krakow and surrounding cities.
First up – the Jewish quarter. Unfortunately, we didn’t really devote that much time to this, because of the torrential downpour that came down on us during our walking adventure. But, we pressed on, taking pictures and getting soaked. But, as soon as we found a restaurant that was open for lunch, we were more than willing to take a break from the rain for some nice Polish food. The restaurant was awesome… totally off the beaten-track, and NOT touristy – awesome Pierogies! So, with full bellies, and not so much motivation to head back out in the rain, we decided it was best to hop on a bus to the nearby medieval town of Wieliczka to tour the 13th century salt mine! This mine is the oldest mine still in operation today, and has over 350 meters of caverns and 220 miles of tunnels! Of course, the tour only let us go down to 150 meters, but nonetheless, the sights were awesome – we even go to taste some saltwater brine. They recommended we lick the walls as they are covered with salt – but somehow, all I could think about was the Czech-bum, and how many people like him and his booze buddies had licked the wall before me! The mine actually has the world's largest underground cathedral, and a ton of salt sculptures carved by the miners after their long 12 hr shifts! After a long day of touring around Krakow (in the rain), and walking 3 miles in the salt mine – we decided to treat ourselves to an amazing Italian meal and coffee – the Poles sure know how to make great coffee!!!
Day 2 began with a tour of the concentration camps Aushwitz and Berkenow (I’ll devote an entire (somber) blog to those next, so stay tuned). After a morning and afternoon of touring, we headed back into Krakow to take in more sights and sounds of this charming little city (this time, it was sunny)!!! Check out the pictures below! 
Of course, we couldn’t end the trip without another small adventure because that would just be too easy. So, early Monday morning, looking like a bunch of pack-mules, we walked to the tram station to catch the early tram into the train station… however, apparently, the doors on the particular tram that we caught wouldn’t close, so we wound up having to hoof it, at 6am, bags in hand, FREEZING temperatures, the 2-mile walk to the train station! Haha.
All in all, the trip was amazing! The Polish people are so friendly, welcoming, and quite helpful! Despite, having such a turbulent past, and virtually being obliterated from the European map some short time ago, Poland has kept its culture alive and has regained its strength as a nation with pockets of bustling centers thriving with of culture, life and excitement.
So, by now, you can imagine that I can’t go anywhere without some sort of an adventure, and sure enough, about 2 hrs into our overnight train from Prague to Krakow a bum of questionable origin opened our stupidly unlocked train compartment and was demanding a cigarette! He didn’t believe us that we didn’t have a cigarette, and with his impressive list of English vocabulary consisting of “f*ing, sh*t, cigarette and friends,” he decided to sit down right next to me, and tried to carry on a conversation with us. Meike was up like a shot as soon as the door opened, and was already trying to usher the bum out by the time I even rolled over from my deep sleep… but to no avail, as the bum was intent on riding with us for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the bum, we’ll just call him the Czech bum heard his other booze buddies singing a few compartments up, and decided to head over. So, as soon as the Czech bum left, we locked the door and drew the curtains…. But, that didn’t seem to deter him, because about 5 minutes later, him and his loyal bum band of belligerent followers showed up again and tried to open our door! Luckily we were smart enough to lock it this time, so that was able to keep them out, and after about 5 minutes of trying to get in, they decided to harass the poor souls in the next train compartment. Phew!
After a long 9hr train ride, the Thunderbirds arrived into Krakow at 7am and immediately headed over to our different hostels. Now, our hostel was awesome! Nathan’s Villa. For those traveling to Krakow, I’d totally recommend it. So after a quick freshening up and unpacking, it was time to begin on our 2-day whirlwind tour of Krakow and surrounding cities.
First up – the Jewish quarter. Unfortunately, we didn’t really devote that much time to this, because of the torrential downpour that came down on us during our walking adventure. But, we pressed on, taking pictures and getting soaked. But, as soon as we found a restaurant that was open for lunch, we were more than willing to take a break from the rain for some nice Polish food. The restaurant was awesome… totally off the beaten-track, and NOT touristy – awesome Pierogies! So, with full bellies, and not so much motivation to head back out in the rain, we decided it was best to hop on a bus to the nearby medieval town of Wieliczka to tour the 13th century salt mine! This mine is the oldest mine still in operation today, and has over 350 meters of caverns and 220 miles of tunnels! Of course, the tour only let us go down to 150 meters, but nonetheless, the sights were awesome – we even go to taste some saltwater brine. They recommended we lick the walls as they are covered with salt – but somehow, all I could think about was the Czech-bum, and how many people like him and his booze buddies had licked the wall before me! The mine actually has the world's largest underground cathedral, and a ton of salt sculptures carved by the miners after their long 12 hr shifts! After a long day of touring around Krakow (in the rain), and walking 3 miles in the salt mine – we decided to treat ourselves to an amazing Italian meal and coffee – the Poles sure know how to make great coffee!!!
Day 2 began with a tour of the concentration camps Aushwitz and Berkenow (I’ll devote an entire (somber) blog to those next, so stay tuned). After a morning and afternoon of touring, we headed back into Krakow to take in more sights and sounds of this charming little city (this time, it was sunny)!!! Check out the pictures below!
Of course, we couldn’t end the trip without another small adventure because that would just be too easy. So, early Monday morning, looking like a bunch of pack-mules, we walked to the tram station to catch the early tram into the train station… however, apparently, the doors on the particular tram that we caught wouldn’t close, so we wound up having to hoof it, at 6am, bags in hand, FREEZING temperatures, the 2-mile walk to the train station! Haha.
All in all, the trip was amazing! The Polish people are so friendly, welcoming, and quite helpful! Despite, having such a turbulent past, and virtually being obliterated from the European map some short time ago, Poland has kept its culture alive and has regained its strength as a nation with pockets of bustling centers thriving with of culture, life and excitement.
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