Krakow, Poland (A pleasant, surreal surprise)

With all that being said, I absolutely loved Poland and the culture.  This trip to Poland was planned by my school, so there was a level of convenience involved. Poland is approximately 7 hours from Vienna, so we had a long bus ride ahead of us. After entering Poland, we stopped at the Tyskie Brewery (a famous Polish beer) to have a tour of the grounds.  This was my first time stepping foot on the property of a real life, gigantic brewery, and let me tell you, the smell is AWFUL!

Our tour guide was a little dry and boring, but he did show us some pretty cool stuff.  We were not allowed to take pictures in the packaging segment of the tour, but stand assured...I DID! :-) (Please don't judge me!)

Packaging, not the greatest picture, but it was a sight to see!

Brew Truck

A "Bruh-Ha-Ha" as we like to call it.

After enjoying a nice glass of the beer, we ventured into the city of Krakow to our hostel.  This was my first experience in a "true" hostel, and though it wasn't THAT bad, it was much different then what I am used to.  Having to ask the front desk for a broom to sweep the dirt that was left from the people before isn't exactly my idea of a solid experience. (I felt so much like my grandmother while I was there :-))

We quickly settled into our hostel and then made our way to dinner which was located a little ways from our hostel.  I enjoyed water soup with dumplings, chicken and mash potatoes, and an ice cream sundae for dessert. Overall, the dinner was good, but the good food was still to come. 

On Saturday morning, we woke up at a decent hour, had a light breakfast, and went straight to meet our two tour guides for a loooong walking city tour.  Our first stop was to Schindler's Factory (Have you even seen the movie Schindler's List?)  The tour guide did not take us into the museum, but we had free time on Sunday, and a group of us returned here. This museum (and the actual location of the real factory), was single handily the best museum I have ever been to. It was put together in such a creative manner, and it was enjoyable. I typically don't enjoy museums after being in them for 20 minutes, but I was fully capable of making it through this one without complaining. 

The original gates of Shindler's Factory

After the tour guide took us past Schindler's Factory, she then took us to the center of the Jewish ghetto in Krakow. This area was the the exact location that thousands of Jews were forced to move to in the final steps before leading them to the concentration camps. It was surreal to be on the exact streets that so many people thought they were traveling to for safety, for the well-being of their family.  I typically don't get outwardly emotional, but I had to really fight the tears off.  The picture below is a memorial placed in the middle of the Jewish Ghetto to remember all of the people that were led into a spiral of deceit, defeat, and death. 

After leaving the Jewish Ghetto, our tour guide took us to the Jewish Quarter to see the many synagogues and the center of Jewish culture. 

Jewish Quarters

After the Jewish Quarters, and learning more about the Jewish culture in Poland, we ventured off to many other parts of Krakow, including their famous fortress, city centre, and churches!

Overall, the tour was great. Our tour guide was very informative, and she got us very excited to explore the city a little bit more that day.  We got our first traditional Polish meal, Pierogies, for lunch. They were really delicious, and I didn't think I would like them at all. After lunch we shopped around and headed back for a nap before dinner time.  We knew we were in for a long night...dinner, then at midnight, Halloween would be upon us.  

After our nap, we went to a great, family owned restaurant where we had more traditional Polish food. The meal was an A+ until dessert came along. They called it cheese cake, which was really a Pound Cake once we tried it, and for a pound cake, it was pretty awful. But I guess I'm a tough critic considering I come from a family of Pound Cake Bakers. :-)

That night, we were excited to go out and experience Halloween in a new country.  We ended up in this really cool cocktail lounge that specialized in the beauty of making drinks (garnishes, colors, style, glasses, etc...) We loved it.

 

Disclaimer: The drinking age is 16 here!!!! Sadly, I was still carded!

After calling it quits relatively early, we headed back to the hostel to prepare for our visit to the Salt mine in the morning.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine, located in the town of Wieliczka in Southern Poland, lies within the Krakow metropolitan area. The mine continuously produced table salt from the 13th century until 2007 as one of the worlds oldest operating salt mines. It is believed to the the world's 14th-oldest company still in operation. The mine's attractions for tourists include dozens of statues and an entire chapel that has been carved out the rock salt by miners. Not to mention, the amazing ball room that was created many many meters underground. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually.

At the end of the tour, we were able to ride back up to ground level (we took over 700 stairs down) in the same elevator that miners do. It was incredibly small and scary!

The Chapel created and carved from the salt, underground

Kind of gross, but before leaving the salt mine, you are suppose to find a wall and lick it to prove that the whole 300km is truly pure salt. 

After returning back to Krakow that night, we explored some more- went to the museum and did some more shopping. To end the evening before dinner, we grabbed some gelato (Italian ice cream). We, again, got ready for dinner which wasn't as successful as the last two nights until it was time for dessert: FLAMING PANCAKES. Basically, it is a crepe filled with the ice cream of your choice and then they light it on fire. Pretty cool. 

Look closely...you can kind of see the flame. I couldn't get a better shot!

Overall, this trip to Poland was really amazing. I enjoyed the culture and the people. The final day, which was Monday, was a trip to Auschwitz Concentration Camp- a dream I have had since I was in the 5th grade.  My next blog will tackle this surreal, astonishing, and terribly informative experience.