Krakow is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. The city is cited as one of Europe's most beautiful cities and has traditionally been one of the leading centers of Polish academic,
economic, cultural and artistic life.
Me and my two buddies (initials "A" and "R" - for the sake of privacy :) ) took the opportunity to visit the city in Feb'2019 after stumbling upon a great deal (flight+lodging) in Expedia.com. Since it was just a short trip (3D2N), we reckoned a small rucksack as a carry-on luggage to be placed under the seat should suffice, despite numerous reminders to purchase extra luggage by Ryanair.
Day 1:
It was around 7pm when we reached Krakow. And it took not more than 30mins to take a cab from the airport to reach the hotel for our check-in. The hotel we stayed was called Hotel Legend (Google rating 4.6) and was situated very close to the city center.
By that time, our stomachs were already growling :) Lucky for us, there was a nice cozy restaurant just around the corner of our hotel and we marched straight into it - Pod Wawelem Kompania Kuflowa. And oh my, were we impressed by the restaurant vibe and selection of food from the menu (lots of meat selections). We took crispy farmer potatoes topped with salmon and fish roes as appetizers, and "A" and myself shared a big wooden plate of the restaurant's finest cuts (varieties of grilled meat, blood sausages and etc). Not to mention accompanied by mugs of local beers!
When wolfing down the food, I could not help but to sneer at "R" while he pathetically trying to finish his chicken schnitzel (feels kind of lame to order that actually). Anyway, he has never been a big eater to begin with but at least this was one of the few times I saw him eating that much. Was it due to peer pressure? :)
Two of the most delightful experiences in the restaurant were the restaurant personals were celebrating and singing birthday songs to the guests at the table beside us. The song was in Polish and the melody was totally different than the conventional birthday songs we ever heard. We liked it very much especially it brought in a lot of joyous local warmth around us. The other delightful surprise was the meal ended with complimentary Cherry Vodkas! :)
Day 2:
The second day of our trip was very eventful. We booked a local tour via Krakville.com to visit the famous “Wieliczka” Salt Mine (UNESCO Heritage since 1978). The salt mine was excavated from the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, and it has been known as one of the oldest operating salt mines in the world at that time.
The Salt mine is situated in the town of Wieliczka, which is around 40min drive from the city center. What was included in the tour were the transportation, entrance fees and a tour guide of the mine.
After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we took a brisk stroll along the Krakowskie park to meet up with the local guide at Sienne 17, where other tourists also gathered. The local guide was polite and friendly, and he drove us to the salt mine in a 9-seater van. Three of us were excited and chatty along the journey, other passengers in the car seemed to be quiet as church mice.
We were soon introduced to the another tour guide when we reached the destination. It is a pity I do not remember his name, but I remembered him as a witty middle-aged gentleman with occasional dark humor :) The tour started by walking down a seemingly endless spiral wooden stairway, which was quite scary when I tried to look down over the railing. Not long after, a whole new world of underground tunnels and passages were unveiled to us.
The guide was helpful in explaining the history, construction and the salt mining process as well as how it evolved as he led us through the dimly-lit passages. I was not sure if I was listening to the guide all the time, as I was in total awe while walking through the glimmering shafts and passages covered by salt, and admiring the salt sculptures carved by the miners. It felt so surreal!
The main highlight of the salt mine tour was to enter the majestic, breathtaking Chapel of St. Kinga, located 101 meters underground. Several crystal chandeliers illuminated the intricately carved floors, religious statues as well as the extraordinary artistry carved on the walls. There was even an replica of the "The Last Supper" carved in salt on the wall. According to the guide, the chapel could be used today for a Holy Mass, a wedding, a classical or religious music concert for groups of up to 400 people.
When asked if it is expensive to book this Chapel for a function, the guide wittily commented:
"It is not if you are from Sweden!"
Oh well, I guess we should just take his comment with a pinch of salt :)
After the visit of the Chapel, we were led to an enormous chamber where it was bustling with visitors and souvenir stalls. The chamber was so huge that the guide casually told us that the municipal organized an underground bungee jump event some years ago. What did he just say?!?!
Just when you thought the fun was over, we were transported up to the surface in a small miner's lift (from 104 meters underground), crammed with around 10 people inside. We were so awkwardly close to each other that we literally had to hold our breathes in order not to "smell" each other out :)
Well, enough babbling about the “Wieliczka” Salt Mine. What did we do after that?
Yes, after the salt mine tour, we google-searched a restaurant called Przystanek Pierogarnia to have a local delicacy - Pirogues (or dumplings). To our surprise, the restaurant was actually smaller than we thought and with very limited sittings. It felt more like a take-away joint. Nevertheless, the selection of dumplings were great and it was recommended to have them with warm beetroot soup especially on a chilly weather. "A" had two beetroot soups with the dumplings :)
On the way to the restaurant, we walked pass "The Cloth Hall" where handicrafts, souvenirs and amber jewelries were sold. Speaking of ambers, I later learned that Poland has a long history with amber crafting way back in the Neolithic period and until the modern age at Gdańsk. And amber is often known as ‘The Gold of the North’ due to its beautiful color, and aromatic smell when burning.
After savoring the Pirogues, we decided to visit the Wawel Royal Castle. The castle is situated on the top of Wawel Hill and it was definitely a delight to have a panoramic view of the city on a sunny weather.
One of the attraction nearby is the Wawel Cathedral, where one may admire the religious arts and sculptures in the precinct. BUT, the main attraction is actually the "real" dragon bone hanging next to the cathedral's entrance, which is rumored to belong to the legendary fire-breathing dragon - Smok Wawelski.
According to legend, Smok once lived in the cave under the Wawel hill and it was wreaking havoc among the villagers. It was finally killed by a local hero, who fed the dragon a lamb laced with sulfur. This made the dragon so thirsty that it drank water from the river until it exploded.
And there was a bronze statue of Smok situated under the Wawel hill, which we of course queued up to take pictures with :) In the picture, you would notice the mouth of Smok is slightly charred as it is supposed to "breathe" fire whenever there is a parade or festival at night.
After that, we continued walking around the city. We were "thirsty" and this time we were looking for a place to have some Vodka shots. We ended up sitting in a dive bar called Pijalnia Wódki i Piwa where we had a few beers and vodka shots (lemon, cheery and etc). In the bar, we noticed the locals were also ordering steak tartare with raw egg. We were curious, but we did not order that to try.
Instead, we went outside, around the corner to try a popular street food called Zapiekanka - an open-face sandwich topped with bacons, paprika, cheese and etc. Greasy but delicious!
What is a Krakow trip without a cultural event? :)
As a spontaneous decision, we went to Chopin Concert Hall in the evening to enjoy some classical piano pieces performed by an award winning Chopinist. Before the concert, there was a short introduction of Frédéric Chopin and his life history as well as some of his famous work by the organizer. I am not a huge fan of classical music, but honestly I did feel and take something out of the concert.
You might have already guessed, the evening ended with more beers and food after the concert! :)
We went back to the same restaurant - Pod Wawelem Kompania Kuflowa, and this time we ordered blood sausages, steaks and a huge Golonka (pork knuckle) with crispy skin, washed down with some local dark beers.
The day ended with tired feet after a total walking journey of around 23,000 steps, 22 floors :)
Day 3:
The third day of our trip took a more solemn trail as we planned to walk around the old Jewish quarters as well as visiting the Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory. Since it was the last day of our trip, we checked out of the hotel in the morning but still kept our luggage in their storage.
In the old Jewish quarters , we noticed a lot of scorched marks on the buildings.
"Are these bullet holes?" I could not help but asked myself silently as I noticed some holes on some of the buildings.
We walked pass a Synagogue Temple, a Jewish library and lingered shortly outside of the Old Synagogue. Beside the Old Synagogue, we came across a mural painted on the side wall of once the residence of a Jewish family. The atmosphere was kind of heavy and none of us muttered a word for some time.
With the help of the phone GPS, we had finally reached the Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory at Lipowa Street. There was already a queue in front of us, but it was not long before it reached our turn to purchase the tickets to get into the exhibition. It seemed the staff would like to control the number of visitors in order to avoid overcrowding.
The exhibition was about Krakow and its Polish and Jewish inhabitants during the terror of World War II under the Nazi occupation, followed by the story of Oskar Schindler and the thousands of Jews he saved despite the complex war period.
The exhibition style was not conventional, but rather it was presented in a narrative way with a combination of artistic layout,s photographs, eyewitness accounts, film documentaries and cinematic multimedia presentations. All of these elements, when put together, were so vivid and heartbreaking which literally drove me to the verge of tears.
I walked into Oskar Schindler’s former office, which had been preserved intact throughout the years. The compelling feature in the office was the “Survivors’ Ark” made up of thousands of enamelled pots, manufactured by the factory employees during the war.
While writing this, it makes me want to watch the movie Schindler's list again.
After the exhibition (and a church visit afterwards to wish for world peace :) ), we were soon longing for lunch and Sir Googlelord led us to a wonderful place called Starka Restaurant. And there, we had one of our most fantastic dish - Beef cheek, which was tantalizing and melted directly in your mouth without actually biting. As for dessert, a satisfying homemade Walnut cake!
After the hearty meal, we were back at Hotel Legend to collect our luggage and wait for the taxi (to the airport). To our surprise, each of us received a free gift from the hotel - Bathing Salt (Spa) from “Wieliczka”. Nice!
The flight back from Krakow to Gothenburg in the evening was smooth. In short, the trip was joyfully relaxing and we probably had some "work" to do with the extra kilos in our bellies :)
