July 14, 2021
To travel from Olomouc to Krakow the cheapest, you’ll have to get a bit creative. I use Omio to look for different routes, but it didn’t actually show all of them in this case. I ended up using Flixbus to book my bus.
The bus station is conjoined to the train station and is right near the old town, which is super convenient. It’s pretty easy to roll a suitcase over, so I had no problem getting to my hostel. There’s lots of hostel options here, but none of them look spectacular so I chose the one that looked like it would be most social: Greg and Tom Beer House Hostel.
This hostel offers free breakfast and dinner, which sounds great. It’s not huge, so people tend to socialize a bit more. The WiFi isn’t amazing but I’ll make do. The mattresses are not very comfortable, and the lockers are pretty annoying.
I need to get some work done and go to class so I head to Fitagain Cafe. They have good breakfast food and WiFi.
Afterwards, I do a little tour of the old town stopping at Wawel Royal Castle, Central Square, Planty Park, St. Florian’s Gate, Florienska Street, and Park Adama Mickiewicza.
After settling in to the hostel and having a short rest, I’m ready for dinner. I’m actually really excited to try Polish food because my family is Polish so I find a traditional restaurant and head there.
Kuchnia U Doroty has really delicious and well priced traditional food. I was alone so I couldn’t order everything I wanted to try in one meal. I’ll have to return.
On the way home, I stop by the bakery and get a paczki with rose jam, because I’ve heard it is a traditional desert. It’s basically like a powdered jelly donut. The rose jam is pretty good, and the pastry is as well. I’m not a huge fan of jelly donuts, but I enjoyed trying this.
July 15, 2021
I’m back at Fitagain to get some work done and this time I order pancakes, which were pretty good.
I want to get coffee so I head to Tektura for a change of scenery before class starts. The coffee shop has good vibes but they lost WiFi just as my class was starting, so I can’t give it a stamp of approval.
After class I head back to the hostel and continue to work in the common room. I had the hostel dinner, which was pretty good. They have lots of different options so you can always find something you like.
July 16, 2021
This morning I’m checking off a really important thing to do in Krakow: visiting Auschwitz. I booked through the hostel, which might not have been the cheapest way to go, but I was in a rush since I’m balancing day trips with studying.
The hostel will book you through Cracow City Tours. We met just outside the old town and they took us on a bus with a guide who spoke three languages. Then, we took the guided tour of both camps for about 3 hours. The tour we took was provided by Auschwitz, not Cracow City Tours. The tour company is just in charge of transportation and connecting you with the site. There are also longer workshops available at Auschwitz if that is something you are interested in.
Before heading out, I ate breakfast in the hostel and met a few guys who were also going on the tour. We stuck together throughout the day, as it turns out we were the English speakers on the tour.
When you arrive, you can read the exhibits outdoors until it’s time for your tour. Then you have to go through security, which consisted of some COVID measures for us, and then you will be split up by language into your tour groups.
The tour guides here have headsets and microphones so you are able to hear everything they say, and it’s clear that they have put a lot of work into making sure the experience is worthwhile. The guides are extremely well trained to handle difficult topics.
I’ve actually been to another concentration camp before (Dachau near Munich, Germany), so I feel like the experience was a bit different for me. What’s left of the two camps is really a lot different. I visited Dachau in the winter and the grounds are a lot more barren, so it felt a lot more dismal. I’m at Auschwitz in the summer and the sun is shining. The camp is also a lot more established so the architecture is actually pleasing to look at and the grass is green. It’s an eerie contrast to the exhibits inside and the information we learn about what happened here.
We get a small break between the two camps and afterwards we have a little time to stop at a cafe before the journey back to Krakow.
I think a lot of people will be wondering if they should do this tour when they come to Krakow. For me, there wasn’t any choice about it. I’m interested in this era of history and I had already been to Dachau, so I knew a little bit about what to expect. When I travel, I’m not looking to see only the most glamorous parts of a country. I want to know about all parts of what makes each country unique, even the darker ones.
I’m lucky to have lots of time to travel, so I can spare a day to do something a bit less “fun,” but even if you’re in Krakow for vacation, you have to do this tour. It’s such an important part of history and an opportunity you can’t miss. Take the day to be reverent and reflect on what happened at the camps and during the Holocaust. Don’t feel like you have to let this part of Krakow’s history define your entire trip, but also don’t ignore it because you’re here to have fun.
I also highly recommend watching Schindler’s List or another Holocaust movie before or while you are here. I’m normally not a fan of these types of movies, but it really helped me to put things into context.
When we got home, we were starving so we grabbed kebab at Beirut Shawarma Kebab and Falafel Halal, which is just a block away form the hostel. This wasn’t as good as the kebab I had in Prague, but it will do.
Since I just ate I’m not too hungry and opt for the hostel dinner again. Then I join the pub crawl with my new friends. It costs 60 Zloty.
This is the only pub crawl I’ve been on where everyone somehow managed to stay en route and we went to all the places they said we would, so I guess that means it’s good.
We start out by pregaming at Let’s Rock Hostel after dinner. They had free drinks and we played drinking games. Then we went to 3 other places, which I didn’t note the names of (one was named Coco, which I liked). Lastly, we stopped at a club named Prozak. This club was full of a lot of local polish people and was so dark and foggy you literally couldn’t see anyone.
It was starting to get light out by the time we got to that club so I went upstairs to the McDonald’s and got a snack, and then ran through the main square back to the hostel.
July 17, 2021
I woke up for the hostel breakfast and then took the long walk to the Jewish Quarter for a walking tour with Walkative.
We make all of the important stops including Kazimerz, the Old Synagogue, the Ghetto, Father Bernatek Footbridge, and we end at Ghetto Heroes Square. The tour guide also pointed out some scenes from Schindler’s List which was cool.
After the tour, we are recommended to head to Milkbar, so I join some people I met on the tour for lunch. I tried a cup of borscht, which is actually really tasty. For my main, I get a pancake with potato and cheese. The food here is super cheap (even by Polish standards!) and traditional so you definitely need to stop by.
For dinner, I’m craving a neapolitan pizza so I go to Boccanera. They took 1 hour to take my order and then they served me my food in probably under 10 minutes, but the pizza was soggy. I guess that’s a risk you take with neapolitan pizza.
July 18, 2021
On Florienska street you’ll see some street venders selling traditional foods. This morning, I tried Obwarzanek Krakowski for breakfast. It’s kind of like a bagel, but the dough is different. I don’t mind it (I mean it’s really just some bread), but it could use some sauce or something to zhuzh it up.
I stop by a few more sites that are on my list including Bazylika I Kkzastor, Sukkienice, Rynek market, St. Mary’s Basilica, Florian’s Gate, and Barbican. The Rynek market has tons of cool souvenirs, which I wish I could have taken advantage of but I don’t want to carry them and they look fragile.
July 19, 2021
Today I’m taking another day trip. I’ve decided to go to Wieliczka Salt Mine, after initially deciding against it (because I had been to the other mine), because it was highly recommended by my friends.
I want to save money so I do this one on my own. Google sort of had the wrong address, but I make it there with the help of people in the town. The train is only $1 each way, so taking a tour bus would definitely not be cost effective here.
The mine is a lot different from the one in Slovakia, so it was definitely worth coming. It way more grand and is more artistic. I recommend it!
For dinner I get a burger at NO7 Restaurant, which was standard.
July 20, 2021
I’ve been meaning to try to mail a package home because I have things that I don’t need, and today is finally the day. I paid $17.50 for a decent sized box, and I filled it with all of the things I don’t need. I didn’t get tracking, so I’m hoping for the best. I did this through the Polish post office, so it was a struggle to communicate and fill out the form, but I got it done. (Edit: My package did arrive home, but only after THREE MONTHS! It lost tracking for the majority of the journey (which I somehow got working with my receipt number), I think once it made it to the port and was just waiting to depart there were no updates for a long time. This is certainly in part due to COVID, and I think normal times are 4-6 weeks. Consider paying for the express shipping, and/or planning accordingly. I’m not upset AT ALL because $17.50 to ship something from Poland to the US is an incredible deal. I thought I would have to pay more for the US portion of the journey, but it showed up at my house with no strings attached.)
I have class so I take it from Fitagain. For dinner I head to Cycklops, which was really busy. I ordered pasta which was good but it was a small portion.
I go to get ice cream, but not just any ice cream. There is a traditional ice cream here that I think is half a creamy flavor (I think it has cheese in it) and half a berry flavor that is more like a sorbet (it might be cranberry, but I’m not sure). It was pretty good so I would recommend trying it if you have the chance.
July 21, 2021
There are still many sites to see in Krakow so I set out to see them. I visit Podgorski Cemetery, Koskiuko’s Mound, and, of course, Oscar Schindler’s Enamel Factory (where I tried to stop at Mocak Cafe but it was closed).
Since Mocak was closed I go to Moment Resto for breakfast. I got a chicken sandwich on a bagel which was nice. Then I quickly head home because I need to take my final exam for my programming class.
Two out of three of my classes for the summer are completely finished, so it’s time to celebrate. I’m in the mood for Indian food, so I find a restaurant and hope it’s good.
The restaurant is named The Himalayan, and it is SO GOOD! I got a tomato based chicken curry, garlic naan, and vegetable samosas. This is a huge win because Indian food can be expensive once you add on all of the fixings, but the prices are lower here. If you want a break from Eastern European food while you’re in Krakow, this is the place to go.
July 22, 2021
My celebration comes to a quick end because it’s already time for my first controls exam. I take it in the hostel. I go for a post exam kebab at Doner House Kebab and Vege because it’s nearby and I’m starving. The kebab was good but the guy who worked there couldn’t get off his phone to make my kebab! I don’t mind the slower service here, but I feel like being on your phone while someone is waiting in line is a bit much.
Since I had a late lunch, I’m not too hungry for dinner. I decide to return to Kuchnia U Doroty to round out my time in Krakow, and I get to try to traditional apple desert, which I really liked.
On the way home I get a better look at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul and Wawel Castle.
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