St Mary's Church in background
The building with the arches on the right side of the picture sits in the middle of the square, so visible is only a small portion of the entire square
I had a virtual work date that required us to be back at the hotel at 20:00, so we made the turn and started back. When discussing dinner, neither of us felt motivated to come back out another time that night and we weren't hungry after our delicious 30 dumpling meal. A corner convenience store tempted us to look inside, and we ended up buying yogurt, fruit, and juice for dinner. Micah had the beginnings of a sore throat and I always crave fresh items, so as unexciting and non-Polish as that dinner was, it suited us fine.
Together we made a mental list of all the sites we wanted to visit in Kraków, based on our Lonely Planet tour book, Rick Steve's Podcasts, and online research. We planned to jam pack four "museums" and a substantial day trip to Auschwitz into a two day itinerary. Kraków had been advertised to us as a charming, historic city that has yet to be found on most traveler's agendas; therefore, not too touristy and easy to navigate. Which was a bit suspicious with the amount of Holocaust history that Kraków holds, and that it is the closest jumping off point for a day trip to Auschwitz. But we went in with big plans and nothing booked in advance minus lodging, our typical and mostly successful mode of backpacking so far.
We were deceived. Despite the deceit and subtle frustrations, Kraków was splendid. More than many other spots we've visited, Kraków felt raw and preserved. Standing in the center square, listening to the bugle call and moving out of the horse drawn carriages path, I actually felt like I could sense what this area looked, felt, and smelled like 400 years ago. Sure, there were magnets and paintings and men with large nets to create bubbles for the children. But it also felt like it didn't clean itself up too much for our arrival, and was just content being her authentic self. So what do we recommend? Go visit, for at least a few days. But when you do, here's our reccomendations and ratings, with some inside information to help make your trip smoother than ours.
Wawel Hill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Likely the biggest attraction in Kraków is this prominent mount, crowned with a castle and a cathedral. You can enter the castle grounds and tour the cathedral for free. There are many attractions that you can purchase a ticket to visit, but there is a limited quota for some parts and they are valid only for a specific time. We stood in line for 40 minutes beginning at noon, there were less than 100 tickets left, and our time to enter was 14:30. When we inquired, the lady behind the ticket sales said we could likely enter now instead of waiting the 2 hours, and fortunately she was correct.
We chose to tour the State Rooms, which did not disappoint. The first few rooms we walked through were not very exciting; pieces of old furniture behind ropes and portrait paintings on the walls. Partially through the self guided walking tour, the rooms became wallpapered in every corner imaginable, ceilings with sculpted heads looking over you, and furnishings set up for tournaments. We felt that this one attraction was enough for us to pay for inside Wawel, along with all the free areas we were able to enter.
Inside the State Rooms
Kazimierz ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Following our full morning at Wawel Hill, we walked just over a km to the Jewish neighborhood of Kazimierz. In the 15th century, Jews were expelled from Kraków and forced to resettle in this small, and eventually walled, area. The Jewish quarter later became home to Jews fleeing persecution throughout Europe. Prior to WWII, 65,000 Jewish Poles (30% of Kraków's population) lived in Kazimierz; the community was devastated during the Holocaust. Nowadays, it houses the oldest Synagogue in Poland from the 15th century. Without knowing exactly what to look for and sometimes not knowing what we'd found, we enjoyed walking through this neighborhood, including a flea market which was being deconstructed for the afternoon. We found the Synagogue but didn't pay the few euro to enter the museum it was converted to. Once the rain started, we took cover in a quaint indoor/outdoor restaurant, ordered a carafe of wine, and split a crepe with śmietana (whipped cream) on it. Along with a couple dozen other people, we also watched an SUV get towed from a handicap parking spot. The tow truck extended wide bars from each side to anchor itself, and then picked up the SUV with an arm similar to the vending games where you try to pick up the biggest stuffed toy. It lifted the car off the ground, carefully spun it to avoid hitting other cars and telephone poles, and then set it down on the tow truck's trailer.
Schindler's Factory ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was our plan for Sunday afternoon, continuing on our walk to the south side of the river. Trying to enter this museum was our first exposure to the not-backpacker friendly Kraków. Our understanding of the ease of admission was dismissed quickly; there were signs on the door and the front desk saying that tickets to the exhibit were sold out for the day. When inquiring if we could purchase for tomorrow, Monday, we were told Monday was free so no. We had planned to visit Auschwitz on Monday, could we buy for Tuesday? No. Online? No. We learned that they only had a limited quantity of tickets per day and it was first come first serve. The part that was frustrating was that tour companies would purchase handfuls of tickets and the museum would then be sold out, so the only way you could enter was by paying for a guide with it.
Our solution was to push Auschwitz back to Tuesday and return to the museum on Monday morning. Doors opened at 10 and we arrived minutes before, knowing the limited number of free tickets would go quick. After standing in the sun for 40 minutes, we had our free tickets in hand and were in the door. We expected the museum to cover rather in depth the story of Schindler, his enamel factory, and how he saved 1,200 Jews during WWII. In the large museum, there was one room that mentioned Schindler. The rest of the factory had been transformed into a museum that covered Kraków and the Jewish life prior to September 1939, the ghetto where the Jews were forced to live, and of course, what happened during the Holocaust. The museum was extensive and well organized, despite containing different information than we expected. We highly reccomendation a visit to it, and believe it was an informative precursor to Auschwitz.
On the left: living quarters for Jews who were hidden from the Nazi's in homes
Wieliczka Salt Mine <unable to rate at this time>
Monday afternoon, we were planning to jump in our car that had been parked for 2 days and drive 15km to this former salt mine. There was an office in town where you could buy tickets in advance and avoid the queue, so Micah guided me to the town center, inevitably onto multiple pedestrian-only streets, and we found the office. The already expensive ticket of 68 zloty ($18.50) turned into 92 zloty ($25) per person when it was determined we don't speak Polish and would need an English guide, as guides are required. We opted to spend that $50 at a homemade ceramic store that we had walked by earlier instead. So obviously we can't recommend the Salt Mine, but now you can decide whether you feel that ticket is worth $25. When I'm using my Polish pottery in 30 years, I think I'll be glad to own that over the Salt Mine tour memories.
Auschwitz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was one of the main reasons we traveled north. The first book I ever read twice was Alicia: My Story, written by a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. Quickly, the logistics of visiting. Everything we read online said that you must purchase a ticket in advance. The only tickets available for the next few days were with guides, and the next one with an English guide was a week away. We asked our hotel receptionist and she confirmed what we hoped to be true: if you arrive before 10:00 or after 15:00, you can enter for free and without a guide. As mentioned, we decided to visit Auschwitz on Tuesday morning, partially because it was in the direction of Prague so we could stop on our way out of Kraków.
It's obviously not an experience that's easy to write about, nor one I'm going to attempt. It is a place that every person should visit if they're able, but likely one time will be enough. The 28 blocks or barracks have mostly been converted to museums, with exhibits of pre-war Jewish traditions, memorials to Jews from various countries, and some blocks that contained the living quarters as they were during the Holocaust. One of the more powerful blocks contained the victim's possessions- from the suitcases they entered the concentration camp with to their hair after they were murdered in the gas chamber- that the Nazis weren't able to destroy before being found. Walking through the gas chambers that still have holes where the Zyklon B canisters were dropped and seeing the crematorium in the next room made all of the stories I've read and heard much more real.
The entrance to Auschwitz I
Railroad tracks that would take prisoners into Birkenau, Auschwitz II.
The Nazis burned most of Birkenau down to hide the evidence, but a few buildings, and many chimneys, remain.
Side note for Auschwitz: I can see where a guide would be beneficial, although we felt everything was marked and explained well enough without a guide. We spent 3 hours at Auschwitz I, took the free shuttle to Birkenau (Auschwitz II), and had an hour there to walk around the camp without too many stops inside. We were told to allot 4-6 hours at Auschwitz, which is an accurate range.
Other helpful traveling tips:
Kraków Food
Our hotel provided breakfast, which was a convenient change from recent lodgings. Sunday and Monday mornings, we packed our tummies as full as we were able, since we're on the 2 meal per day backpacker diet. Tuesday we left for Auschwitz at 6:15, which was earlier than breakfast was served, so we forfeited it. If we don't count our yogurt dinner from the first night, this gave us two chances to locate typical Polish food. Sunday night we found Morskie Oko, the 3rd best Polish restaurant in Kraków and stood outside in line for 25 minutes. We were seated upstairs in a eclectic, traditionally decorated restaurant that included a live Folk band. We're basing that on the music we heard and not what we saw, since they wisely decided to not venture up the spiral staircase to our floor. To start our meal, we both ordered hot tea with a shot of cherry or honey vodka. This was in an effort to stall the colds we felt coming on, and I believe it worked. After bacon wrapped prunes, our main course was lamb dumplings in a mushroom sauce and beef stew over potato pancakes. The restaurant was fantastic and we would recommend it, based on food and ambience, but avoid the 3rd floor; it's 10 degrees warmer than everywhere else.
Monday evening, we walked from our home in the general direction of the town square. We settled on food carts advertising kebabs, which seems to be Eastern Europe's street food of choice. On our walk home, we picked up baked goods and bananas for our early departure the next morning.
Public transit
Another obstacle in Krakòw that we felt was a bit difficult to navigate. The public transit itself was lovely- trams were frequent and clean. However we were never able to give them money. Our first ride, the machine that dispensed tickets once you tapped it with your credit card didn't work. A man told us we could pay on the train, so we boarded with the many other people we assumed didn't pay. We didn't see a machine on the train but rode home anyway. For our second attempt, we planned to use the machine that we had in fact seen inside the trains as they zoomed by. However, the machine didn't take a credit card and we didn't have appropriate change. So at every stop, we leaned out the sliding doors, ensured there was no uniformed officer boarding the train to check tickets, and rode for free again. Not an accomplishment we'd brag about, but we felt we did everything we could to give them our money.
Moving on from Poland. Tuesday after we spent 4+ hours at Auschwitz, we spent 5 hours in Naida the Rental car, driving very fast on express ways. We've become accustomed to the metric system and the speed limits in Europe. What we haven't gotten a grasp on is knowing the speed limit changes without signs indicating. Each time we enter a new country, there's a large sign with the important road rules, including the speed limit in developed areas, highways and expressways. Apparently, this is enough to these countries, and they don't always tell you when you're entering a developed area, or when you've left it and the speed limit has increased. Needless to say, I was driving on the fast expressway, generally 130 km/h, when Micah made a strange noise as the passenger. I had just switched lanes to give space to a semi who was merging, and assumed that Micah had mumbled for that reason. Turns out, his noise was because there was a police officer van pulled over on the side of the road and they just pulled onto the road. I slowed down, prayed the speed limit was 130 and not 110, nervously checked my rear view mirror every 2 seconds, and briefly wondered if my last name could get me out of a speeding ticket in Czech. I could also see the driver of the vehicle behind me constantly checking his rear view mirror. The police van stayed behind us, then eventually pulled in front of the car that was behind me. I was in the next lane so I felt safe, but kept my eyes on the van. It did end up pulling over the car that had been behind me, but it did so by driving in front of him, turning its lights on, and an electric reader board on the back of the van scrolled the words "Police Stop". There are many reasons I'm thankful I didn't get pulled over, but the biggest may be that I wouldn't have known I was being pulled over and we likely would have ended up in jail for evading a police officer.
Unscathed, we arrived at our AirBnB rental in Prague. After a slight miscommunication, we had the keys to our riverside flat and our car was safely parked behind the building. We walked to the end of the block to eat dinner at a local pub restaurant. Our day had felt long and draining, and all we wanted was a quick bite, start some laundry, and sleep for at least 9 hours. We ordered drinks and food from our waitress who knew a little English, and received our drinks right away. After 45 minutes and no food, we began to perk up every time a plate of food came out of the kitchen. An hour after ordering, our waitress walked over, looked puzzled, and asked if we'd eaten. We told her the food we'd ordered had never come, and after a few words of clarification, it was understood that she forgot to place the order. Our food arrived 20 minutes later with multiple apologies, we ate quickly, then retreated to our flat to start laundry and sleep.
As we have mentioned a few times, Czech, and Prague especially, was one of our three destinations for our honeymoon. The reason for this is simple- my family comes from Czech. I won't go into too much ancestry detail, so that I don't bore you, but mostly because I don't know very much. What I do know is that my paternal Grandfather's side of the family is of Czech descent, and that includes my great great great great (I think 4 is right) Uncle Bedrich Smetana. Bedrich lived from 1824-1884 and during his life he became a very well known Czech classical composer. He pioneered a style of music that reflected the country's aspirations for independence at that time. He is regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Our plans while visiting Prague all included him, and finding every statue and building we could with the name Smetana written on its walls.
Wednesday morning we took our time getting out of the house. The tram stop was directly in front of our home, so we jumped on and rode to the center of Prague. We explored the town square, and then found a mediocre meal inside a small pub and each had a Czech beer since it was just after noon. Then we began our Smetana tour. Our first stop was the Bedrich Smetana museum which included posing by the statue of him in front of the museum. We spent an hour inside the museum, and especially enjoyed the family tree (they forgot to include me) and the reminders of all he accomplished. I had known that he gradually become deaf during the last decade of his life, but I didn't realize this was when he completed the majority of his most accomplished pieces.
We walked across the iconic Charles Bridge and climbed the stairs to Prague Castle. The castle grounds were massive and felt like an entire medieval community. It was free to enter and despite how many tourists were there at the same time, it didn't feel crowded. We walked from the west end to the east end and then made our way back down the cobbled streets after soaking in the view of the city.
View from Charles Bridge
View of Charles Bridge
Finding photo opportunities on our way up the stairs to the castle
Entrance to Prague Castle
That evening, we made our way back towards the Old Town Square, Staromêstske námêstí. Unfortunately the Astronomical Clock was under renovation but we made the best of the famous square by gathering with a group of fans around a few singers. After a few minutes, we picked one of the narrow alleys leading away from the square, walked through the Jewish neighborhood, and ended up at the Municipal House. Inside the art nouveau building is the Smetana Hall, a popular venue for classical music concerts. The Smetana Hall was also the site of the Independent Czechoslovak Republic declaration in 1918. We were unable to view the hall though, since there was a concert starting in a few minutes.
Left: Church of Our Lady before Tyn standing in the background to a small concert. Right: Municipal House
We finished off the evening with a delicious dinner followed by gelato. We headed back towards the tram, in search of an automated ticket machine to buy tickets. We were not successful and walked nearly half the distance to our place while looking. Still feeling a bit guilty for not paying in Kraków and imagining we couldn't get away with it three times, we eventually found the machine and hopped on the tram for a short ride home.
Thursday morning we set off walking from our rental towards Vyšehrad Citadel. Purposefully different than a castle, a citadel is similar in that it is a structure built on a raised height. We had brunch just outside the gates, and watched people meander into the large grounds, casually talking with their lunch buddy as if this was a part of their daily routine. How wonderful it must be to enjoy those views and that peacefulness on a lunch break from work.
Our first stop in Vyšehrad was the cemetery, where the country's "cultural giants" are buried. We paid our respects to my Gx4 Uncle and listened to a Spanish speaking tour guide talk about him with his group. Dvorak and a few other recognizable names were found on tombstones as we wandered around. We've seen many cemeteries in our travels, and without a doubt, this was the most ornate and beautiful cemetery we've ever visited.
Left: Bedrich's grave
The Basilica of St Peter and St Paul in Vyšehrad Citadel
View from the Citadel
After walking the perimeter of the Citadel, we returned home to clean up. We had tickets for a classical music concert at St George's Basilica inside the Prague Castle at 17:30. Dressed in our best outfits, we sat in the pew of the oldest surviving church building within the castle grounds. The music was performed by Old Prague Music Ensemble and included a soprano singer. They began the 60 minute concert with Smetana's Vltava and played numerous other recognizable pieces, including Pachelbel's Canon in D, which my Dad and I walked down the aisle to almost a year ago. The concert was $60 well spent (for both tickets) and was a refreshing change from our usual travel activities.
St Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle
Inside St George's Basilica
It felt appropriate to spend our last evening in Prague at Letna Beer Gardens, a popular spot to grab a beer and enjoy iconic views of Prague while sitting at a picnic table under a grove of chestnut trees. We had a variety of beers and ate kebabs from the only food cart in the beer garden. Took a few photos in the beautiful night lights of Prague and then caught the tram back to our flat.
Until next time, remember: Bez peněz do hospody nelez.
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