Lest you think I hate Poland

I wrote a while back about the joyless Polish city of Warsaw, and meant to follow that up with how great Krakow is, but am finally getting to it just now. Before I got to Norway this past summer, I took a trip by myself to England to Poland. I knew people in England and had been there before, but Poland was totally new to me. After England I had about 10 days and chose to spend them in Krakow, Poland because it seemed to me to be one of the cheapest and most interesting cities in Europe. Thankfully, this turned out to be true, and I really enjoyed my time in Krakow. Here's a long overdue recap:


I found a hostel with a good location and free breakfast, internet, and laundry for $20/night.

My hostel room and home for 10 days 

The view from my room. You get what you pay for!

I walked all over Krakow. It is a really easy city to navigate and you can reach most things in half an hour or less. It rained most of the time, so I went to several museums and art galleries, and churches.

St. Peter and St. Paul's Church,

Saw a classical music concert in here

St. Florian's Gate

Part of the old city wall

 Nuns hanging out

 St. Mary's Basilica

In the big medieval town square

But there were a few really gorgeous days, too. On one walk I stumbled upon a beautiful cemetery. The fanciest and most intricate tombs I've ever seen. I think the people buried here were very rich.

One of the more unusual things I saw was the Kosciuszki Mound, built in honor of a Polish war hero.  After a climbing a long hill just outside of the city, you come to this:

You climb up the spiral path on the outside of the mound and reach the 360 degree views at the top. This was a great and unique way to see all of Krakow and the surrounding country.

There was a wedding reception at the property.

I had fun watching the bride and groom for a few minutes.

I was really excited about visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of the world's largest and longest running salt mines. It has tons of rock salt carvings and even an underground chapel carved out of salt. Those were neat, but the mine turned out to be a giant, literal tourist trap. We were herded through long, dark passages and I don't think anyone could hear our tour guide. Halfway through the tour we were left in the underground gift shop for way too long. The only way back up to ground level is one very small elevator, which you must wait for in a LONG line. Unlike most other things I did in Krakow, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was a big disappointment. The highlight was meeting a small group of older Norwegians in my tour group. There are worse people to be stuck underground with! But we all agreed we should have saved our money.


There are also bike paths around and outside the city. One day I rented a bike and rode several miles to an old Benedictine Abbey. It didn't take long before I was out of the city and in the wide open Polish countryside.

Where is the dang monastery?

Excavation at the monastery

 A very cool thing was finding a church in Krakow with English translation during its services. I met some great people and was able to hang out with them a few times. One them owns a bakery, so I visited a few times and got to taste lots of delicious Polish goodies. I hope I can keep in touch and visit them again.

New friends at the bakery

So there's a little bit of my days in Krakow, but I experienced way too much for one blog entry, so look for Part 2 next!