Poland

April 2016: We spent our Spring Break in Krakow and in the mountain town of Zakopane in Poland. Zakopane is beautiful and relaxing, and Krakow is a great city with lots to do, and many day trips to keep you busy. We had heard that Krakow was better to visit than Warsaw, which is why we chose this city. Tip: if you are planning on going to Auschwitz or the Salt Mine, book your tour ahead of time if there's a specific day you want to go. We did not, and luckily were still able to book tours, but there were very limited options.

highlights

. Tatra Mountains . Mulled Wine . Auschwitz . Wieliczka Salt Mine . Square .

lowlights

. Oscypek (smoked cheese) . Auschwitz .

zakopane

We met the Polish Ambassador in Kuwait at a food competition (long story), and he mentioned Zakopane when we told him we were going to visit Poland. That was enough convincing for us, so we headed out to the Tatra Mountains for some cool air and relaxation. We stayed at Noctis Zakopane, which is an old but nice little apartment right next to the main walking street. It was a little difficult contacting the host to get in, but we figured it out. The town is so walkable and cute, with plenty of shops and restaurants. One day we took the funicular up to the top of Gubalowka. There were incredible views from up here, as well as lots of restaurants and bars to sit outside and drink some mulled wine.

krakow

We stayed at Apartwawel, which was right beside the river, and maybe a 10 minute walk to the Old Town Square. Wifi wasn't the best here, but the apartment was nice and modern. The Town Square in Krakow is one of the largest in Europe, and we spent a lot of time here. Just outside of the square, Trevor made me go through Lost Souls Alley. This is basically a horror museum with a set of rooms you have to get through by finding the keys, while being scared out of your mind. Trevor had to do most of the work, as I was just making sure I wasn't going to get grabbed (and they do grab you...even though it says they won't). We were also paired with a couple of English girls, and they were possibly even more scared than Lisa. I can't remember how much it cost, but it was quite an experience. If you're into that, you will thoroughly enjoy this.

One evening we wandered into the Jewish district of Krakow, and came upon Oskar Schindler's Factory. We were there at night, so didn't get to go in to the museum. We wandered around the outside of the building and saw a few plaques and pictures along the wall. I would have liked to go in if we didn't have to leave the next day.

auschwitz & birkenau

We booked a private tour for this, which I'm glad we did. Our guide was able to tell us a lot on our drive to the camps from our apartment, and it was nice not having to wait on a big tour bus. Once we got to Auschwitz, our guide set us up with an English tour (you have to join a tour I believe). They had headsets for everyone, as there are many tours and the guides talked in low, quiet voices. We were taken all around the camp in many different rooms and buildings in Auschwitz (the work camp), and there were certain rooms you could not take pictures in. Our guide gave us a lot of information, but also had a lot of long pauses so we could take in what we were seeing. After our tour of Auschwitz, our same English guide met us at Birkenau (the death camp). This was only about 5 minutes down the road, so we drove over and met the same guide over there. This was more of an open space with train tracks running through it, with ruins of one of the four gas chambers. The pictures above are of Auschwitz, and below are Birkenau. If you are going to Poland, this is a must-see. Seeing this with your own eyes gives you a whole new understanding and feeling, no matter how much you have read about it or seen in pictures or videos. Every person on the planet needs to go here. Especially with the last survivors at the end of their life, and with all of the Holocaust deniers still out there.

*One of the carts that people were brought in on*

wieliczka salt mine

This was a great surprise. We didn't really know about this mine until we got to Poland and started reading about it. We managed to get on a tour, which picked us up at our apartment. It's about a 30 minute drive from Krakow, but the mine runs underneath the whole city. Everyone joins a tour, and to get down there you have to walk down 800 steps. It's coolish down there, and I believe you have to buy a permit to take photographs. Everything you see down there is made out of salt. The cathedral is the most impressive, but the mine is huge and has so many neat details everywhere. There is also a health resort down there somewhere if you're interested (although my skin felt amazing after a few hours down there...just being around all of the salt). To get out of the mine they have a small elevator that they squish people in. The salt mine was a very impressive and super interesting part of our trip. Highly recommended.

*Us and our car in front of the steel factory*

communism tour

The last tour we booked was a communism tour through Crazy Guides Communism Tours. We were picked up in an old Trabant (the car everyone received back in Communist times), and were driven to the city of Nowa Huta, which was supposed to be a model city for Communism. We walked around the square in the picture above, and learned about the history and revolution that happened here. We then went into a typical apartment and looked around, before driving over to the steel factory. It was a very interesting tour, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.