Friday, 10 March 2023

Natalie Lamb and the travel post: Krakow, Poland

I spent 4 nights in Krakow with a group of strangers from the University of Sheffield. I arrived at ~7:30pm on Day 1 and had a ~7:30am flight back on Day 5. Here’s what I did this time on my visit to Poland.


Day 1 All I really had time to do was eat some dumplings and say hi to the group!


Day 2 I visited the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum on an all day (11:15am – 8:00pm) coach trip. The site included the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and extermination camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. It was a really sobering day but very much worth a visit- highly recommended.


Day 3 was the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It was pretty cool, some underground caves. But if I had been limited for time, I definitely would have cut this off my holiday itinerary. The coach tour was around half a day (7:40am-12pm). I spent the rest of the day wandering about old town then going on a bar crawl. It consisted of a 1h open bar (vodka, beer, rum, gin, shots, mixers), free VIP for 4 bars/clubs, free welcome shot at each club and a photographer. It was OK- the free bar was a big plus- but the clubs after were very expensive for drinks and has extortionate cloakrooms which they said were mandatory (everyone had a coat on because it was Krakow in March!) so not the best experience and ended up quite expensive!


Day 4 I did some more wandering. I visited Leaky Cauldron Café (a very cool place for a coffee for Harry Potter nerds like myself), Wawel Castle (it was OK, I probably wouldn’t necessarily recommend it but good if you’re into that sort of thing), Jewish Quarter (good for some shopping but I’m not the best at shopping!), Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory (a very cool place to visit, although I’d recommend Auschwitz more), Krakow Pinball Museum (a bit of a nerdy gimmick!) and Father Bernatek’s Bridge (a pedestrianised bridge with sculptures of acrobats by artist Jerzy Kędziora).


Day 5 was home time!

Overall, if travelling alone I would have done fewer nights and better timed flights. 5 whole days in Krakow I think would have been a lot! My favourite things were wandering around old town and a bit beyond (places like Rynek Glowny Central Square, Stare Miasto, St Florian's Gate and St Mary's Basilica- although I do wish I’d gone inside the latter!) and the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum. I’d definitely dedicate a full day to fully appreciate the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum.

Next time, I would like to see the beautiful inside of St Mary's Basilica, the creepy underground bones within Rynek Underground, soak at the Zakopane Thermal Baths, visit the Eagle Pharmacy Museum and climb the Kościuszko Mound for panoramic views of the Vistula River. I think it would also be cool to come to the markets (The Sukiennice and Unitarg) at Christmas!