730 days: Old town feel

Arrived into Krakow on Thursday, and after getting a bit lost in the station/mall, located some much needed burger king and then navigated my way across the town square to our hostel. The town centre was beautiful at night, all lit, busy with people, and surprisingly warm! The others arrived not long after me.

First day was a full on one, up early and off in the van on our tour of Auschwitz and Berkinhau. They played us a film on the camps during the drive, which was very graphic and rather upsetting. Not a particularly pleasant way to start a morning, but gave some background information. We had a very good guide who was obviously passionate about educating people about the horrors of war, in hope that we might learn from it and prevent it occurring again. The site of Auschwitz looked surprisingly normal, with the sun shining and warm it didn't seam fitting. She took us through some of the buildings of the camp - all original, with exhibits on the camp history. The final building was left in its original state and comprised of the prison and torture cells, including the standing and suffocation rooms. Uncomprehendable. We then walked through to the other side where the camp commander's house was located outside of the camp, and the first gas chamber. Walking through there was airy, I couldn't stay long, just the knowledge of what had occurred there sent a shiver up my spine.
Then we went the 5 minute drive up the road to the other camp Auschwitz two or Berkinhau. A much larger camp it housed 95,000 people at its peak just before liberation. Half of the camp was burned when the Germans evacuated to cover the evidence. None of the three gas chambers are standing now either. One was destroyed by a Jewish camp member who's job it was to collect the bodies from the chambers for cremation, the others by the Germans before they left. Walking into the female sleeping quarters was what i envisioned when I think of the word Auschwitz - the long line of wooden bunks stacked three high and crammed with people. Another very moving place. The overall look of the camp was staggering, with the familiar larger building at the entrance with the tower under which the train lines came right into the camp so prisioners could then be sorted. The size was mind boggling. It was a great privilege to be able to see what these people went through, definitaly gives you some perspective on life. We finished of the day in a slightly lighter style by trying some local cuisine in the town square, and i must say potato pancakes with mushroom sauce is delicious!

Day two was much more relaxed, we wandered over to the castle which was about 10mins from our hostel. Very picturesque it sits over looking the river. A beautiful walled castle, it was like a medieval village inside, with an incredibly ornate church, and even a dragon! hehe. Then it was time for some more sampling of the local food for lunch - perogi ( dumpling style ) with meat, cabbage or onion and cheese - very tasty, though probably no the best for the old arteries. We attempted to avoid the downpour by heading out to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. A three hour tour took us 320m deep, and along numerous passages and caverns. An absoulutely incredible site. No longer a working mine, it has many carvings and sculptures, three chapels and underground lakes. You can even get married in the large church complete with chandeliers and a banquet hall! We only went down to the second level, but there were a further 7 below us and over 2000 caverns! So then it was back to the square to fill our starving bellies after all that walking!

Sunday we ambled along the waterfront and found the Krakow marathon going, so cheered on a few locals. It was really warm, so required a drinks break mid morning, at a cafe by the river. We had the most amazing lime, mint lemonade slushy - mmm! Continued on our stroll into the Jewish quarter, a very old area, scattered with beautiful churches and synagogue's. Had lunch in a nice outdoor cafe, and over indulged in pizza! Then headed back to the centre along the green belt, popped into the church on the square - gorgeously colourful with blue ceilings with stars on them. Had a bit more time to kill before our evening train, so Ange took us to a chocolate house, which had the most amazing menu. Enjoyed and over indulgent raspberry chocolate pudding. Then it was farewell to lovely Krakow and onto our next train overnight to Budapest.