A Polish Easter

I just got back from Poland yesterday; to be more specific Krakow. Why Krakow, well according to Trip Advisor it ranks alongside Prague for affordability and a great experience.

I am happy to say that the experience was Divine. Although our stay was short, 2 and a half days was all we needed as we managed to get and experience all we needed to.

We were off to a slightly bad start when my boot broke as we disembarked the train and crossed the square to find our hotel. Did I pack in another pair of shoes;...Of course not

My heel separated from the upper so when I walked it made a flip flap noise. So on arrival at our hotel; I asked for some tape. And the picture above was the result... very fashionable.

The problem was that it was Easter and so no stores were open and they probably weren't going to be on Easter Monday either so I had to make a plan. I am proud to say, my make shift tape and two sided tape I lodged between the heel and the upper stuck through my whole trip, and that was a lot of walking and some odd stares.

Shoe fixed, now it was time to explore, our hotel was so central that it was a mere skip and hop to the main square; Rynek Glowny. In many European cities you will find a main square where merchants trade and it really is the hub of the city. We grabbed a golf cart tour and set off on the cobble stoned paths to witness some of the most beautiful and intricate architecture I have ever seen.

We loved the fact that it was Easter weekend, there was a real holiday vibe in the streets. We had our first taste of traditional Polish cuisine at the market square.

We tried:

• Pierogi: dumplings; sweet and savoury. We had the minced meat and spinach ones as well as the cheese and potatoe kind; delish!
• Zeberka wedzone: ribs
• Kielbasa; traditional Polish sausage
• Wodka; rasberry
• Honey beer
• Ocyspek: hard salty goats cheese served with cranberry sauce...my favourite
• Czosnianka; onion soup
• Sauerkraut
• Gherkins

Hot chocolate for my sins

Honey beer for my soul

Not my beer but I claimed it for awhile

too easy to find delicious bread

My favourite spot; a small coffee shop enrobed with floral painted flowers and a delectable spread of all this tempting to the tongue; Ul lala restaurant I love you!

I loved all the cuisine we had, ice cream was also tried and tested and did not fail our expectations.

We went to two top restaurants for dinner advised by Trip advisor, portions of food were huge and very affordable considering we were eating at very good restaurants.

In terms of sights... there was an abundance of delight for the eye's and the great thing was that it was all in walking distance. Although it snowed Sunday; it set a very romantic and picturesque setting and Monday was sunny so we had the best of both worlds.

One of my must see's was this statue of a dismantled head, no eyes and bandaged bust... I was so excited when I spotted it in the square. There doesn't seem to be much of a story behind it but the artist has done four sculptures of which this is his first to be placed outside. The square is it's temporary home until it is moved, the artist is happy with where it is and feels it deserves to be in the square.

EROS BENDATO by Igor Mitoraj

(couldn't resist being a real tourist and hopping in, I am peeking out the eye)

Church door

Beautiful old door in the Jewish quarter

Love Locked; Father Bernards footbridge.

Seen all over Europe, these bridges are love locked with locks placed by people proclaiming love for another, by securing the lock and throwing the key into the river signifies everlasting Love....sigh.

I really couldn't have wished for a better time, we took in the sites, the sounds, breathed the city air, ate polish cuisine and smiled a lot.

Our time was not yet complete; part of our trip was to spent doing a tour of Auschwitz and the concentration camps, I was so eager and hungry to learn more about the war and how it affected so many Jews. We were fortunate enough to experience this and I will be doing a separate post and sharing images taken. A warning in advance, images truly show the terror people went through and so I purposefully decided to a do separate post as the second part of out trip was deserving of this.