Kossak Krakow

... Toronto home. The weather was surprisingly cold as I just came from the desert-like temperatures of Sicily and Tunisia. I left the comforts of home yet again and ventured out without the responsibility of a group leader, to the airport and Vienna. I remember very little of the flight to Vienna as sleep hit me suddenly and fortunately as it was an older plane and not updated with video in the head sets and more leg room. The plane landed and I had 1 hour to ...

... Before leaving on Saturday we were able to visit the Pharmacy Museum. This place was really cool. Lots of jars of ingredients and remedies. Old equipment... microscopes, etc. Right up my alley. Of course the day we were leaving was sunny and warm. We watched snow board and skiiers doing jumps outside of the train station before leaving. Krakow is a great city and such an inexpensive place to visit.

Well, there is so much I need to say- but I have to catch my train to Gdansk and these Aussies I met at the camp- we went there and back- well I had nothing to do until 10... so i went with them adn we sampled Vodka after Vodka after Vodka! GOOD and it was not just ordinary Vodka it was cranbberry and blueberry and honey... SO GOOD! And we ALL needed it after this time in Auswhich- it was amazing and not amaziong at the same ti e- I need to write much moer- but not ...

... poliisin kanssa liikennevaloista seka paikallisesta puutarhanhoidosta ja kavella ohi asemasta. Loytyi se lopulta ja paasin onnellisesti Krakovan menemaan bussiin. Toki ehdin jo valiaikaisesti hukata lippuni autoa odotellessa. Joka tapauksessa paadyin seitseman aikaan hostellille nimeltaan The Stranger Hostel kohtalaisen lahella vanhaa kaupunkia. Ilta meni parin bissen ja paskan bandin parissa hostellin baarissa. Seuraavana paivana mentiin katselemaan taas ...

... Kazimierz because its more like a neighborhood than a tourist spot--I didn't find that Prague Jewish quarter felt "touristy", but it was at least more open to guiding tourists around. In Prague, signs clearly lead you to the different synagogues and cemeteries. Here, we got lost several times. There were not clear signs for which synagogues were open, or which were even open to the public. And the one synagogue we went into, based on Steves recommendation, was not ...

... fuels, lubricants, and cleaning solvents. I was getting older and my body was no longer able to protect me from these things. For months my toes had felt like ice cubes, and in fact starting with the small toe on the left foot, my toes were turning black and blue and the toe nail turning soft and coming apart. My feet were cramping daily. The entire right side of my face became numb and for days at a time my jaw would lock forcing ...

The night train to Krakow was terrible - too crowded and really uncomfortable, it was hard to sleep for more than forty minutes in a row. And then I got there really early and had to wait until 18h to meet my host... I couldn't explore as much as I'd want the first day, all the time I was walking around a bit, resting a lot, walking some more, resting... I'm growing tired of traveling. Not of being away from home, but of moving constantly and carrying bags around. So after a slow ...

... do get 1m visitors a year. The tour was 1% of the total mine and the museum was another 1%. Back in Krakow bumped into Sara, then onto a bike tour of the city. The highlights were Schindlers house, factory, office, locations used in the film and the concentration camp built for the workers in a quarry. Found out a few untrues from the film. After tour went straight to the station to get the train to Warsaw. Made the mistake of leaving my water bottle lying about, so it got pinched by ...

... and I think appreciated my tips! Monday morning we took a bus out to the Famous Wieliczka Salt mines, recommended to me by Kath, great recommendation. We actually unfortunately or fortunately took the wrong bus out there and was ordered out of the bus by the driver quite a way away from the mine. We had no idea where we were and how we were going to get to the mine. However, the first person we asked for directions happened to be an English teacher, how also ...

... a hill, so we had a good view of the city from above. On one side, there was a statue of a dragon that actually breathed fire - it was really cool! We wandered down towards Kazimierz where the Jewish population used to number about 65,000 before WWII and then plummeted to 6,000. There were a bunch of synagogues, and few cafes & restaurants, but it seemed to have a completely different character than it used to. It was hard to imagine the way that things used to be there. We ...