Friendly faces a long way from home
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2006
1
14
100
Trip End
Sep 08, 2008
Krakow,
Poland
Saturday, December 2, 2006
I'd already been to Krakow twice before, for three days during my first week in Poland, and briefly enroute to the Tatra Mountains in October. Even though I'd seen most of Krakow's most popular attractions, I was looking forward to the opportunity to see them again, and play tour guide for Dom and Anna. At the same time, I had an opportunity to meet my friends Aga, Kasia and Agata, and my flatmate Chris even came along for the party on the Saturday night.
The weather was a good 7 or 8 degrees cooler than Opole when I left Krakow Glowny at around 10:30pm on the Friday night, and I was quite amazed with the site that greeted me on the main square. The fog was so thick I couldn't see the top of the spire of the huge St. Mary's Church, and the giant clock tower wasn't even visible as I walked around to the northern side of the square. The trees surrounding the square had been draped in fairy lights, and a huge Christmas market had also been set up. I met Dom and Anna soon after, and we spent the evening catching up over dinner at a great Georgian restaurant and in one of Krakow's cellar bars.
It was an early start the following morning, and I met Dom and Anna at their hostel, which was the same one Aga worked at. After a chat over breakfast we spent the day site seeing, taking in the old Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, Wawel Castle and the old town. It was cold, but the sun was shining which made it the perfect day for walking around the amazing city and taking photos. We even saw some reindeer with Santa on the square and tried some very strong mulled wine. After dinner we joined Aga and Kasia for a few drinks at a strange basement bar with a hospital theme and an overcrowded cheesy club called 'Lubu Dubu.'
I managed to squeeze in a few hours sleep before we began another day's site seeing, this time taking in the architecturally stunning old university (Collegium Maus), a walk out to Kosciuski Mound and the moving World Press Photo exhibition, which contained prize winning photos from the major events around the world in 2005. It was another stunning day, and it was nice to spend the majority of it outside while the sun was out.
In less than two days, we saw most of Krakow's sites and I introduced Dom and Anna to some of Poland's traditional dishes and strong beer. The weather was fantastic, and it was a great opportunity to see some sites, talk for hours, and see Krakow in its full Christmas glory. I needn't have said goodbye though, as I'd be joining my friends in Edinburgh in just over three weeks to celebrate new years.
