Krakow....my new favorite city!

Krakow, Poland. A very understated city in all the guidebooks and I hope it stays that way. This had to be my favorite city on my route by far. It is an amazingly gorgeous city alive with so much character and soul. As one of the oldest cities in Poland, it has maintained its medieval look. And for an interesting fun fact, in 1945 a sudden encircling maneuver by the Soviets forced the Germans to evacuate the city, therefore Krakow was saved from destruction.


After only ever hearing great things about Krakow, I can now say I see why. It is a city that captures so much history. The Old Town harbors towering Gothic churches and the great Wawel Castle. The Jewish quarter, Kazimirez, recounts a more tragic story. This later became the home to Jews fleeing persecution from all corners of Europe. During WWII there were about 65,000 Jews in Krakow, today there are only around 100. Several of the sites in and around Krakow have, at one point in time, been put on Unesco's World Heritage list.


On the outskirts of Krakow there are also a few sites of interest. First, the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Remarkably, the entire mine of long hallways and chambers is all hewn out by hand from solid salt. Not to mention every single element , from chandeliers to altarpieces to statues is made of salt. The picture shown is the largest chapel that took more than 30 years to build, and is located 135 meters below the surface, where even the floor is one solid slab of salt carved to look like tiles.


And the second site of interest, although meant only for the strong and mature, is Auschwitz. As most of you reading this know, it was the scene of the most extensive experiment in genocide in the history of humankind. The concentration camp was established in 1940, originally intended to hold Polish political prisoners, but later developed into the largest center for the extermination of Jews. Auschwitz is made up of 3 camps total, Auschwitz itself, Birkenau, the larger camp where most of the exterminations took place, and also Monowitz. The death camps eliminated 1.5 to 2 million people of 27 nationalities -- about 90% of whom were Jews.


After a busy few days in Krakow it was time to get back on the road. Although this time I was a bit more nervous about getting there. I had to take a night train to Prague. And with all that I kept hearing, it was not sitting well with me. Everyone kept telling me, even the guidebooks, not to take Polish night trains, especially alone. People on trains will gas you in the night, and the attendants are in on it. Scary. Well, I said heck with it! Prague here I come!!! I went ahead took the risk and was put in a cabin with a harmless old lady who didn't speak a lick of English. I came out alive, passport and money intact.