Day 1: July 2
We woke up early to head out to the airport to get on the plane to Krakow. My family and I had a two hour wait at the airport in which we got to say our goodbyes to our new friend and his mom, as they were waiting for their flight at another gate. Our flight was first going to go to Frankfurt, Germany, then we would change flights and fly to Krakow. 
Once we got to Krakow, we called a cab driver to drive us to the hotel. He was really friendly and told us a lot about the city. When we got to the hotel, we relaxed a bit then went into town. My favorite part! The minute I got there, I fell in love! Krakow is so pretty! There are beautiful churches, squares filled with flower stands, shops, and incredible architecture. It's such a beautiful city. I loved walking around and absorbing the culture. 
We tried looking for a restaurant for dinner, but the touristy places were just not doing it for us. Enticed by the smoky smell of cooking pork, we followed where our noses led us, which turned out to be an outdoor market/food hub. We got some sausages and dumplings stuffed with spinach, which were absolutely incredible! The food was perfect. My dad tried this common snack in Poland consisting of lard mixed with meat on a huge piece of bread. Wow. Lard cake. He liked it, but it was a bit much for me. After dinner, I got some candy at a candy stand in the square and my dad got this purposely warm wine and we walked around the square. It was freezing (50 degrees), but it was fun, the illuminated fountains and night life making up for the weather. Day 2: July 3
On this day, we woke up early to go out into town and catch a bike tour of the city. It's kind of our thing. Our guide was named Sylvia and she was so awesome. She looked like a Polish Audrey Hepburn and told us a bunch of awesome stories about Krakow. Apparently, the city got its name from a man named Krakow who killed the dragon that was terrorizing the city in the Middle Ages. Also, in Krakow, they have a weiner dog parade, which I personally think is awesome! Anyways! We visited the Ghetto Hero's Square, where thousands of Jews were rounded up from the ghettos to be sent away, as well as Schindler's factory, and many other beautiful churches. All of this sight seeing was done in cycling, making me feel like Audrey Hepburn riding through the city like in "Roman Holiday".After the tour, we got some cheese pretzels and stood outside St. Mary's cathedral awaiting the hourly trumpet song that is played a firefighter at the top of the tower. We later when back to the hotel to rest and I watched "Stealing Beauty". It wasn't very good, but there was some nice Italian scenery. This includes the countryside and the hot Italian love interest.
My family and I went back into town later and walked up to the castle looking over Krakow and soaked up the view over the balcony at the site. Then, we walked to get some Polish sandwiches at a little place outside of the tourist area. I wasn't too fond of this particular dinner. It was basically a loaf of long bread covered with sauce and garlic sauce. Every time you bit into it, a flurry of crumbs would fall to the ground and pigeons would swarm. Did I mention that I have an "irrational" fear of birds? Pigeons and I are not buds. No where close. SO! We went back into the square after dinner and I got a waffle and shared a pig knuckle with my dad to compensate for our hardly eaten sandwich.
That was pretty much the end of that day, but we definitely had a good time! Day 3: July 4
Back in the U.S., all of my friends and family are celebrating America's independence. Meanwhile...it's Auschwitz day for me and my family. Meaning: we went to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. We took a tour bus over to the site, which was full of tour groups. It was very crowded, yet I was so impressed at how respectful people were being. It was like an ongoing moment of silence for the victims.
I'm debating as to whether I should go into detail about my experience there. I'll give you the low-down. Auschwitz was surrounded by wired fences, where rows upon rows upon rows of brick buildings were lined up with the block number nailed to the front. These were the gas chambers, administrative quarters, and barracks for the prisoners. Most of these buildings were restored to be exhibits for pictures, clothes, shoes, glasses, hair, anything you could think of. It was hard to imagine that people actually lived there and died there. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. I learned a lot of new facts about the camps and the people in it. We also visited the infamous Block 11, which was the prison's prison. People would go there for all kinds of ridiculous things, where they would be punished and mostly likely sentenced for execution. It was terrible. There were standing cells that would hold four prisoners in them at a time from dawn to dusk. They had to stand there. It was no bigger than a refrigerator.
We also got to visit Birkenau, as well. At Birkenau, there was a railroad leading into the prison where trains would unload the prisoners. At Birkenau, our group toured the women's living chambers, consisting of three layer bunks that were made out of wood and concrete. The men's chambers were destroyed by Nazis trying to get rid of the evidence. We also went into the gas chambers and saw the crematorium. That was surreal. Again, it's crazy to think that people were actually there. The entire time I kept thinking "This is just a replica of the real thing", but not. It was the real thing. I was actually at the concentration camp where millions of people died. Craziness.After leaving Auschwitz-Birkenau, my family went back into the square and got our favorite: sausages and pirogues. After lunch, we went back to the hotel where I did my laundry in the sink and hung them out on the balcony. It was interesting. My dad and I went back into town to walk around shortly after and found a delicious place to eat dinner. The entire time, though, I was thinking about what I experienced earlier that day.
Day 4: July 5
This day was our last day in Krakow, so my family and I had to end it with a bang! We got picked up by a bus that would take us to the salt mines that I won't even try to pronounce. Once we got there, we had to go into the mines! That meant going down, down, down 800 steps. Yep. 800. It wasn't bad though! It was good exercise and we got to go in the ground.
Then, we commenced our tour, exploring the salty chambers. They were made of salt. Miners have been digging it since cave man time. It was interesting seeing all the devices the miners would use and the art that they made from the salt. The tour was very fun, despite the darkness and cold in the caves.
To come back to the surface, we rode a 9 person rickety elevator back into civilization. Then, we departed back to the hotel. Once at the hotel, the fam and I walked to the market square and got (you guessed it!) sausage! Then we came back to hotel and rested up for dinner.Before dinner, we went into St. Mary's church. It was beautiful, but not really my taste as far as churches go. It was just to overly ornamented for me, but it really was a beautiful church. After the church, we went to the market and got gifts for friends and then had a delicious last dinner at an Italian restaurant. Ironic, right?
Alright guys! I hope you enjoyed my post about Krakow! I had so much fun there, and it was so great getting to travel and explore the city with my family!
-Love Ling
(PS: I'm sorry if the pictures appear weird when you read them. Something went weird when I published them, but I can't change the way they look. Sorry, again :( )
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