Krakow is stunning in every sense, a City with history, Culture and incredible courage (Krakow)

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	Krakow
Date:	08/04/09 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, easy to get to, still relatively cheap

Disadvantages: the Stag Trips are heading there

Krakow is one of the most stunning cities in Europe, it was possibly the only Polish city that was not destroyed in its entirity by the German invasion. This they put down to the Smoka Jama (A dragon that lives under Wawel Castle and protects them), although the real story is actually just as interesting.

Set in South East Poland, Krakow is a regional capital and is one of the cultural capitals of Poland. It is the scene of great history and includes amongst tourist trips, the amazing Wawel Castle, the rynek (main square). Kazimierz (The Jewish district in which parts of Schindlers List were filmed). Auschwitz (Something you don't want to see, but have to in a way to accept that history can never be allowed to repeat itself) and the Wieliczka caves which are a Unesco site.

Krakow is a fun city, it has become infested by people taking cheap package trips and stag parties and is the worse for it, but despite the economic upheavals in Poland it has retained its class and charm and resisted the desire to fill every second road with a McDonalds or Starbucks.

It is a great place to go all year round, during the summer the main square is packed until late into the evening with people eating and drinking outside cafes and restaurants, in the Winter there is the fantastic winter markets where hot sausage, sauerkraut and mulled wine are the order of the day.

The town centre is large and you can easily walk the main touristy parts in an hour or two, if you step out of the centre, it becomes more residential and there are more relevant shops for locals and a lot more traffic, it is dirtier but it always would be, you can travel in the City Centre by Tram, bus, taxi or by walking, there are wonderful synagogue tours, fantastic trips up the main town square church and there are a couple of Polish Premier League football teams for those that way inclined.

A few highlights of my many trips include going to a prohibition style Jazz haunt (Poland loves Jazz), all smoke and beers and people who really do look like they had stepped out of Blow Out, underground bars which haven't changed a bit in structure for decades, but obviously have with their recommendations of Polish Hip Hop or the latest rave!!

I also loved going to the Wawel Castle, Kazimierz is a charming area, and the Jewish restaurant Ariel is particularly special with traditional Klezmer music and Jewish specialities, it is fun and relevant and yet has an old world charm. I enjoyed a restaurant called Chopskie Jadlo which means 'Man's Food' I believe, it offered amazingly large peasant food dishes, you could have bread with Smalec (Lard) which is delicious, or a plate of smoked Polish Sausages (Amazing flavours), you could have whole fish, or huge hocks of Pork, this is a place where vegetarianism is a new fad and is often frowned upon by locals.

I found the people incredibly lovely, they would chat in pubs and laugh at my Polish but appreciate the effort, share vodka and beers and talk about communism, football and how English people can't drink (True but I gave it a damned good try).

Overall Krakow is a developing city, it has a young arty population, you can buy incredible pictures, go to funky relevant bars and nightclubs, or soak up the history and culture of this ancient city and imagine how different things could have been.

Drink is a mainstay of the City, there is vodka and Beer everywhere, Tyskie or Zywiec seem to be very popular and Vodka and Apple is a national treasure, just don't ask a Pole how much they can drink, they'll drink you under the table without a doubt!

I stayed with friends on my visit so boarding was minimal but there are numerous places to stay within 5 minutes of the main square, flights are available through a host of providers, I generally go with EasyJet or Wizzair who are cheap and cheerful, its not a long journey, but is a hell of a lot quicker and more comfortable than it used to be on 28 hour coach journeys.

Bardzo Mi Milo, Enjoy the food, drink and culture of this stunning city.

Summary: Stunning, simply Beautiful City