Saturday, April 9th 2016

Some Days Aren't Perfect

Umbrellas Up
It rained the whole day - fortunately no wind 

First stop was Tourist Information to inquire about visiting Auschwitz tomorrow. We needed to verify bus schedules, pick-up locations, etc. "You can't just show up at Auschwitz," we were told. Tickets for individuals weren't available, 9am tours filled, only a few slots remaining for 7am.

We adjourned to an outdoor cafe in the Main Square, powered up the iPad, checked TripAdvisor reviews, returned, bought tickets for 155 zlotys apiece ($40), which covers travel bus (1.5 hrs each way), admission fees and tour guide. We bring a sack lunch and the bus picks us up at our hotel.

Next door to tourist info Sandy exchanged the misc foreign money we've accumulated and now we're loaded in zlotys.

Walked across the square to St. Mary's Basilica opening at 11:30am - tickets purchased across the street. Who would know? We're finding this is the confusion of Poland.

The Basilica was crowded but everyone is looking upward so you don't mind bumping into each other.

The famous five panel up at the alter opened after a herald of trumpets sounded.

Detail, statues, design, ornamentation everywhere your eye wanders.

Sandy took a seat in a pew and reviewed his money exchanges while I took pictures (paying an extra 5 zloty to do so - $1.25).

Impressive and remarkably maintained

Lunch was nearby at a "Milkbar."
A Soviet-style cafe for cheap home-cooked food
I had creme-of-carrot soup and fish-n-chips with salad
Sandy had a pork cutlet and potatoes.
Total bill: 50 zlotys ($13)

In the afternoon we "toured" the oldest college in Poland and a museum under the Main Square (took us 20 minutes to find the ticket booth - a distance from the entrance. The guidebooks highly recommended both sites but would rather have walked the streets. This is where the weather came into play.

We've enjoyed Krakow - great history, nice people, cheap, easy to navigate. It's not perfect and likely not a good destination for first time travelers. It has a gritty edge around the borders, which is exactly what we want. Krakow's grittiness is good - Morocco was bad.

For example, we thought this building was abandoned. It's chock-full of art cafes, coffee houses. Just has a post WWII vibe.

Two doors away, a cute little place for Polish cuisine dinner. I had zurek - a sour rye soup with kielbasa and then cabbage rolls. Sandy had fresh trout. I tried a mulled beer with honey and ginger. Total bill: $13

Doing well in Krakow

We've returned to the Jewish Quarter, Kazimierz, and same outdoor cafe every night for a beer before dinner - taking a different route each time.

Noticed a home with a special historical sign.

The Krakow Ghetto, bordering the apartment building where we're staying across the Vistula River, is likely where the Rosak Family was sent in 1941.

Sometimes, like the weather, Krakow is sobering