Krakow

I had no expectations prior to visiting Krakow, Poland. Hotel Polski was very spacious and luxurious. In addition, our hotel was located right off one of the main streets. The city also blew my socks off. Krakow is a medieval town protected by a surrounding wall. The night life was also fun. The town contains many universities and we were told by Dr. Bob that it has the most bars and clubs per square meter than any other city. This statement was not a stretch of the imagination.

On Tuesday, Kuhn, Red, and I went to check out Krakow’s central church. It was free and extravagant. Afterwards, we went to nearby markets. Eventually we made our way to Wawel Castle. We purchased tickets for certain sections of the castle, including the Crown Treasury, Armoury, and the State Rooms as well as the Dragon’s Lair. The Dragon’s Lair was spectacular and reminded me of the cave that the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ kept their treasure in that movie.

Dinner was pretty good, and the waiter did not charge me and Kuhn for our meal. We stumbled upon students juggling sticks that were on fire. The show drew a large crowd in the middle of the Central Market Square. The show is hard to describe in words, but it was fascinating and spectacular. Note: Don’t try this at home. Later at night, we went to a recommended club named Ministerstwo. The underground club was fascinating, containing a two-story room with couches, a bar, and two rooms containing dance floors.

During our last day in Krakow, we set on our schedules to make the journey to Auschwitz. It was probably the most important place I visited all trip. Needless to say, it was extremely depressing but necessary to see. We visited both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. I do not want to describe the concentration camps in detail, but I will say that it was a cold reminder of how fortunate we all are. I purposely did not take any pictures during the visit, although I bought a folder of pictures in one of the gift shops. My scanner is terrible; therefore I will display some images of the concentration camps that I pulled off the internet. The first image frames the “Death Wall” of Auschwitz I and the second image shows the entrance (by train) of Auschwitz II-Birkenau.