Journey to the past part II: Krakow

Six hours of bus trip from Warsawa to Krakow was not torturing me thank you to the calming view of meadows. As we arrived at Krakow bus station, we needed to walk for around 10 minutes from Krakow bus stop to the park and Barbican gate. There was a shopping mall just next to the bus stop if you want to have an easy lunch. Barbican gate, which turns out to be the defense gate of the old town was like the official entrance of Krakow. It was like the Narnia wardrobe that leads us to a new fantasy world. Now, this gothic-styled gate serves as the part of historical Museum City of Krakow where we can also see the progress of its construction from time to time. Around this gate is a comfortable park with so many people just chilling and sleeping on the grass. Our 1st stop here was Kebab shop called Beirut Shawarma and to be honest, this place was exceptional. Now, while I am writing this, I even want to go back there again! The portion was giant and the meat spices was just correct: not too strong and not too plain like the one I usually find in Europe. 

The airbnb we found through airbnb.com was surprisingly super modern and amazing. It is kind of cheap and just around 10-minute walk from the park in front of Barbican gate. The park was lovely with a miniature of the town, statue and benches with the view of a church where some people feed the birds. We had a long nap and went back again to the city at night to see the Grand place which consists of Church of Our Lady and The Krakow Cloth Hall. 

Unfortunately, it was Easter day and we could not go inside the church. It is stated as one of the most gorgeous Polish architecture with gothic style. This church has been through so many historical events which made it destroyed and rebuild many times either it was invasion or even earthquake.  Just opposite the church, across the Easter market is The Cloth Hall where we can find a lot of souvenirs sellers along its corridor. Again, because it was Easter, we hardly found these little shops opened around.

However, the Easter market was surprisingly warm and lively. They sold interesting giant breads, sizzling smoked pork and beef, local drink and wooden souvenirs. The interesting part is that they have this chariot which is very well decorated with women in uniforms to guide you through the old town. Surprisingly, I did not find a lot of Asian tourists here, even less than Warsaw. 

Walking through the old streets we found lovely churches heading to the river bank. It has the view of a fair, and buildings all ended with -wski and just at the valley of Wawel Castle. This castle looked so beautiful at night facing the river. It was built in the era of King Casimir III the Great and is considered as UNESCO World Heritage. It looks even more beautiful at night with kids sliding on its hills facing the river. 

We sat along the Vistula riverbank with our beers and admire the beauty of the city lights and its reflection on the water. There were some rented boats with youngsters having private party on it. The scenery became perfect also because of a fair and its glowing ferris wheel from afar. The only bad thing was just they could put more lights nearby the river so It would not be too dark. It was really, a nice evening to remember. 

Our second day was actually planned to go to Zakopane mountain area but Easter made all the bus schedule a mess. So we waited and waited and the bus did not come at all. So we decided to go to Oskar Schlinder's museum of his former enamel factory where he has saved lots of his Jewish workers. My heart breaks every time I remember about this era and its movie. But then, it was also closed due to Easter, so in some part I am also relieved because I am sad to see all its trace. We could only see the compilation of workers photograph who worked there in front of the factory. 

Actually, people normally go to Krakow to also visit Auschwitz, one of Nazi's biggest concentration camps and extermination camps or perhaps the biggest? During my stay in apartment, I read some info again about what the causes of this Holocaust and what pain that Poland has endured during the WW II. It is just crazy to me how a human feel that he has more right to kill another human, and yes it is still keep going on until now because in Easter morning, we heard the news that there were suicide bombings in Sri Lanka churches and hotels. But, if you are lucky to be able to go to Auschwitz, they also offer several tour package as a guided return trip from Krakow. 

So... we had lunch at this so-so Indian restaurant, perhaps the only one that is opened that day in the whole town and took a nap until night. This was a very lazy holiday... For dinner I went back to that kebab shop and bought some snow balls as souvenirs. 

The next morning, we decided to go to a place that is surely opened: Kosciouzko Mound.This hill has serpentine way to lead the top and it has mystical legend of Krak and Wanda and acts as commemoration of Tadeusz Kosciousko, Polish national leader. It was an interesting experience to climb to the top because there was no such thing like safety fence along the way up. So every time I saw parents with baby stroller I was feeling insecure, really. At the top of the hill, we could see 360-degree view of Vistula river and Krakow. Also, a big granite stone brought from Tatra mountain and Polish flag was the cherry on top of this unique hill. This mound also has museum, cafe and exhibition that can be reached by a bridge from the mound. Next to the hill is a very peaceful forest. The weather was nice and it is fun to lay down and see the sky above. This was our last stop before we went back to Prague. 

My visit to Poland overall reminds me again about how fortunate my country history was, compared to them especially in Holocaust era. It reminds me again how fake-self, superiority and blindness of human can destroy everything else but them who are blind by their beliefs. That everything that is too "much" will end with no good. 

I recommend not going exactly in Easter day to avoid the closure of interesting places and the interrupted bus schedule. I am sorry that my trip this time was not really well-planned because we were just in the mood of strolling around the town without an exact plan.

 So long, Poland. Thank you for the time travel. 

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