After an all nighter on the streets of Berlin, 100 year old Polish train cars are not something anyone should be made to face.
The train journey to Krakow was long and arduous. Let’s be honest, Poland can be something of a downer. The country is largely a memorial to WWII and it can hang a bit heavy. I went to Poland with high hopes of a beautiful language and a beautiful people, and was met with neither. Justin fared all right, but it about killed Houda. I’ll try not to spend too much time whining about my time spent there and just give you the highlights in the form of a quick list and some pictoral highlights.
- Do not try to ride public transit without buying a ticket. It can go very badly.
- Do go to the Wieliczka Salt Mines near Krakow.
- Stay in the city center, you will save time and money.
- When the locals head for cover, do the same. Rainstorms are no joke.
- Don’t spend too much time or money on the castle.
- Find a local to help you get involved. There are good things happenings if you know where to look.
- If you aren’t feeling it, then just get the hell out.
Bummer you didn’t have a more enjoyable time while you were there. While the trains are admittedly from Communist times, they’re the first I’ve seen with a compartment where you six with five other passengers instead of the bus/airplane aisle configuration. Never mind that I had to scrape the ice from my window with a credit card…
Poland is all about the food in the winter, which melts away the cold. It’s also about the people – I dare you to find more hospitable hosts. Glad you got to see the salt mine; what an incredible piece of heritage and one of the first examples of oligarchs trying to help their people.
The longest blog post I’ve ever written is about Poland, you can catch it here: http://alexmartinvalencia.blogspot.com/2010/02/proud-to-be-polish.html
Plus I have some albums on my facebook page.