The World’s Best Kept Secret, Krakow and Zakapane, Poland

As a former flight attendant, I’ve visited all European international locations other than Albania and Poland. Poland is Europe’s 5th greatest region. Apart for Lech Walesa, Copernicus, the Pope and a decade of Polish jokes I never recognized, I knew very little of this land. Nonetheless, my curiosity peaked due to the fact it will before long be hot on the tourist path and for the reason that my Chicago husband’s family is from below. He accompanied me with a sense of delight in finding his roots. I went to become educated and enriched by something new. We flew from Atlanta by using JFK and Warsaw to Krakow for a mere 4 days. No relaxation for the weary with a head spinning itinerary. I favor to go to cities in the off time to mingle with the locals. It provides a a lot more reliable and intimate environment.

On airport arrival, we’re cheerfully greeted by Pavel who will be our driver throughout. He retains a welcome indicator “Suza Davis”. I say, “Hello, I am Suzy from Atlanta.” I chuckled when he responded, “Certainly, downstairs of United states.” We checked into Hotel Amadeus, a 16th century posh inn in the heart throb of city center. Prince Charles after bedded in our place, I am instructed.

We established out to hunt for supper. The illuminated Aged Town was spectacular and stuffed with so many younger people, it manufactured me truly feel aged. 150,000 learners reside in this university city. Krakow is Europe’s leading party scene in which they remain out till the birds sing. This historic district holds maximum concentration of bars and restaurants in the planet. We instantly learned Pierogi Backyard, residence of the freshest Polish dumplings. They were stuffed with sauerkraut, lamb, beef, berries, chocolate and even peanut butter. There have been 6 kinds of soups, all with beets which I abhor. Right after a dozen dumplings, I had a melted ewe’s milk cheese pancake which was outside of scrumptious.

Poland experienced plenty of invasions through its historical past. Soon after staying ravaged by the Germans and then the Russians, it at last attained independence in 1989 with the collapse of Soviet communism. Krakow was wired for destruction in the vicinity of the stop of WWII by the Germans. They prepared to blow it up at the time the Russians took over, luckily the war finished hours before the program was carried out.

Nowadays it remains one of the several cities remaining in its primary form. With a populace now of 780,000, it has morphed into a stylish global money. Vivid and fashionable however someway retains its classic lifestyle with regal architecture. It is in Krakow wherever just one finds the spirit of the new Poland.

On working day 2, we ended up greeted by Anna who was strikingly beautiful. We began in the world wide web of cobbled streets in Old Town that was meant for walking. It was a maze of museums, chapels, galleries, cafes and gap in the wall pubs. Even in winter there was entertainment with avenue dancers, mimes, accordion players and on 1 corner, I watched a knight in armor break-dancing.

We entered Current market Sq., Europe’s premier medieval sq. the place tiny has altered given that 1257. It is crowned by the Bell Tower wherever a bugler performs at the top of the hour. It drives the citizens ridiculous at evening. A need to see is Fabric Hall where by fishmongers, fabric merchants and bakers have bought their wares since the 14th century. Now it’s a amazing arcade of handicraft stalls.

We walked to the effectively preserved Jewish Quarter which is now edgy with creative character. Poland when held Europe’s largest focus of Jews at 3.5 million. Poland’s kings throughout the center ages noted they had been becoming expelled somewhere else and invited them in to increase the economy. Listed here they thrived right until the holocaust and compelled communism right after WWII. There are now only 180 still left. We seen the ghettos wherever Spielberg’s famed movie was filmed and seemed throughout the river to see Schindler’s factory.

Rick Steves writes that a person should pay a visit to a milk bar in this article. Anna escorts us to one particular of these govt sponsored cafes for the doing the job course. They are a holdover from Poland’s communist past. Every thing is astonishingly inexpensive. I ordered a bowl of selfmade soup and cheesecake for $2.

We then frequented Wawel Castle, a 12th century masterpiece and defining icon of the city’s pride. There have been no queues as we walked its corridors of historical past. This was the residence of kings for 500 yrs. Anna points out its legend of the fire breathing dragon named Smok in this article who ate virgins for breakfast.

This was bolstered by the discovery of odd massive bones in the 1400’s. (The bones are actually whale bones as this area on Europe was when underneath h2o eons in the past.) The dragon hence became the image of the town and is omnipresent in souvenir shops. Anna then nudges us inside of many wonderful churches, for me generally as monotonous as paint by quantities, having said that they had been beautiful. I ask if there are any Protestants in this article. She replied make any difference of factly, “Indeed,a person.”

The afternoon was invested on restaurant and hotel inspections. I cherished the formal greetings and it is usually instructional. I master about local delicacies and lodging in the greatest place for the very best value. All motels have been thoroughly booked. Jews and Catholics take a look at year round on religious pilgrimages or come for roots tours.

Krakow was recently rated in the top 10 European destinations. I now see why. Americans carry on to rave about Prague which I now obtain passe with inflated charges and reduce requirements of provider. It truly is turn into as pricey as Rome. Ultimately, Krakow may well do the similar once Poland converts to the Euro in 2012. For now a single can splurge with inexpensive price ranges. Europeans flock in this article for 50-70% discounts. Germans and Danes in unique occur for dental and optometry wants. Health care tourism such as plastic surgical procedure is booming. I satisfied an Austrian flight attendant who fly’s in regular for spa treatments at 50 % price tag.

At night we dined at Wierzynek Cafe, the world’s oldest that has served princes to holidaymakers considering the fact that 1364. It was scrumptious peasant cuisine (natural) of wild boar, roast ribs and heaping mounds of potatoes. I ask them to train me some Polish, a Slavic language that is as unattainable as a mouthful of alphabet soup. The term rest room has 5 syllables.

On the third working day, we awoke to a grey, chilly and moist working day which gave us the suitable ambiance for what we would see. Pavel drove us 60 km to Auschwitz. We ended up greeted by Yuri, our outstanding particular tutorial whose sole passion was to enlighten us on the unthinkable tragedies that took put right here from 1940-45. I as soon as visited Dachau, but this was the greatest of concentration camps. This loss of life factory killed 1.4 million men and women of 27 nationalities. Most were Jews. The others had been gypsies, Soviets, Poles, gays, political dissidents and a lot more.

We entered the gate looking at, “Perform will set you free.” Inside was a potent reminder as we considered the crematoriums, starvation cells, kilos of hair, infinite eye glasses and a pond nonetheless grey from ashes 60 many years in the past. Most sobering to me was the kid’s part. It held a sea of tiny sneakers, dolls and meticulous German documentation of 230,000 minor types who endured and died listed here.

We were being driven to the prolonged camp of Birkenau (Auschwitz II), with its wooden barracks built to dwelling 100,000 but sooner or later held 200,000+. Together in silence, the three of us walked a fifty percent mile to see the ruins of the gasoline chambers and memorial monument. At the finish of our tour, Yuri said goodbye to us with this profound statement, “I have guided a number of holocaust survivors who visited right here like visitors. They instructed me at the finish that I am not equipped to present 1% of how poor it actually was.” This was the most psychological touching website my eyes at any time beheld.

Late afternoon we visited the renowned Wieliczka Salt Mine. This mysterious and wide underground city 3 miles lengthy has extracted salt for 800 a long time. The Planet Heritage Web page draws a million site visitors for each calendar year and it appears as although they all arrived nowadays.

Our guidebook Justina appeared to have an obsession with salt, but it was basically the adore of her occupation as manual. She explained to stick to her down 836 techniques which was a superior work out than a Stairmaster. Caves bore me, but this website will keep on being etched in my intellect for good. Imagine underground chapels, ornate sculptures, chandleries and existence size figures carved totally from salt or a restaurant and a write-up office environment 380′ beneath road amount. It was impressive. For hundreds of years miners and horses put in their lives in this article. They remained healthier in this abundant micro-weather. It has to do with magnesium ions, what ever individuals are? Nowadays people today arrive to the healing chambers of the remedy complicated for isolation in normal air purity.

Working day 4. I continually search the world for special items or sites to current to fellow travelers. These days I discovered it in Zakapane. For a long time now, a pal of mine insisted I pay a visit to this mountain vacation resort with the amusing identify I could by no means keep in mind. We drove to the pure air of the Tatra Mountains with Eva, our professional guidebook that day. She reported this experience spot of 60,000 people swells to 200,000 almost calendar year round. In summer they come for mineral spas and Alpine climbing. In wintertime they appear to ski. That week Zakapane hosted the Worldwide Ski Leaping Levels of competition.

Listed here was a charming town of artists and Giorake, an ethnic team of mountain highlanders. These wandering shepherds trace back to the 15th century. They adore to costume in their colourful dresses for travelers. They stay on cheese or anything at all smothered in cheese. We frequented a cheese sector the dimensions of Switzerland. As significantly as my eyes could see, there were being sheep and goat cheeses artistically sculpted into just about every condition conceivable. We also toured the Aqua Park with an Olympic sized mineral incredibly hot spring mineral pool and rode cable cars and trucks superior into the mountains for spectacular scenery.

It was a most successful and pleasurable working day tour. I found a local tour corporation that arranges entertaining activities for teams these types of as horse sledding by way of the forest, pet dog sledding and the new “snow rafting” in rubber rafts sloshing toboggan-type down the mountain. At the huge out of doors industry with innumerable ethnic stalls, I ordered a putting leather-based and fur coat for $260 that fashionably looked 6 occasions its rate.

There is certainly so much I didn’t get to see on this limited take a look at. On my subsequent return, I am going to do the new “Nuts Communism Tour.” Outdoors Krakow is Nowa Huta, when a significant socialist suburb of forced industrialization. Enormous steelworks factories overtook the prosperous farm land. Medical doctor and professors were despatched in this article to perform. Miles of concrete tenement blocks had been erected to household them.

On tour you can discover experience firsthand Stalin’s reward to Krakow by using in a typical East German Trabant auto out to Nowa Huta. A evening meal of salted bread, pickles and vodka is bundled, adopted by dancing at a retro 70’s era disco.

Below the yoke of communism, the Poles refused to give up their faith. Stalin said, “Applying communism below is like saddling a bull.” Faced from these types of a decided spirit in the people today, he gave up. I”m astonished at all the obstacles this stoic state has triumph over.

If you’ve been there and purchased the t-shirt of London, Paris, Madrid or Athens, I really encourage you to go to undiscovered pieces of Europe. Krakow is destined to develop into the next Prague. It oozes with record, helpful faces, hearty cuisine, and it will never crack your pocketbook. If you can pay a visit to the new Poland, you should do not explain to anyone about Zakapane, a single of the world’s very best saved strategies.