Kraków, Poland was another city that I had not heard much of and
blindsided me. It is a beautiful old city full of good and bad history that the
city remembers.
We started off our stay in Kraków with a trip to the salt mines. The
mine was enormous and included substantial sculptures, a large chapel and salt
lakes. You may be surprised by this (not really), but everything, from the
ground, ceilings and walls were salt. After the salt mines, we went to the
"Kraków Under Nazi Occupation 1939-1945" exhibition, which was
located in the administrative building of Oskar Schindler's factory. The
exhibition was interesting and sad, it highlighted a tough era in Poland's
past. Once we had finished up at the exhibition we hopped on a big golf buggy,
the driver pumped up some polish death metal and we went to find a polish Milk
Bar. In Kraków, the Milk Bars are not convenience stores as they are at home,
they are cute cafes that sell great dumplings and freshly squeezed juices. I
will never get over my grapefruit juice. We spent the rest of our stay walking
around and enjoying the sites.
Also, during our stay in Poland we visited Auschwitz Concentration
Camp. It was quite the experience, one that is hard to put into words. My
friends and I mostly walked on in silence, it was depressing and moving.
Whilst, it was an experience filled with sadness it is definitely one that I do
not regret.
The countries I visited in Eastern Europe were beautiful and marked
with a tragic recent history.
The next stop on my winter in Europe 14'/15' was Prague, Czech
Republic.
Thanks for reading!
Nat xx
