On the day we landed, we took our time settling in at our accomodation, wandered the main square of Krakow and also put in some bookings for our tours that you will see later in this post. I definitely recommend spending a little bit extra money on these tours, as you will get a better insight into the history and significance of these locations, plus, you get a ride straight to the door! 100% worth it. Through the wandering of these streets, we found a lot of very aesthetic cafes with amazing quality of food/drinks. During our stay there, we made it a 'thing' to go to at least one cafe per day, be it for breakfast or tea. 3 days was definitely not enough time for cafe hopping though... Auschwitz - Berkenau was always on the top of my 'things to do'. Needless to say, it was one of the heaviest days. I knew all about the history and plenty of books on the holocaust but never did I expect to feel this so greatly when I was physically present at the site. Knowing that all that happened there only less than 100 years ago.... On a happy note, we continued our cafe and restaurant hunts at the Main Square. We were very very worn out that day. There are actually a lot of restaurants around the area and of which were of very good quality! Well, at the least the ones we went into, making the effort to stay away from those on the main street and wandered into little alleyways to find restaurants that locals when to the most. Best sign of approval in my opinion. Next morning, we went on another tour but this time, to the salt mines. To be completely honest, I had no idea what I was going to prior to actually getting there and getting some insights from the guide, again, same point, it really is worth the extra cost, puts much more significance into the place and your memory of it. So, not to give too much away, we first walked about 55 floors underground to the firm mine. No worries, there was a lift that took us straight up from beyond 55 floors underground in 40 seconds, no cardio needed. Underground was where we looked at a few of the old fashioned mechanisms and daily duties/schedule of miners. It really was fascinating to see how the things we take for granted today were invented by people from centuries ago, like the pulley mechanism etc. Later in the tour, we also looked at a few absolutely stunning chapels with figures carved out of limestones, photos were prohibited there unfortunately..unless you paid for it... but I'd personally much rather have it clear in my memories than my phones memory. That evening, we visited a restaurant that was very much worth mentioning along the smaller streets of main square. I'm not too sure what the name of the restaurant actually is but it's perfect for people who 1) Want a taste of local cuisine 2) have limited time but would like a bit of everything 3) Are on a budget. Because this restaurant basically offered numerous choices of local delicacies buffet style, so you could get a bit of everything but instead of paying a fixed price so as much as you can eat, you weigh this at the end of the buffet table. Perfect. That pretty much wraps up the end of our short but sweet trip to Krakow. Perfect for a short trip whilst in Europe, a few days was definitely enough in my opinion.
0 Comments
Just this morning, I landed back at Frankfurt international airport from five or so days spent in Prague and Krakow. Below are some photos that I took from my iPhone 7 and in the exact order I visited them in. Currently also deciding on a handy camera for better photos on this blog. Looking forward to that! So bright and early that morning, we took a two hour train to the Sedlec Ossuary of Prague, although a bit disappointed at the lack of things to do at the little town that this Ossuary was at, it was definitely worth it. I have personally never seen anything remotely similar and was rather fascinated. What felt like minutes after, it went dark very early since it is winter and this photo was taken at about 4pm only... However, the city lights did make up for it, they were absolutely stunning and I stared at this view from the road to castle for 15 whole minutes, if it weren't for the cold, it would easily have been longer. I unfortunately do not have any photos of the castle, nor the view of the main city and the Charles bridge, which we did walk across, but I felt that I didn't have a photo of good enough quality to highlight the beauty I saw through my eyes and I definitely did not want to hinder that in any way. Soon after, we settled into a little restaurant that we found along the road, which led to something that replicated a wine cellar of some sort. And it was at this restaurant that I met my new found favourite winter comfort food - a Beef Goulash in a soft, warm and fresh bread bowl. After dinner, we were a little too tired and sluggish so we walked a few blocks down and we spotted a blackboard that said "MULLED WINE", which I was craving after all the beautiful Christmas markets in Germany where they sold Gluhwein. I was admittedly slightly sad about having to wait another year+ for it but apparently that wasn't the case anymore! So when on holiday, you have to try everything a city has to offer right? So back down the road we go, heading to our accomodation for the night we came across a store that served these "Chimneys", traditionally known as Trdelnik, although we were already in a massive food coma, how can one say no to this! I know for a fact that I've never seen thee anywhere else, so we shared one. The lady knew we were sharing, so she very kindly separated the fillings into a cup and in that cup was a layer of apple strudel, strawberries and Ice Cream. The thought of it is already making my mouth water! That wraps up my short but eventful day in Prague. Next morning, we took a very early and a very long train ride to Krakow, all about it in the next post.
I flew to Germany on the 21st of December. It is now, the 13th of January.... It's crazy how fast time flies. I honestly cannot believe that I have been here for almost one month. As familiar as everything is to me around town with the train schedules, bus routes, the people etc. it still feels very fresh, I still cannot believe that I'm here and am thankful for that everyday.
I decided to write this post whilst spending some time with my friends this week, exploring the city and nearby towns. We were all talking about trips until I realised that two trips later, we would be two months into this exchange journey... another two and that's three months... wow.... A lot of people including myself, am guilty of always saying "we have plenty of time!" Whether it is for a project, studying for an exam or even just making the effort to meet friends. But when you really think about it, you realise that it isn't true that "we have plenty of time". Time is limited and we unfortunately don't realise this until last moments when there is nothing we can do about it anymore...This is when we start rushing around, unable to produce quality work, nor are we able to spend quality time with those we care for. Personal experiences are, before I left for this exchange trip, I thought I had months to prepare and say goodbye or meet everyone before I left but not only was it three weeks before I flew off the Germany did it hit me that I had been procrastinating - whether it was meeting someone coming back from Australia that I haven't seen in years, people I wouldn't be seeing for years or just those I simply wanted to spend more time with before we had to part for six months.... I didn't have time. So here I am, prepared to make a change... I will not make the same mistake again and I am determined to make every minute count. It may be tiring but I hate this feeling of regret and just not being able to do what I could have done. Like my cover page says "whatever you do, be the best of you..." simply means, never let yourself down by missing out on opportunities because you gave yourself an excuse. Takeaway: Don't let yourself look back and regret. When making a decision, look ahead and ask yourself "what would I think about this if i looked back a week/month/year from now?" |