It's not just a weekender

Recently my lovely repeat clients went to Krakow - ok, so nothing unusual there, it's phenomenally popular right now, so why would I ask them in particular to write a blog about this? Well, rather than go for 3 nights - the standard short break or weekender trip - they spent a full 7 days discovering what Krakow has to offer.

This is their run down on all things Krakow.

Why Krakow?

As a history teacher we wanted to go on a holiday where we could learn, well I did anyway and the partner tagged along, learning as well. Using Ali at Bags Are Packed Travel, we booked a great holiday to Krakow in Poland for a week, our first city holiday. However, I do not like places that are really crowded which is why our hotel choice was in the Jewish District. This was within walking distance of the Old Town but it also meant if we stayed in the Jewish quarter it was quite empty as well. This was perfect for us, we got the best of both worlds. We had an amazing holiday and this blog is all about why.

AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

I cannot be a real history teacher that teaches the Holocaust if I didn’t go to these two places. We knew that the tours could get booked up months in advance, so we asked Ali to book it when we paid for the holiday. The tour was so good, we got picked up right outside our hotel door, and because we were in the less busy section of Krakow we got picked up first (first pick of seats) and dropped off first as well.

In the minibus, once everyone was collected, the driver put on a documentary that I had never seen before. This helped give context of this camp to those that didn't have any. Once we arrived, the driver helped us navigate the airport-like security (you need your passport) and we met our tour guide inside. Then as we walked, listening to the names of those that were in the camp, we came across this famous gate. The tour group went silent and the reality of where we were, hit.

The tour took us through some accommodation blocks that had been turned into a museum. I started to shed a tear when we came into the room that contained the empty Zyklon B canisters. But seeing the weapon of choice did not prepare me for the corridor in the next block. Thousands of pictures of those people that were killed by the contents of those canisters. Each block felt more shocking, as we walked around listening in silence to the tour guide. Then the tour ends with the worst possible room, walking through the Gas Chambers themselves. Standing in the same spot that those people in those pictures took their last breaths. The tour guide was amazing, as someone that teaches this topic every year, but my partner who does not, also learnt a lot about what happened there.

A Happier set of Tours

That’s the hard bit done, and I am so happy for those of you that are still with me. Over this week-long holiday we had three other tours booked in, so let’s talk about these happier tours now. The next day was Zakopane, a beautiful mountain range. Once again we were picked up from outside the hotel door, we travelled to a little village where we got to try local cheese and vodka. I do not normally drink vodka, but boy did I enjoy it here! Now, after we managed to accidentally climb two mountains while on holiday in Switzerland (that is another story) we decided to get the train up this mountain. Boy the views were amazing. We went and explored the local market and shops and I had the best Octopus I have ever had. Not where I was expecting to find a good Octopus for dinner. So, we were 1123m above sea level, and then when we entered the Salt Mines we went 130 meters below ground level. I did not know what to expect from these Salt Mines, but wow, they are a must see.

The caves and the artwork down there are incredible, and the tour guide is amazing, telling you all the history of what happened, but nothing will ever compare to the adrenaline rush of the shooting range, and there are so many to choose from in Poland.

Again, we got Ali to research this and we booked this when we booked the holiday, so that we knew we were in a safe and respectable shooting range. I was the best shot. Of course, but our group had so many different abilities and everyone enjoyed themselves no matter what their ability was. There was a wide range of weapons we got to fire. My favourite was the Shot Gun and I think Doug enjoyed the AK47.

Once again, an amazing tour guide that picked us up from outside the hotel door and made everyone feel so comfortable and easy with the range.

Entry/Exit System (EES)

Now we travelled in the very early stages of EEES, the time where Tic Toks were being posted of 4 hour waits, and stories were hitting the news of people missing their flights. And we didn’t see any of that. I am not sure if we were just lucky or if we just got to the airport so early that we didn’t see it. But when our plane landed in Krakow passport control took 40 minutes, then when we left Krakow, at Krakow airport passport control took 30 minutes. No issues either end just the added time, due to finger prints and photos being taken at the passport desk. So boring airport stories there, sorry.

Dragon Hunting

But here is a not so boring story. The day we went dragon hunting. Ok it is not that exciting, but we enjoyed ourselves. By chance Doug found a small statue of a dragon like the one below at the end of lover’s bridge while we were trying to find food.

We scanned the QR code at the bottom and it took us to a website about the Krakow Dagon hunt. It was like a treasure hunt that was all over the city. 25 hidden (ish) dragons all with a different history to tell, and parts of the city we would not have gone to on purpose. We found 23 of the 25 dragons, with the last two actually being out of the city. We walked about 30,000 steps and got to explore the city.

We found retro shops, arcades, pin ball machine museums, a castle and lots of parks and rivers. We even found a less touristy ice cream shop with the best ice cream we have ever had. We learnt a lot about Krakow and its history, as well as the legend of the Krakow dragon. Plus we had fun hunting dragons.

Why Krakow?

Back to the question we started with. So if you are still not convinced then look at this amazing cheap food and alcohol. There are so many restaurants and bars to choose from in the Jewish Quarter that we never went to the same place twice. We spent a week here and did not spend a lot of money. We enjoyed it so much that we are going back to Poland in July (not Krakow though).

The people are so friendly, the tour guides are experts, and the food is amazing.

As you can tell, Lea nad Doug had a great time in Krakow for 7 days and they found some fantastic stuff I'd never heard of, including the Dragons. Krakow has always been on my list for a short break but now it's really hit my radar for a longer trip.

Thanks to Lea Baynes for the blog.

Have you been to Krakow? Tell us about your experiences in the comments.