The Craic in Cracow

The last leg of our journey brought us to Krakow, Poland. Honestly, none of us really knew much about the city or had any strong desire to go there, but we all really wanted to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum so we decided that a couple days in Krakow would be the best way to accomplish that. We took an overnight train from Prague to Krakow, about a ten hour journey in the most sketchy, disgusting train I have ever been unfortunate enough to ride on. There was dust everywhere, the train looked like it was from 1955, and the company was less than desirable, but luckily we had bought out a cabin so it was just the four of us together avoiding the gypsies and party animals along for the journey to Krakow. I guess I'll just have to chalk that train ride up to the whole Eurotrip experience.


We arrived in Krakow at about 6:45AM and were greeted by a taxi driver sent from the hostel to pick us up and bring us to there. Our hostel was the Good Bye Lenin Hostel, located in the Old Jewish Town of Krakow. It was conveniently close to the city center and public transport, as well as clean, welcoming, and decorated with an anti-communist theme. It was pretty cool considering Poland's recent history and how it effects present day Krakow. The receptionist let us put our bags in storage and have a complimentary breakfast, even though we hadn't stayed the night before. We freshened up and got ready for our tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau, which turned out to be one of the most moving and unforgettable experiences I've ever had the privilege to be a part of. But I'll write about that in its own post.

After a day at the museums, the girls and I returned to the hostel to get settled in our room and make some plans for the night. We headed into town and visited the Main Market Square, which was filled with Easter Markets, adorable outdoor restaurants, a Quincy Market style building, and a beautiful basilica. Putzing around the Easter Market, we sampled local cuisine and saw arts and crafts made especially for the holiday. I found the area to be similar to Prague, not as beautiful but equally as friendly.

Later that night, Katie, Caitrin, and I met up with our friend Doug who we had met in Berlin. He was staying in Krakow for a few days, so we decided to meet again and have a couple of drinks. Most places closed early in honor of Easter being the next day, so we ended up at a sidewalk cafe for a couple hours until heading back to the hostel once it became evident that the square was shutting down.


The next morning was Easter and for the first time on our whole journey, it was raining. Not to be deterred, we put on our Easter dresses and headed back to the Main Market Square to attend mass at St. Mary's Basilica. The church was unbelievable and absolutely packed with its regular attendees and visitors like us. Although the mass was recited in Latin, it was still very nice and I was glad to know that I done the right thing and gone to mass on Easter even though I usually fight my mom every single year that I don't want to get up and go. Sunday also marked the first holiday that I ever spent without my family and as I had expected, it was really difficult. It was weird not to be woken up in the morning by my sisters and head downstairs to open baskets or reluctantly go to church and then to Maureen's for Easter dinner. I missed home a lot that day, but it was nice to know that I had friends to spend the day with who were in the same position as I was. We treated ourselves to a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant called Carlito's after deciding that we deserved some comfort food rather than trying new Polish food that we probably wouldn't like too much. After dinner, we returned to the hostel and changed into clothes more suitable for traveling as we had a flight to catch back to Dublin in just a few hours. Once at the airport, it was smooth sailing through security and all until we reached the border control. As I have previously mentioned, there was no border control entering The Netherlands, so we just strolled into continental Europe along with all other arriving flights. That was fine until we tried to get out of continental Europe, when the Polish border patrol woman was not having the fact that our passports hadn't been stamped upon arrival. I showed her my student visa from Ireland, my Irish identity card - anything to prove that I wasn't abroad illegally. Eventually, she let me through, after lecturing me about how I was on the continent illegally and that I shouldn't be allowed back into Ireland. I was relieved that she was feeling nice, but she got really angry when Katie and Caitrin also did not have their passports stamped. While we explained it wasn't our fault that the Eindhoven Airport closed its border patrol office, she retorted that it wasn't her problem and made a real stink about giving us the stamps. I understand there are lots of legalities but c'mon lady, do we honestly look that threatening? No, I don't think so. Thankfully, all three of us got through border control, onto the flight, and back into Dublin without any more problems. Katie stayed at the airport to continue her travels with a flight to Scotland, while Caitrin and I caught the bus back to Galway. We arrived back at our apartment around 3:00AM, exhausted but thrilled to have had such a great time on round one of our Eurotrip.


Love and remembering to get your passport stamped,
Haley

Na Zdraví!

Before we knew it, it was midweek and time to take the train from Berlin to Prague in the Czech Republic. The train was only a four or so hour journey so we were able to take one in the late morning and get into the city around mid-afternoon. A friend of ours from NUIG, Jitka, actually lives in Prague and offered for us to stay at her family's flat in the city rather than paying to stay at a hostel. We couldn't refuse such a nice offer, so when we arrived in Prague we made our way to the flat, which was only about a ten minute walk from the rail station. Jitka's brother, Pavel, greeted us with a lot of excitement and was eager to show us around the flat and take us out that night to meet some of his friends. The flat was huge, with big rooms and high ceilings as well as a great location about a five minute walk from the city center. While we had expected just a bed to sleep in and a safe place to leave our belongings, Jitka's family went above and beyond in accomodating us. Her mom had left us towels to shower with, made traditional Czech snacks for us to have when we arrived, offered us use of any amenities (TV, computer, etc.), left us breakfast each morning that we were there, and offered not only to let us do our laundry...she was going to do it herself! It was the warmest welcome I had ever received and I could not express enough appreciation to the family's kindness in welcoming complete strangers into their home. As a minimal payment for our stay, Jitka's brother and father were eager to practice their English with native speakers. And let's be serious, talking isn't exactly a hassle for my friends and I so we were happy to help them out. The first night that we were in Prague, Pavel had made reservations at a local restaurant so we could try authentic cuisine. We went to the restaurant and over the next couple hours ate, drank, and met Pavel's girlfriend and other friends, who were all excited about our visit. It was really funny, they were so intrigued by "the Americans," asking lots of questions about the United States and constantly asking us to stop talking so fast! We learned about the Czech school system, traditional cuisines, and the upcoming Easter tradition in which every Czech male buys or makes a decorated stick with which he is to playfully beat any female he sees on Easter Monday so that the women of the Czech Republic do not "go dry." (Those were the exact words used...take it as what you will.) Our new friends also taught us how to say cheers in Czech "Na Zdravi" (pronounced "nas dravie" - literally meaning "to health"), which turned out to be the only phrase we would end up remembering after leaving Prague. It was a really great night, we stayed at the restaurant until it closed and then headed back to the flat, as most of the people we'd met had work or school the next morning. 

Pavel practicing a little early Easter Monday tradition.

The next day, Pavel showed us a tour guide that his mom had made for us, complete with a map of Prague and detailed explanations of what we should see and how we should get there. Yet again, I could not believe how much the family had gone out of their way for us. We set out to see the city in what was once again a beautiful day. We hopped on the tram and headed for the Prague Castle, which turned out to be not only a castle, but a whole little village of buildings including a beautiful cathedral, breathtaking views, and the opportunity for us to watch a changing of the guards. 

We took tons of pictures and then continued our tour of the city to the famous Saint Charles Bridge over the River Vtlava, crowded with street vendors, performers, and tourists. 

Across the bridge and down the windy medieval streets took us to an adorable Easter market that had many kinds of food, crafts, and other items for sale, as well as great people watching. We purchased our way through the market until we reached its end and realized that the whole day had passed us by! Tired but enchanted by the city, we retreated to the flat for a little rest before going out for the night. 

We decided to keep it low key and headed to the Strahov Monastery, which is situated on the top of a hill offering a beautiful view of the city at night. Pavel, the girls and I sat, ate candy, and drank beer (keeping it classy, as always) chatting about nothing in particular. There were lots of other people roaming about, it was a warm night and there was even a pub open on the monastery grounds. If that's not a conflict of interest, I'm not sure what is. But anyway, we stayed out until it got a bit chilly and we decided to head back for the night.


The next morning, we got up to cover the remainder of the suggestions Pavel and Jitka's mom had given us. We took a tram to the Observation Tower on Petrin Hill, where we climbed up a ridiculously long spiral staircase to get a panoramic view of the city. The weather was hot, about 75 degrees, but the walk up was worth it, the views were unreal! After coming down from the top of the tower, we walked around a bit because there were various gardens, buildings, and other attractions to look at.

We headed back down to street level after about an hour, excited to go do the one thing we had planned to do in Prague: go paddleboating. I don't know why the idea appealed to us so much, but it was the one activity on our entire trip that we had really planned on doing in advance. Otherwise, we were kind of just winging it. The boats were really cheap, only 200 Czech Crowns (CZK) per hour...which amounts to about 4Euro per person. We decided having four of us on one boat would probably make too much of a scene so we went two and two: Caitrin and Lindsey, Katie and I. The river was crowded with other people enjoying the boats, but we paddled our way to the middle of the river, linked together, and laid out in the hot sun for the next hour. It was LIVING, let me tell you. I was getting color, listening to good music, and laughing with great friends - what more could a girl ask for?

After paddleboating, we went in search of a grocery store, as I had promised to make Pavel and his family an "American" meal that night for dinner. With limited resources and not wanting to make too much of a mess, I figured what's more American than baked macaroni and cheese? It's my favorite meal from home and it has been a hit anytime I've made it in Ireland, so I figured I'd bring it to the Czech Republic as well. (Sidenote - I have not found a single store that sells Kraft Dinner, so homemade has had to cut it while I've been abroad.) The grocery store didn't have the usual ingredients, but I improvised and the dinner came out surprisingly well. However, I seem to only know how to cook for an army - I blame it on coming from a large family - so there were lots of leftovers. Regardless, the family seemed to enjoy the dinner and the strawberry shortcake that we made them for dessert. After dinner we quickly cleaned up and packed before we had to leave to catch another overnight train, this time to Krakow. I honestly was sad to go, I had had such a great time in Prague and no other place was going to accomodate us like Jitka's family had.  But we had a train to catch and other things to see, so it was on to the next city.


I left Prague feeling that it was the best city I have visited abroad. It is beautiful, clean, affordable, welcoming, and historic. In my own opinion, I'd say it is better to visit Prague than Paris, as Paris now seems like an artsy and beautiful, but overpriced and un-hospitable tourist trap. (No offense to anyone who loves Paris!) Over the three days I was there, I spend less than 80 Euro and I never felt like I was sticking to any sort of budget; the city is really cheap and the Euro and dollar ratio to the CZK is very good. The city seemed really safe, I didn't feel the need to hold onto my bag for dear life like I had in Paris or Berlin, I just used common sense and ran into no problems at all. A lot of people spoke conversational English, so communication was hardly an issue and the majority of people we met seemed very welcoming. I would definitely recommend visiting the city and I certainly hope to make a return trip at one point or another. I enjoyed Prague so much that I really don't think any other place I visit will top it, but I guess I shouldn't speak to soon!


Love and wishing to go back,
Haley