After spending days in Gdansk and Warsaw, we decided to continue our tour in Poland at the city of Krakow which is like a fairytale. We traveled five hours from Warsaw by Flixbus to Krakow and we were really excited for the things we saw during our internet research! Beautiful big castles with tremendous dragons and colorful fabric markets are standing with charm near the Vistoulas River. Krakow as the old capital of the country you can observe how beautiful and majestic is! We can say it's a jewel on the crown of Polish territories with medieval squares, royal roads, monuments and magnificent cathedrals. All these ingredients make Poland one of the best and worth traveling countries in Europe.
We expected the best and the truth is that Krakow didn't let us down. After settling down we decided not to waste valuable time, so we started exploring the city center. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to see a lot of interesting things in town so we decided to stay mostly at the center and the old town.
First we needed energy after the long trip so we tried some huge sandwiches with lamb doner near bus station. It was very different from gyros in Greece but still delicious! After filling our empty bellies we started from one of the biggest medieval squares which was the center of the town back at the 13th century. In Rynek Główny you can walk while you are listening to street performers, watching horses with carriages and enjoying the beautiful view. There you can also find the central and classic jewel of Rynek Główny square, the Sukiennice, which from the 14th century holds a multicultural street market mostly for fabrics but now it has souvenir shops selling amber jewelry.
After we did our shopping we went across to the Gothic Bazylika Mariacka of 14th century, where we were stunned from the charm and majesty of this church. The inside was so impressive that leaves you speechless! You can admire the five stages holy table of the German artist Veit Stoss or the big vitro church instrument! Be careful, pictures are not allowed!
You can go for a walk in the old alleys before you reach the shadow of the Castle. At the Kanocicza street you will see plenty of old mansions and even the previous Pope's John Paul II or the Jesuits's temple. As you are coming closer to the Wawel hill you will see a magnificent castle! The legend says that: The mythic hero Crake killed a ferocious dragon and after that he built his castle. Today at the same spot you can find a dragon statue with flames coming from its mouth. A majestic castle stands there and inside you can find the royal chambers, the Cathedral temple of the town, the museum and of course exhibitions which have been found after excavations around the location.
I wish we had more days to explore and see more of this beautiful gothic town! After we tried some places, with no luck, at the end we decided to visit Auschwitz. A place which needs extra attention is Schindler's Factory and Copernicus science center. Both of them request early booking, so please don't make the same mistake as us. We missed the opportunity to see two of the most interesting places historically and scientifically speaking!
However, Auschwitz was a unique experience and you can't miss it for anything! You can take the early bus from the bus station (PS. Take with you supplies) and travel just for a bit until the Auschwitz camp. From the moment you come down from the bus you will sense it. I don't know if it is the place which is soaked with blood and death, the weather or the knowledge of what happend there but you can sense a cold bad feeling.
This feeling which makes you have goosebumps and feel a darkness in your soul. After we entered the first buildings and passed the security systems we got out at the camp. There, a lot of numbered buildings were standing sad and each with its own story. The sensation was unnatural and otherworldly, I can't really explain it. We started visiting the buildings from the beginning because we wanted to see the most important things first. Not that the others weren't important but they were more memorable than informative.
In this chamber you lose your soul. You feel so unimportant in front of all that pain and death. You are thinking how a human being can be so cruel to other humans. How a human can torture in this extent? There was only coldness and despair in the air. Death and emptiness before the remainings of these people. Over a million people lost their lives there. They left behind only sorrow. Hair, shoes clothes, personal belongings. All there behind a glass reminding you how disastrous human race can be. Walking in the same paths people walked before they drew their final breaths. Stepping where people were poisoned and became soap. How can you breath when you are thinking about it?
You can visit the camp by yourself or you can have guided tours in groups after paying some money. If you want to go alone the entrance is free, but be there on time to avoid the crowded noisy groups. Don't forget to take the small free of charge bus to visit the Birkenau camp some kilometers away. The best idea is to leave the Birkenau camp last because is easier to explore it. There you will see the remainings of the destroyed buildings and the memorial monuments for every country who lost its people. If you want to calm down this heavy atmosphere you can walk backwards the rail paths until the entrance and visit the little souvenir shop for some interesting history books.
This experience were sentimentally different from the atmosphere of Krakow. A sadness was created in your heart and you couldn't help it. After we took the bus for the return we still had this feeling. All this unexplainable death, tragedy and destruction is gonna be in our minds and hearts to remind us of all these people who were murdered in the most painful way.
We were really tired from this trip in Auschwitz so we tried to fool ourselves with a nice cup of coffee or for me the best vanilla milk shake with whole hazelnuts and bailey's liqueur! Totally recommended by me! You will find it at the end of the square across the Sukiennice market!
We will definitely return to see more and visit Schindler's Factory or the Copernicus science center! It's a beautiful gothic place which has nothing to envy from Warsaw. It has a unique charm which captures any visitor.
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