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June 27-30
We arrived in Krakow late on Friday night and got settled into our apartment which is right on the Old Town main square. First I highly recommend a visit to Krakow (all the cheap airlines fly here) and make sure you stay in the main square. Tons of hostels and apartments to rent.
The square is rated one of the most beautiful in the world and we caught a glimpse as we checked in so we decided to pop out for a night cap. Well we ended up at a karaoke bar which had a live band that backed the singers. We popped in and the first song we heard was knocking on heavens door... In a polish accent. Well how could we not stay! It was great and they had some really good singers... After (more than) a few vodkas I asked if I could do Summer of '69... But (luckily?) they had too long of a line...
We went to Schindler's factory the next day, it was a very cool exhibit and brought us up to speed on the history of Poland prior to visiting Auschwitz.
We also did a bit of a tour and saw the Jewish Quarter and the ghetto which has been redone and really nothing to see.
It was a Jewish festival going on so we walked back down to the Jewish Quarter and found a party by the river. In Tel Aviv they have these pop up parties with food and drinks and DJ's and they did one in Krakow. It was very cool and a super sunny day. They also had 'American IPA' on tap which was described as tasting 'very strong'. Perfect! I also had hummus and few pieces of herring!
I loved Krakow, the square is the highlight ... Music, street performers, markets, bars and restaurant patio's line the outside of the square. It was such a cool place. There are many side streets to explore and wander through as well. The history is amazing as it is a medieval city with such deep WWII history as well.
I also LOVED the food. One night we found a little market and they had this huge food station cooking up huge woks full of perogies and potatoes and cabbage mixed with meats (traditional polish food, loved it!) and the BBQ was filled with sausages and kabobs and they even had a spit roast for game hens or some other kind of small pheasant. Of course there was lots of beer and local vendors had wine to sell.
One night we were having dinner and this bride and groom were headed to the main square with their photographer to get pics. All of a sudden people started cheering and a bunch of Jewish men started dancing around them singing, women formed another circle around and then they did the long archway of hands and they ran through. People quickly dispersed after. It was so cool! A flash mob of wedding entertainers!
One travel blog said it is romantic to get lost in Old Town and wander the streets starry eyes for hours. I couldn't have said it better myself!
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