Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Day 1: Krakow, rain and dragons!
And so it begins again!
My interrailing journey started with an interesting flight with the lovely Ryanair. They really do take budget flights to another level. I especially liked the fanfare they played when we landed on time (its something to be proud of I guess...). After safely landing in Krakow I trudged out into the rain (slightly disappointing considering I left a sunny Manchester) and headed to the train station. The train to the city centre was very quick and cheap (the conductor didn't appreciate me paying the 12 zloty with a 100 note). At krakow station I followed the very clear directions to my hostel (only getting lost for half an hour), and found that it was right in the centre of old town. After checking in it was time to explore the city.
First stop was to see the famous Cloth Hall, the huge covered market in the centre of the old town square. In the past it would have been a giant produce market but now it's more of a souvenir haven. Still nice to walk around though. I also made my first purchase of the trip - my standard souvenir shot glass :) . After my little shopping spree I crosses the square to St Mary's church where I met the Free Krakow Walking Tour group for their afternoon tour of the old town (I would highly recommend doing one of these). Our guide Tom was excellent and took us on a 3 hour tour of all the main sights in the old town. We saw the old city walls, the Florian gate, and the Wawel (vavel, or castle for us English folk). It was at the castle that we encountered the dragon of krakow (see picture). The legend says that the king Krak (hence krakow) saved the city from the dragon. Speaking of legends, our tour guide seemed to like telling us about the really interesting legends of each place we saw and after we we suitable impressed he would tell us it was a load of rubbish and tell us the real, slightly less exciting version. So after 3 hours of exploring the city (most of which was in the rain) we were all pretty exhausted. We applauded the lovely Tom, and gave him a tip for a great tour (you don't have to, but considering he gave us a really interesting tour for 3 hours, in the rain, he really deserved it). So with soar feet I trudged back to the hostel, stopping at a local shop to buy some bread and slightly questionable cheese/salami/pepper spread for dinner (it was quite late and I was too tired to try and find a cafe). Back in the hostel I had my sandwich concoction (which actually was quite nice) and got to know my Danish roommate (she was a weekend break after just taking her last uni exams). So there you have my first day in the lovely Krakow. After all the walking I'm shattered so it's an early night, ready to do it all again tomorrow. Until then readers.
Lois x
- comments
momma bear Really good informative first blog Lois, although spelling needs attention - "soar feet !" lol! Today will probably be very traumatic so take care xxx