Destination Krakow

Wieliczka Salt Mine. These statues are all carved out of salt 135 metres underground.

KRAKOW, at the bottom of Poland is turning into a destination city, and for good reason.

After a week in Northern Ireland, we decided it was time to step out of our comfort zone. So we booked a plane to Kraków on a friend’s recommendation, found accommodation on Airbnb and off we went.

The two-hour flight was a bit like a kindergarten in a different language. It seemed like half the passengers were under five and had plenty of fun playing up and down the aisles.

Our accommodation host gave us basic instructions on how to get to her apartment. But the language barrier hit me like a rock in the head. It was pretty hard when we arrived to work out where to go, and what to do.

We had been warned the taxi drivers would try and skin us — and they did.

Having been told if we took a taxi it would cost 50 zloties, we had one driver offer to take us to our destination for 80 zloties. When it was pointed out to him he was ripping us off, he suddenly could not speak English and slunk off. Ha! One victory to us.

Next we found the train to town. Oh joy! It was comfortable and had wifi, so I could email our host that we were running late.

The next challenge was to find a tram to take us to our apartment. The train station was under a huge shopping complex with three times as many shops as Gladstone Road. This girl from Gisborne was amazed.

Finding a tram was no easy feat. I could not even pronounce the area we were heading for let alone find it on a map. So I wrote it on a piece of paper and asked a nice-looking man with a tag that looked like he was security. Jackpot! He pointed and spoke in Polish vigorously.

For the first of many times in Poland, I said “English? Do you speak English?” Another tirade of foreign language and a man nearby said in English, “Follow him, he is going to take you to the tram.”

Ahhh that’s a relief but first he makes me repeat the area name: Czerwone Maki (Serwone Maki) — “Yep, I’ve got it” . . . not really but I did by the time we left seven days later.

A free tram rideOur tram ride out to Czerwone Maki was 20 minutes and free because we were so stressed we could not work out how to buy tickets. Once we reached our destination, a google of trams in Kraków gave us all we needed to know, and thankfully we did not get snapped by inspectors because it’s a hefty fine if you are caught ticketless.

Here is a quick description of Airbnb — it’s an “app” and you put in where you are going and what you want, and it gives you a list of private hosts’ flats and homes available for rent. Compared with conventional accommodation options, it’s very affordable. Having contact with a local host also provides excellent local information.

Our 7th floor apartment in Kraków was in a huge block of apartments — it had stunning views and we could see all around the city. It was modern, clean and perfect for what we wanted. We unpacked and headed back to town to eat and get some stores.

Since leaving New Zealand we had been walking a lot, averaging about 10km a day. My mate Frank was ready for a couple of rest days so we decided our first day in Kraków would be a “rest day. “

We decided to go to town in the afternoon and have a wander. But it was just one wondrous thing after another. Beautiful buildings, churches, statues . . . it just went on and on.

It was getting close to dinner time and we had walked more than 10km when we confirmed that I have absolutely no sense of direction, or any ability to read a map, and that my definition of a “rest day” was not really working.

We had been through the 13th century old town, which is a world UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation) heritage site and includes hundreds of beautiful buildings — notably the gothic Wawel Castle built at the behest of Casimir III the Great, who reigned from 1333 to 1370, and the Wawel cathedral and the St Mary’s Basilica, and many other churches and temples.

We had seen some amazing buildings in London and Ireland but the ones in Kraków were something else. Who knew there was so much wealth in the Christian (mostly Catholic) churches?

One church had 30 kilos of real gold on the roof, and inside there was gold everywhere. Each church was different but the same — the affluence was astounding and then, as with many of these big cities, on the street corners were the beggars and the homeless. There were also nuns, monks and priests all over the place. A deeply religious region.

Where to get a beer?It is also very tourist-ready. Everywhere there are people asking if you want a tour here, or a tour there, or a meal here or a beer there (which is indeed Frank’s favourite question, especially at the end of another “rest day”).

We decided to wait until day three to start our tours. You have to be alert and book with care. There’s a lot of difference between the cheapest and most expensive price for the same tour.

We went to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, another world heritage site. We walked down 800 steps, 135m underground and saw only one percent of the vast former industrial salt mine. It was fascinating — there were statues carved out of salt and in the centre, a giant chapel with more than a dozen intricate statues including one of the current Pope Francis who will visit the mines during International Youth Week this month.

Aside from a few statues of famous salt miners, most of them were of religious persuasion. The air down there was amazingly clean and so good for you. In one area of the mine there was a health resort for people with asthma and other breathing difficulties. It definitely cleared my nasal passages for a few days (but didn’t stop Frank snoring).

Tour of Auschwitz and BirkenauA definite must on the list for us was a visit to the WW2 German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau. It was a huge day and I could not believe I wanted to get myself that depressed and even pay for the privilege to feel that misery. All that aside — it was unforgettable and gave me a deep understanding of what I had studied in history at school.

Our tour guide had family killed in the camps and was emotional and passionate about the subject, which made the whole experience much more powerful. At times as she described the things that happened, her tears flowed freely, especially when describing the children and medical experiments.

On reflection it was not that long ago — one of the commanders of the camp has children still alive today. One day we walked around the Jewish quarter in Kraków. This is where the Jews lived before Hitler’s men came in and segregated them across the river to live in “the ghetto”.

We looked over there too and there are still signs of how it was . . . sad.

On another “rest day” we checked out Schindler’s factory. Oskar Schindler saved 1200 Jews who he employed in this factory. He used his profits to bribe officials and keep them safe from death. He only died in 1974. It was not that long ago.

It was supposed to be a 19-minute walk from the ghetto to the factory but we got a bit lost among the industrial buildings and it took an hour and a half. That was a 16km day — oops!

We went to some fabulous markets where the street food was absolutely delicious and the crafts amazing. We ate traditional Polish food and I now love dumplings — I never knew. And duck pate stuffed goose neck, huge pork knuckles that we could not finish and Polish sausages with mustard sauce . . . it’s pretty cheap living.

The people of Kraków are lovely. There seemed to be an abundance of beautiful young women. Overall they were friendly and helpful and we felt very safe at all times.