Krakow, Poland

We went to Poland so Grandma could see where she comes from, and let me tell you... this is a trip that didn't disappoint! I honestly knew nothing about Poland besides the fact that they have pierogis and that was something I was very excited about. We left for our journey on Friday at 4:30 am. We had layover in Munich airport then were off to Krakow. We arrived around 12 and headed over to the hotel. Its always weird landing in these new countries and being like so this is Poland... because you never really know what to expect. Their airport was pretty cool, but when we got to our hotel we knew we were living like royalty for the weekend. Our room is more like a little apartment. It had a bedroom with a huge bed, a bathroom (which is the nicest bathroom I've seen in Europe so far), a kitchen with a eat-in dining room, and a living room where there were two beds for Anna and I, and a couch with two side chairs... so to say the least it was very nice! We had all showered and went off to find some food. We asked the front desk somewhere they recommended with good pierogis, they gave us the name Bistro11. It was a quick walk from the hotel and they said they had a great lunch. When we turned the corner to the road the restaurant was on all I could see in the distance was the butt of an English Bulldog and my heart filled with excitement! This little guy (Peanut) was so excited to receive some attention and was so friendly. Unfortunately he had an owner or I would've been taking him home with me. The bistro was adorable but the first thing we noticed was that there were no pierogis on the menu which is the only reason we came there, but we decided we were to exhausted to hunt for somewhere else so we stuck it out and tried some new things. We got a goose baguette to share, and each ordered our own entree. Yes you read that correctly a GOOSE baguette! I had never tried goose before and after my first experience I would 100% order it again. It was thinly sliced like a lunch meat had a similar texture as pastrami. It was absolutely delicious and if we would've gone back I would've gotten just that as my meal. Along with the goose it had pickled cucumbers, red onion, lettuce, mustard and a honey sauce. So if everyone is in Krakow for a few days anytime soon I 100% recommend it. My entree was just as good to! It was chicken wrapped in bacon topped with pine nuts, over pumpkin mousse with leeks. And that to was great. They were more like chicken medallions which I wasn't expecting but I loved it! After lunch we headed back to hotel to take a nap because literally our eyes were sore. We slept for about 2 and a half hours then went into the lobby to get some drinks and wait for Aunt Erin and Uncle Matt to arrive. I ordered a sex on the beach and it was great, but before I had a chance to order another one, I heard some familiar voices around the corner! Erin and Matt had arrived and we were off to 24 hour pierogi for dinner. I didn't really know what to expect from this place, but it was a small little restaurant that didn't even have a bathroom but they had like 40 different types of pierogis! I got a kind filled with potato, mushrooms, and cabbage. Anna got your traditional potatoes and cottage cheese, my grandma got a meat filled one, and my mom got a potato, mushroom, and cottage cheese filled one. Then we got fruit filled mix plate that was a dessert plate to share. That had 12 total on the plate, and 2 were filled with apples, three with strawberries, two with plums, three with sweet cheese, and 2 with blueberries. We headed home after dinner and all fell quickly asleep due to our early morning flight but even more because of our full bellies.

Saturday was another early morning. We got up at 7 so we could get ready for our tour of Auschwitz and the salt mines. It was mind-blowing being in Auschwitz. We learn about it in school but to physically be there definitely put you in a different position. They took you through some of the living corridors which the first few they had renovated into more museum like area. They used the different rooms to display pictures and facts about the terrible things that happened during that time, then some rooms held items that were confiscated from the jews upon their arrival at the camp. They had thousands of hair brushes, thousands upon thousands pairs of shoes, and the one room was full of just the hair that they shaved off of the women after they were gassed. They also had dorms that were left in their original condition so we could see how these people had to sleep and use the bathroom. It was unbelievable to imagine. They even took us into one of the gas chambers and our guide pointed out the openings where they would drop the gas in the chambers, and the rooms directly next door were the ovens. It wasn't an exciting trip by any means but it was interesting to see these places and really put into prospective how these people "lived" at the time. From Auschwitz they took us to Birkenau which is the biggest concentration camp. It was made when they ran out of room in Auschwitz. This is where the trains would stop and drop all of the people off and the officers would right then and there determine who was fit to be a worker and you weren't chosen you were put into a line and walk directly to the gas chambers, where they told them they were going to take a shower so they wouldn't spread disease. These people were shipped here in killed within hours upon arrival. So to try to giver day a more exciting feel we then went to the salt mines. On our way there we made a pit stop for lunch where we sat at the smallest table possible fore 6 people but we all got some good traditional polish food. I tried beet soup with dumplings and again got a plate of pierogis for my meal. The soup was great and literally BRIGHT red. And the pierogis were good but I didn't think they were better than the ones from 24 hour pierogi! This was a massive museum where we had to walk down over 800 steps to see it all. But they said to actually see all of the mine would take 7 months. So what we got to see is only 1% of the entire mine. But something that was pretty exciting is that since the mine is entirely salt they said everything is open to being licked besides the sculptures... so you can bet yourself I wasn't leaving without licking a wall. And it was SALTY! I chose a place that was randomly along the walk way but it was also pretty smooth, so i was hoping not to many people have licked it before! Inside the mines were amazing sculptures but the most interesting part for me was the chapel! The chapel that is constructed under there was beautiful and filled with chandeliers and of course SALT! We finished the tour around 8 and we went out to get some food. We sat outside at this cute little restaurant and it had big heaters out there and the tables even came with blankets which I thought was pretty cool! Uncle Matt hit the jackpot with this reservation because we all had great meals. I got mulled wine for the first time, which is spiced warm wine. The kind I got was orange and clove. And my meal was a giant pork chop covered with mushrooms and cheese! Again just delicious! My mom and anna ordered the ribs which gave everyone a great laugh when they came out on a huge log! OH when we sat down Anna found a small pair of reading classes which my mom tried on and was amazed by. She said she could see perfectly out of her one eye! So she wore them all night besides when she pulled out the selfie stick to take a picture. Right after we took the picture a man came out and asked if we had found his reading classes that he believed he had left there... well I think my moms heart broke because she was so excited with these little glasses that actually helped her see! We all cracked up but it would've been 10x better if he walked out and asked for them when my mom still had them on her head! After dinner the night ended because we were all exhausted and once again had an early morning the next day.

Sunday we had a to leave the hotel at 7:45 to get to our tour bus at 8:05 to go on a tour of the city. The beginning of this tour was a little rough because it was only 40 degrees out so we were all freezing and our guide wasn't really showing us anything very impressive. He kinda just walked around and told us the history of this square. But after about 2 hours freezing our butts off he took us to the Wawel castle where we got to tour inside the castle and see giant tapestries all over the walls. To be honest I was bored by the tapestries but it was cool seeing each room, but the exterior of the castle was a lot more impressive than the interior. After the castle we got a short break and i ordered a hot chocolate. It was served in this big glass and hit the spot considering how cold I was. After our break we walked around the city some more stopping in a few beautiful churches and some offer guides favorite bars and restaurants. We had an hour break between this tour and our next tour which was the food tour of Poland. We were still all pretty cold so we went to a bar and got a drink hoping that would warm us up a bit! This food tour was the highlight of my trip. We started at one restaurant we we had two soups, a beet soup with dumplings and a borscht soup. The beet soup was once again good, but the borscht soup was delicious, I think it was my favorite thing of the entire tour. Then we went to a bar where was sample 4 types of vodka, when I say sampled we got about half a shot of each. The first shot was my favorite, first of all when they set it in front of you it smelt like cream soda! She told us it was a caramel and vanilla mixture, so that one was good! The second one was a walnut vodka which was good but not as sweet as the first. The third was a pure vodka, and the last was an elderberry. The elderberry i liked because it was so different, and is actually only 35% alcohol so by polish law its not allowed to be called vodka because it isn't higher than 37.5%. The next restaurant we went to was by far the best. Here was sampled two kinds of pierogis, one meat and one potato, a cabbage stew, potato pancakes all for a dinner. Then for dessert was sampled blueberry pierogis and something that i can't remember the polish word but its a potato pancake filled with apples and topped with powdered sugar! That was the best dessert i have ever had, and was a close second of the best thing eaten on the trip. THEN from here we went and tried some street food. First we got a piece of smoked cheese with a cranberry jam on top! I thought that was delicious but only 3 out of the 6 of us liked it! Then we got some kielbasa and sauerkraut, AND a homemade pickle! That was all good, and our last bit of food was a baguette covered with cheese, mushrooms, and chives. I saw many people walking around with these and they looked delicious but for me this was my least favorite thing of the tour. I don't know if the this one was just plain because it definitely wasn't as yummy looking as the rest, OR if i was so full already. Then our very last stop was at a brewery where we had two types of beer. Each were good, one was a little more fruity than the other but the other was less bitter. So once again after our tour was over we all collapsed in bed after being so full.

Monday was our last full day but it was great because we slept in! It was nice to take our time getting ready and have time to go get breakfast in the lobby. We went to the main square where we literally shopped till we dropped. I have never bought so many things at one time. We got so much jewelry! Poland is known for their amber so we each got some! I got a ring, a pair of earrings, a pendant (for a necklace) and a bracelet. Then i got a watercolor painting and an ornament, and a lucky tree of happiness!

Overall it was an amazing weekend and one i will never forgot.... I definitely need to do some workouts this week after all the eating i did with my mom and grandma. Im sad they are leaving and I'm back to reality of being so far from home! And i miss them tremendously already! But only 77 more days till i return to the gold ol' USA!