Warsaw & Kraków, Poland

Warsaw

The second & third destinations during my Eastern European tour were both in the beautiful country of Poland! This country knows how to wear winter beautifully. Our first stop was Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. I didn’t really know what to expect out of this location but I was pleasantly surprised! There are essentially two different vibes this city has... industrial from the “downtown” just like any other big city and the charming “old town”. We spent most of our time in the old town because it is just the CUTEST (re: the image above). This city was heavily destroyed during World War 2 so many of the buildings have been reconstructed so their exterior is just perfect. We only spent 2 nights and one full day in Warsaw. I would have enjoyed an extra day! But our stay fell over New Years Eve, so it was fun to ring in the new year in Poland (last year I was in Germany)! On the morning of our first full day we had a walking tour with a local guide through the old town. Warsaw is especially proud to be the home of Fredrick Chopin, the famous pianist, so they have several granite benches that play pieces of his music! We gazed at architecture, drank hot tea (it was so windy!), and wondered down the cobblestone streets.

For lunch we stopped at a local spot for pirogies (Zapiecek http://www.zapiecek.eu/menu_eng.html)! These dumplings are filled with different fillings either sweet or savory and then boiled. I chose the cinnamon apple, which tasted like apple pie! So good!

The rest of the day we spent hunting for amber rings! Poland is known for their amber, I unfortunately didn’t find one that I was in love with so I skipped it. We rested up before our New Years Eve group dinner at a local family style restaurant!

After dinner we took a short walk to the famous shopping street in Warsaw. This is where the club was that a few girls picked in our group. I’m not usually a clubbing kind of person but I was glad I went out to ring in the New Year in another new country!

Kraków

The next morning, we were up bright and early to make the drive to Krakow! The drive from Warsaw to Krakow is about 3 and a half hours, but we made a lengthy lunch stop on the way! During World War 2 Krakow was seen as a “less important” city so it was not heavily destroyed by bombings. This makes the architectural style so much different than Warsaw. We spent our first full day in Krakow on a walking tour with a local guide that showed us the most important parts of the city including the Wawel Royal Castle, St. Mary’s Basilica, and the main square.

The rest of the day was spent wondering the streets, eating churros from the Christmas market, and finding souvenirs!

The next morning we made the journey to Auschwitz & Birkenau (concentration camp). This was one of those “once in a lifetime” opportunities. Going into the camps I was nervous about how I would react; I’m a pretty emotional person. I cry at movies, books, you name it. I was worried I’d have a full on panic attack or get physically ill because of being on the same land that so many lost their lives on. But, none of those things happened. The museum is made to be factual. They don’t use language that tugs at your heart strings, which I appreciated. It doesn’t make what you see any easier, but it helps you not to cry. The first part of the tour is at the Auschwitz main camp. Auschwitz was a huge network of many camps in the area that span for many miles. The majority of this tour is inside buildings (that used to be barracks) and is pictures, statistics, and some items that Jews left behind.

The guide will also bring you into one of the gas chambers that is still intact. You can see the two small holes that the poison was deposited through. This was the place that I felt the most emotional, so many people died in that room and yet I’m lucky enough to be standing here, safe. I just couldn’t process it. After the main Auschwitz tour, we drove 10 minutes to the Birkenau camp.

When you arrive, you meet your same guide and you all walk the same walk that millions of Jews made down the railroad tracks unknowingly to their deaths. Now in place of the gas chambers (which were destroyed) there is a memorial in many different languages commemorating the men, women and children that died here. During this part of the tour you also see some of the isolation barracks and other common areas like the kitchen and Nazi office like buildings.

Honestly everyone in the entire world should make the trip to Kraków just to go to Auschwitz & Birkenau. If we forget what happened during the holocaust, something similar will probably happen again. Yes, it was freezing the day we went, but we were lucky enough to have warm hats, coats, and boots while some just had striped pajamas.

All in all, Poland is a beautiful country, from what I saw of it. I hope someday I can be back! But maybe in the spring or summer... :)

Next stop... Prague!

-meg✨