Grey and impoverished, a downtrodden land inhabited by dour cynics. This was my perception of Poland prior to going there.
I had been asking fellow travelers for years about
Poland and all had unequivocally recommended Cracow. So, Cracow it was:
Poland's third largest city of under one million inhabitants and also
its best preserved (unlike Warsaw, Cracow wasn't annhilated by bombings
during World War II).
I took a direct flight from
Amsterdam to Cracow on SkyEurope, a low-budget airline specialising in
Eastern European destinations. Upon landing I was overjoyed at the
sight before me: a decidedly crisp, sunny, warmish Cracow cutely
covered in a thin snow layer. I checked into Bling Bling hostel (there
are too many hostels to count) and began contacting the Polish hosts
who had replied to me from 'Hospitality Club,' an online global network
of culturally curious travelers seeking and/or offering free
accommodation in their targeted destinations, in the houses of willing
listed locals.
Within mere hours I had written up pages of names
with corresponding dates and places in which I would meet local
Cracowians. I happily marched forth, penetrating Cracow's walls and
thus into its old town to meet Isabele, and partake in a healthful
drinking session of hot spiced beer. Hot beer is but one leftover of
medieval times, when beer was a staple drink often boiled to
decontaminate deadly bacteria. Today in Poland you can get it with a
wide variety of spices and sweet additives. The most popular is with
honey and cloves in lemon slices.
Unlike classic tourists who take it upon
themselves to study each inch of every single museum, I deliberately
avoid them, unless in the company of locals who insist on dragging me
along to see one. In the latter case I am happy to oblige because there
is nothing quite so quintessential as being treated to a complimentary
personalized tour by an enthusiastic local. On this occasion a couple
of young philosophical students, Sabina and Gosia, brought me to Krak
castle, located in the heart of Krakow on Wawel hill.
The town owes its name to Poland’s 7th
century Prince Krak, who by legend settled on Wawel hill over the
Vistula river after defeating a dragon. Here on Wawel hill, as in all
Polish castles, you'll get a taste of how the Polish royalty lived some
seven centuries ago, before it was invaded and occupied over hundreds
of years by Russians, Swedish, Austrians and Germans. Today of course,
thanks to Lech Walesa's early 1980s solidarity revolution, Poland is a
proud member of NATO and the European Union, but long before this it
could already boast of great achievements in science (Copernicus, who
defied the church in proclaiming the earth to be round, not flat),
music (Chopin, to name one), film (Roman Polanski or Krzystof
Kieslowski) and art (the 19th century painter Matejko.)
On another occasion I was escorted by Anika to the National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe) where I got an eyefull of 20th
century Polish art, the most riveting of which I found to be the modern
artist Katarzyna Kozyra, who has on display a poignant video of herself
being treated for cancer in the nude except for a black ribbon around
her neck. The Salt Mines in the nearby town of Wieliczka are also well
worth a visit, easily reached by tram from downtown Cracow in half an
hour. Here I was treated to an evening of classical music by the
Wieliczka Salt Mine orchestra, which gives regular concerts.
Be sure to hang out in Cracow's Jewish quarter,
Kazimierz, now a hip café sanctuary in Cracow. Because most Jews were
exterminated by the Nazis, today there is little visible evidence of
things Jewish save the Jewish museum and the old synagogue. Naturally,
being in southern Poland a visit to the infamous German Nazi death camp
Auschwitz-Birkenau is a must. It is a two hour bus ride from Cracow.
You may have seen it in Spielberg's Schindler's List and countless
other movies and documentaries, yet being there in person hits so much
harder. Before entering, be sure to brace yourself, this place is not
for the meek. Put simply, there is nothing in human history to compare
with the concentration of finely orchestrated and premeditated horrific
bestiality that took place in death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau,
during the dozen years of Hitler's reign. Here you'll learn in detail
the grim misdeeds performed by a few thousand humans on millions of
other humans, a hellish nightmare senseless beyond comprehension. I
purposely didn't linger here all day, unlike the large tourist-guided
groups that take forever to get through each room.
Because I was having such a grand time with Polish
women in Cracow, going to nightclubs nightly such as the dankly
atmospheric, multi-themed and multi-floor Lubo-Dubo on Wielopole
street, my plans to sweep through all of Poland were quashed. Instead
my only hiatus from Cracow besides Auschwitz was a day of skiing in
Poland's premiere ski resort town, Zakopane. Zakopane is in the Tatras,
the highest range of the Carpathian mountains, a two hour bus ride
south of Cracow. I travelled with Gosia and Ola and in Zakopane we were
met by Martin, with whom we stayed. To any serious skier, I can highly
recommend Zakopane. Don't forget to enjoy a warm red wine après-ski!
Happily, subsequent to my initial scepticism, I
can now say that few getaways can compare with the hedonistic splendour
of my recent fun-filled week in Poland. Aside from its ethereal
medieval architectural charms, I was tickled pink by dozens of superbly
friendly Poles who solidly entertained me each day of my stay.
http://www.hospitalityclub.org
http://www.blingbling.pl
Jewish Museum: ul Szeroka 24
http://www.skyeurope.com
Lubo Dubo nightclub on Wielopole street
For a relaxing sauna/massage: Laguna on Przybyszewskiego 6, tel: 638.07.20
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