Poland and Pierogi

Krakow - Old Town Square at sunset

First pierogi deliciousness

We arrive around 9pm and I am introduced to pierogi – delicious little boiled dumplings with various fillings – Ola recommends cottage cheese and potato and I am not disappointed. I could live on these things! AND I can afford them, Krakow is ridiculously cheap – a plate of pierogi is less than 3 euros. We take a short walk to the Old Town Main Square, the impressive St Mary’s Basilica (where a bugle player plays the same tune 4 times – once in each direction – every hour), Cloth Hall and Town Hall Tower. Ola’s family is from here and I can hear her love for the city in every word she says
 

Krakow - St Mary's Bascilica

Krakow - Nativity Scene comp.

The next day we walk around the Old Town again, eat some more pierogi (cabbage and mushroom this time) and beetroot soup and check out the Nativity Scene exhibition. People take all year to build these scenes from all types of material – foil, lace, paper toll, even dried food – and some have moving parts. They are pretty special

View over Tatra mountains

Fried sheeps cheese with cranberry

Day 2 we head out to Zakopane, a small town in the Tatra Mountains. It’s really pretty and surprisingly warm for this time of year – much of the snow on the ground has melted and it is around 7 degrees. We walk through the markets and take the funicular up for some spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Then it’s time for food – we have potato pancakes with garlic butter, bacon and sheeps cheese, bread with lard and bacon and fried sheeps cheese with cranberry jam. All fantastic.

Stroller sleighs in Zakopane

Back in Krakow we head to a piano concert of Chopin music – the pianist is very young but extremely talented and the music is just beautiful. Then to a cute little vodka bar (complete with a cute and friendly bartender) for “one” shot. We try cherry, vanilla, hazelnut and honey vodkas and a shot with bison grass vodka, apple juice and cinnamon. I sleep very well despite being woken up at 2am with the couple next door very loudly getting it on




Day 3 I visit Auschwitz and Birkenau. It has taken me this long to build up the courage to visit a concentration camp and it is very confronting. I still can’t comprehend it, even after actually being in the buildings where so many atrocities were committed. I just can’t understand how humans could do such things to each other.

The Last Supper..........in salt

Later that day I join a tour to the Wielicza Salt Mines. After walking down nearly 400 steps we walk through passageways that are hundreds of years old and see the amazing salt sculptures – there are statues, chandeliers and chapels all made out of salt. In the largest chamber, a huge room featuring 3 chandeliers and a light show, there are sculptures on the wall detailing Jesus Christ’s life – including a remake of the famous Da Vinci painting, The Last Supper. There is also a sculpture of the Polish hero, Pope John Paul II and even the tiles on the floor are made of salt. Well worth a visit

Trabants

Last day and we head out on a Trabant Communist Tour. The Trabant was a car very popular in the 1950’s at the start of the Communist era and built out of fibreglass. It’s quite small and noisy and when I squeeze into the back I find out that they only believe in seatbelts for the front seats – which is apparently fine in crazy driver Poland.

Vodka shots and pickles

We head out past Ola’s auntie’s apartment and stop at a restaurant where her mum and dad used to go on dates. It is original décor from the 1950’s and they still hold dances here on Friday nights. We get a very interesting historical lesson on the creation of the Communist estate and the propaganda that went along with it. Then back in the car and off to view a Communist apartment – everyone was given the same. Here we try vodka shots out of fish shaped shot glasses and pickles. Then we head to a deserted road where we get to try driving the Trabant – first time driving in 9 months and it’s a column shift manual, on the wrong side of the road, after 2 shots of vodka. Safety first in Eastern Europe!

Sure I can drive

We then visit a milk bar – a worker’s canteen where traditional food is sold at government subsidised prices – I try cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and mincemeat with a creamy mushroom sauce – not bad (but nothing beats pierogi). Great tour although I ensure I write “seatbelts” on my feedback form suggestions.

Ginger hot chocolate and chilli praline

We walk past Krakow castle and down the oldest street in the city – many of the cobblestones are still originals from the 13^th century - and head to Ola’s favourite café where I have ginger hot chocolate and a chilli praline. Then it’s time to head to the bus station for our 14 hour overnighter to Hamburg (yuck).