SOLO EURO: DAY 16 [KRAKOW]

like days past, it was raining. i had until about 2 to explore krakow. later in the day i had to catch a train to oswiecim (more on that later). it was a sunday morning and therefore everything was closed or would open later in the day. this allowed me to have a slow start.

i started my morning by returning to lajkonik to get a delicious pastry and latte. interestingly i saw the polish police, policja, at work. there was a crabby, and assuming hungover, young guy trying to sleep at a booth. one of the worker girls yelled at him, he yelled back and then just passed out. polish was spoken so i don't know what was said. the worker took some pictures of him, and then the police arrived and escorted him out. it was an experience.

i then took a walk once again up and down the streets of the old town. the first stop was to jagiellonian university. it's pretty crazy that there is a university right in the middle of old town.

a dragon, the town symbol.

the collegium maius building (c. 1400s)

the history building :) look how pretty.

the next stop was the the gallery of 19th century polish art. this gallery is actually located inside the cloth hall. it was pretty busy, but was also a day with free admission.

this piece was my favorite. just a woman casually carrying a man's head.

i did not plan on visiting the barbican, but was glad i went. the barbican outpost used to be connected to the old city walls. it is the best preserved gothic-style outpost in europe and is of only 3 on the continent.

c. 1498

i was happy to find out you can actually walk inside the walls.

this window is purposely made so you can slide a cannon in.

of course i had to return to lajkonik for lunch: a cheese and tomato sandwich, chocolate mousse, and a latte. no shame this was my second visit of the day

i then went back to the hostel to pick up my stuff and make my way to the station to catch a train to oswiecim. 6 months prior, i made a reservation to visit aushwitz concentration camp (about an hour and half train ride from krakow). i decided to pick a time as soon as they opened. because october is still considered a peak time, you have to go reserve a ticket before 10 in the morning to not have to go with a tour (for the most part, i really hate tours). i planned on taking a train in the morning, but the schedule was not released that far in advance. 

about 2 months before my trip i realized there would not be a train that early in the morning, but discovered there was a very highly rated hostel in town. i cancelled one of my nights in krakow, and booked a night for this place so in the morning i could walk to auschwitz. i also bought my afternoon train ticket.

memorial for the battle of grunwald near the krakow train station.

the train ride was....an experience? every mode of public transportation that i used up to this point (and after. even the trip back to krakow) had modern machinery, but this trip was different. i am almost positive it was a train from 1970s soviet era. the train looked very old, used absolutely no electric signage (instead there was a paper pinned onto a cork board stating the destination), had wooden panelling, and mustard corduroy upholstery. it was an empty train and some random guy sat next to me, so duh i moved. also every time the trained stopped, there was no audio stating what the stop was. i knew i really had to pay attention so i would not miss my stop. the bathrooms were also very scary. and there was some drunk guy who yelled in polish and smelt very strongly of liquor. he would go up to random people, but luckily never tried to speak to me.

once i arrived it started raining. i knew in advance, but had to walk 3/4 a mile to the hostel. the biggest con, was the station not having a little convenience store. even at little stations during my trip there was always a quick little place, but not here. i walked all the way to my hostel and had no luck to pick up some food or even water (which was part of my plan). oswiecim is a very little town. for the night and most of the next day, i would have to live off of tap water (something kaiser told me not to do in poland) and protein bars. my stomach was rock hard.

when i arrived to the hostel, it was completely dark. someone answered the door, but i quickly realized i was the only person who had a reservation out of this entire hostel/hotel! the guy was nice, but kind of weird. he did upgrade my room. i ended up have 2 bunks and a roller bed (6 beds in total). once i was left to my room, i freaked out a bit. i just thought how this was the beginning of a horror story (bates hotel type of shit). i was the only one here other than the owner who had keys to every room. i almost had a panic attack, but called my boyfriend and then realized there was a tv and friends (in polish) was on. i felt better, but that night i slept with the furniture pushed up against the door (i am no fool). i also left both the tv and light on. a more objective review on the hostel later.

to add, i almost canned my whole trip to auschwtiz. on the website, the hostel/hotel states they will hold on to your luggage after check-out, but the owner told me no because i was the only one in for the night. he said what i could do was leave all my stuff in the room with the key when i checked out and the maid will give him my stuff and i can then pick it up at about 2. that was too much trust to put on people, so i passed and just planned to leave in the morning back to krakow. luckily, i did more research and learned that auschwitz has their own baggage storage. even though you are not supposed to leave luggage. my backpack was only at this point maybe 20L. i decided to take my chances in the morning.

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the lobby and hotel is to the left, while the hostel part is up those stairs.

now, more on the oswiecim hostel/hotel (the krakow hostel will be in the next post). ironically this was the highest rated hostel of my entire trip and really was a nice stay even though there were scary circumstances. i have never stayed in a hostel that had a tv in the room (this is not even an accommodation in american hostels which tend to be more 'luxurious'). the furniture was really nice and you can tell either the building was super new or just modernized. i also had no idea how to use the furnace, so i ended up sleeping with my jacket on.

the bed i slept on and the measly table i push in front of the door. also, admire the tv towards the top.

it's a rarity to actually have keys for a hostel.

for such a crappy night, there was a beautiful misty morning.