Chronicles on the road: Krakow
Vanja Nedić — Krakow and Warsaw have this thing between them, this dispute as to which is really the capital. Officially it’s Warsaw, but many consider Krakow to be the beating heart of Poland. In recent years, this city has bloomed. It was always open to tourists, but now it’s even open to internationals who work and live here.
So many different languages can be heard on the streets of Krakow, and you can see that these people are more than tourists — they live here. They know the smallest secrets of the city. I like that Krakow is so well organised. The train and bus stations are connected, a big car park sits atop the huge shopping mall where you can lose some time if you have a connection here, and the old city center is just around the corner. Basically everything is very well arranged.
The old city center is crawling with people — and not just tourists. On every corner there are street musicians and entertainers, restaurant hosts and tour guides. Something we haven’t seen anywhere else is the sight of horse-drawn carriages in the Rynek. They look so luxurious and give this place a special tone.
Since the weather was nice when we visited, many sat outside drinking coffee and observing the crowd roaming around. This reminded me so much of home. The market in the middle of the Rynek is always a good spot because there are so many craftsmen’s booths that one simply can’t resist the appeal of handmade jewelry, bags, and shoes.
Wawel Castle is just a couple minutes away from the Rynek and is a magnificent spot to indulge in beautiful scenery. Although I really like the castle, I love the view of the Vistula River more. And for you “Game of Thrones” fans, there’s a dragon statue at the bottom of the castle wall that actually spits fire!
While driving toward Krakow, we googled places to eat. Because Hosam liked the Balkan-style restaurant we went to in Warsaw, he wanted to see if there was one here. He found one and we thought of going, but weren’t totally convinced. While approaching the old city center, a guy on the street was handing out leaflets and gave us one. It was a leaflet for a Balkan restaurant! It was a sign. We just had to go there.
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The Eastern Chronicles Poland road trip took place between March 7th — 15th.
Our latest articles: Chronicles on the road: Przemyśl, Chronicles on the road: Rzeszów, Chronicles on the road: Warsaw, Chronicles on the road: Gdańsk, Chronicles on the road: Poznań, Chronicles on the road: Wroclaw, Chronicles on the road: Katowice.
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