From Krakow to Budapest to Warsaw

We decided to spend a week over Easter exploring Krakow, Budapest, and Warsaw; places neither of us had been before. After an overnight flight to Warsaw, and after about an hour queue at immigration, we made our way to the train station via the metro to catch a 3 hour train to Krakow. One joke we heard in Krakow was "what is the best thing to do in Warsaw? Take the train to Krakow", so it would seem we covered that off without even realizing it! We grabbed some takeaway salads at the train station so we wouldn't be super hungry when we arrived. We had reserved seating and found our seats in a 6 seater compartment which wasn't quite what the seating map looked like when we booked... what can you do? The trip took us through the countryside with not too much interesting to look at. We arrive in Krakow around 6:30pm local time. The train station was a short walk to our hotel and which took us through a nice park area. We stayed at the Garmond, a boutique hotel situated on a quiet street away from all the hustle and bustle of the main tourist areas. This hotel has a unique history, dating back to 1938 that once housed the editorial offices of one of Poland's most popular daily newspapers. The decor around the hotel is inspired by its history, like typewriters hanging on the wall by the entrance and an old style telephone by reception. Our room was a lovely, decently sized room for Europe. We had a corner room with lots of windows that opened with views of the surrounding nearby park. It was nicely decorated in an art-deco style with a "king" sized bed that was actually two doubles pushed together (typical for Europe). At checkin we were told the restaurant had live jazz music that evening so after we settled in, we decided to check it out as we were somewhat tired and thought a relaxing light dinner with some live music was in order. The musicians were amazing; a pianist and a singer. It was a wonderful way to start our adventure in Krakow, on Good Friday of the Easter weekend. Being a fairly religious country we were intrigued to learn how big Easter is in Poland and had heard that Krakow was the place to be... thus our decision to head here first. 

We spent the next four days exploring the sights and food of Krakow. Over the Easter weekend we made sure to visit the Easter market located at the historic Main Market Square, which, similar to an European Christmas market, had countless festive stalls selling trinkets, souvenirs, art, ceramics, and wooden made crafts including hand-painted ornately decorated Easter eggs, call pisanki. There were plenty of local delicacies to try as well. We learned that on the Saturday, locals bring a small wicker basket lined with lace clothes and filled with foods - such as decorated eggs, bread, sausage, and salt - to their local church to be blessed by a priest. Krakow is home to over 120 Roman Catholic churches; fun fact you'll find a church every 200-300 metres and government taxes help to fund the ongoing operations. On Easter Sunday we decided to check out mass at St. Mary's Basilicia - a Gothic style cathedral located prominently in the Main Square. We didn't understand a single word, but enjoyed the experience nonetheless. 

We took two different walking tours while in Krakow which gave us a very good overview of the history of the city, the country's forced involvement in WWII, and the atrocities that came with its occupation. Additionally, we learned that Poland's history is full of various invasions and occupations including a period of time when Poland effectively ceased to exist for 120 years. Despite a history of invasions and upheaval Poland has established itself as a strong, sovereign democratic republic since the end of the Cold War. During Poland's history as a monarchy, which lasted up until the end of the 18th century, kings were elected by the country's nobles. Walking through the city, you see the different influences left behind by the many occupations in the architecture and even the organization of the buildings in the main square. 

Given our time there was over the Easter weekend, we discovered that many of the museums were closed. We did find out though that the Schindler's Factory museum was open on Easter Monday and that admission was free that day, opening at 10am. We got there at just before 9am and joined the already very long queue of people who had the same idea as us. It took us a good 2 hours waiting in line before we were able to get in. The museum was nicely organized with artifacts and exhibits and personal stories of the people, bringing that part of history alive. It was very informative and sombering at the same time, and gave us a good sense of what happened during that period of history and how Oskar Schindler used his factory to save the Jewish labourers whom he employed. 

On the morning of our last day before flying to Budapest, we toured the grounds of Wawal Castle, a historic and culturally important site in Poland, along with the 1st floor interior of the castle which is adorned with furniture and tapestries from all over the world along magnificent artwork. This castle is where Poland's kings resided for centuries. 

The food scene is heavily influenced by different ethnicities' occupation... with a prominent German influence present. We really enjoyed the food, but did find it a bit "heavy" and usually felt like needing a nap about an hour after eating. We had the best pierogies at a small, cozy cafe off the beaten track, called Pieromir pierogi & tosty. We both tried a variety of the different fillings and thoroughly enjoyed our meals and found the overall cost fairly inexpensive. The desserts and pastries were all very tempting and delicious as were the Obwarzanek Krakowski - a common street food Polish pretzel bagel. We also found enjoyed a couple other ethnic dinners dining at a Lebanese restaurant one evening and an Indian on another. Turns out, Polish wines are also quite good and we really enjoyed tasting several different varieties during our time there.