A Quick Stop in Krakow

My Quick Stop in Krakow

To be completely honest, my main reason for visiting Krakow was to take a day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.   So I didn’t do too much research on Krakow before visiting and didn’t really know what to expect.  Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised by Krakow.  I really enjoyed that I never had to use public transportation during my time in Krakow because the city center was very easily walkable.

I started my time in Krakow by walking to the main square in the city.  Upon entering the square, I quickly noticed the horse-drawn carriages lining the square. 

 

The square didn’t have nearly as many musicians or street performers as Prague did but I was there on a Friday and Saturday and it did get busier at nighttime.  I particularly enjoyed a group of break dancers that I saw performing throughout the weekend.  They really got the crowd going with their music choices and break-dancing abilities.

What I found slightly unusual was the amount of people preaching on the Adam Mickiewicz Monument on Friday night.  They had a group of high school children singing religious songs followed by people preaching in various languages.  I am not sure if that was a regular event or not.

One of the most unusual statues I have seen so far is Eros Bendato pictured below or it is commonly referred to as the “Empty Head” statue.  You will see many tourists climbing in it to take photos but I thought it was a little bit of an eyesore.  It is also located in the Main Square.

This street performer was the first to actually trick me! I went to take a photo of him because I thought it was a real statue and a little unusual and then he moved and scared me half to death.  It is quite common to see street performers imitating statues throughout European cities.

On the city walking tour, they brought us to Wawel Dragon which is a famous Dragon in Polish mythology that was known to destroy villager’s houses and eat their daughters.  The cool thing about this statue is it actually breathes fire every couple of minutes.

I also spent some time wandering around the Jewish Quarter.  I wish I could have taken a walking tour to learn a bit more of the history but unfortunately I didn’t get a chance due to my short time in Krakow. I did come across the Jan Karski Bench installed in 2016 as a tribute to “the man who tried to stop the Holocaust”.  He snuck into the Warsaw Ghetto to record and spread the news of the horror being perpetrated against the Jews.

Polish Cuisine:

I did get a chance to sample some of the typical Polish cuisine during my time in Krakow.  Of course, I started with Perogies and would have loved the chance to eaten more during my time.The other typical Polish food that I got to taste was Chicken Snitzel.