Krakow

Krakow Poland wasn’t as bombed as other areas, so the structures remaining are from older times and it really is a beautiful city to visit. I was there in the summer, so it was very busy. I stayed at a Rick Steve’s recommended hotel - Hotel Wielopole. Small, but functional rooms - I had a single bed and private bath. It did include a minifridge (without the annoying minibar situation) and good A/C. The staff were very nice and the included breakfast was decent. The restaurant in the basement used to be vegan/vegetarian, but they switched over to pizza and other fare - they will bring food up to your room, if you order. The hotel is just outside the city walls and close to grocery and less expensive dining options.

One highlight and worth the price to gain access with the audioguide was Saint Mary’s Basilica (Bazylika Mariacka). It was just gorgeous.

I did check out the Rynek Underground Museum - it was a nice museum and was interesting to see the ancient history of the area, but it isn’t a must visit.

I went to the Wawel Palace (grounds), Wawel Cathedral, and the Pope John Paul II museum - I did also get the audio guide and that was worth it. Unfortunately, the undeground and palace areas were closed the day I went - so check ahead. This was rather confusing and people were lined up for those tickets for a long time before someone came by and told them it was closed.

I pre-booked the Schindler’s museum with a guide and I do highly recommend this - I was a bit worried it would be solely focused on the movie - I saw it in the 90’s, but not since. It was largely history of the area during the war and so very well done. There are a ton of placcards that you can read as you go through and I believe there were audioguides also - you must book this in advance. It was a very heavy museum - luckily, there is a very nice wine bar just down the road with local Polish wines. I tried 3 wines and got a gigantic cheese and fruit board - highly recommend.

This area is just outside of the main town area and is quite a cute neighborhood. If you are looking to stay in the area for longer and do some remote work, I’d look in this area. It is well connected, but still had great restaurants and cafe’s.

There are a lot of vegan/vegetarian options in Krakow, but to save $ I ate grocery store prepared salads a lot. I did grab a sandwich from veganb for the train ride when leaving town - it was delicious.

The next day I took the train to Oswiecim and the holocaust museums. I had pre-booked my tickets to the museums, planning on having 2 nights in the town. Unfortunately, I booked a place without air conditioning and it was middle of summer… So I walked down to the museum to see if I could switch my tickets to that day. Luckily, it wasn’t an issue and I was able to complete the entire tour that day. I did have time to walk around the city a bit - it is a nice little town. But I left a night early and headed back to Krakow -s taying in the cutest airbnb on the main square in town.