Krakow in 5 Days

Went for the culture, stayed for the food. Poland is known for it's history and beautiful architecture but oh my god, the food? Exceptional.

Main Square Krakow

Taylor got me this trip for Valentines day we flew in on the 12th and home on the 16th, living in Scotland, Krakow is less than a 3 hour flight from Edinburgh - making it perfect for a short stay or a weekend getaway.

For us we packed everything in to see as much as possible, the main thing we wanted to see was Auschwitz Birkenau and there was a full day tour available that incorporated Auschwitz II Birkenau, Auschwitz I and the Museum, so we did that first. As much as I thought I knew about Auschwitz and the Holocaust through learning about WWII at school and reading various books on survivor accounts - when the coach dropped us off at the first Camp I soon realised I had barely touched on the surface.

Auschwitz II Birkenau

We were there in February so it was cold and snowing but there was a chill about the place that was nothing to do with the weather. The sheer size of Auschwitz-Birkenau was incredible - 425 acres of watchtowers, gas chambers and barbed wire for as far as the eye can see in all directions. Most of the buildings were bombed in 1945 in an attempt by the Nazis to destroy the evidence of the horrors they causes so there are wooden huts that have been recreated to show where the prisoners were cramped into for the few hours a day they were allowed to sleep.

Auschwitz I

After a long, emotional, educational day we headed back to our hotel for a quick change and headed into the beautiful main square to discover what it had to offer. After slowly making our way around the main square window shopping as we went we decided on a cosy looking restaurant No.7, during the summer I believe they have outdoor seating available but fortunately for us, their main seating area is downstairs below the square. The food, cocktails and service were all very good, there were pictures on the wall of celebrities that had also eaten there so all in all it was a great find for our first night! After our meal we stumbled back to our hotel and crashed out as we were knackered after our packed day.

The Market at the Main Square

The next day we ventured back into the Main Square to explore more of what we had seen the night before, the market stalls in the building in the middle of the square were bursting with colourful trinkets, clothing and artwork, we went from there to a chocolate café just off the square that had caught our eye the night before (Pijalnia Czekolady E.Wedel) it had cabinets upon cabinets of Chocolates, Sweets, Cakes and Desserts to sit in or take away. We opted to sit in and had a selection of desserts to try and some hot chocolate to warm us up.

Pijalnia Czekolady E.Wedel

We spent the rest of the day shopping, eating and drinking in some of the many bars and restaurants available. It stayed dry all day so we were able to venture further out and do a bit of sight seeing in the area without having to get a taxi which was great, we headed back into the main square for dinner at night but as it was valentines and we forgot to reserve anything most of the restaurants were packed with long wait lists so we chanced our luck at the Hard Rock Café which luckily had a couple of tables available. Nothing says experiencing Polish culture like an American style Beef Burger... right?

Horse and Carriages outside St. Marys Cathedral

Day 3 we spent at the Wieliczka Salt Mines, a short half-hour bus ride from our hotel, we were amazed from start to finish of the tour. The mine itself is 327metres at it's deepest point and was in operation from the 11th century right up until 1968 where the mine stopped operating completely and opened up for tourism.

The entrance to the salt mine

Once you enter the salt mine you start to descend down the many flights of stair and along the way, you go along all the corridors and see many of the recreated animated scenes explained by your guide through a headset, as you go further and deeper into the mine it just gets better and better absolutely everything is carved out of salt there are chandeliers, chapels, the floors and walls, statues and decorations. When the tour is finished we were glad to find out there is a lift that takes you back up to ground level instead of having to tackle the stairs again.

One of the many Salt Chandeliers at Wieliczka

After our day at the salt mine we headed into Kazimierz, formally the Jewish Quarter which is home to some of Krakow's quirkiest, oldest and alternative bars. We did some of the recommended ones off Krakowcrawl.com and loved every minute of it, we never went for a meal that night and instead just got street food from one of the many vendors in the area.

One of the many street artists in old town

Our last day was another snow day so we spent it ducking out of the weather into a variety of different bars - there a lot to choose from but we certainly tried our best to try as many as possible!

My Krakow Tips

• Can be done on a budget (do your research first)

• Definitely recommend staying in or near the Old Town to see as much as possible

• If you're able, explore by walking instead of a taxi, you'll see much more

• Book in advance, when we were there it was quite quiet and places were still at capacity so I'd definitely recommend booking your meals ahead of time.

Christina x

Taylor and I in the Old Town