I’m going to be spending a couple of weeks in Krakow, Poland at the end of July. If you’ve been there, is there anything in particular you would recommend?
I speak French, but no Polish. A good friend of mine whose from there will be there for the first week.
Particulary, has anybody visited Auschwitz? Seems like something I should take the opportunity to see while I’m there, but I’m not 100% sure. Any thoughts?
Thanks, TD.
I was in Krakow for two days in the summer of 2000. If I were to go back to Poland, I’d go with someone who spoke Polish. It was the only place in my 10-countries-in-6-weeks trip where I felt there were serious language barriers. I had a particularly bad experience in the train station and ended up missing a train to my next destination, and luckily there was a young guy in the station who helped me get everything straightened out. But if he hadn’t been there, I have no idea what I would have done; I couldn’t seem to make myself understood at all by the people working in the station.
The language thing might not be so much of an issue now. I bet there are more people who speak English.
The city is beautiful, easily walkable and there’s a lot to see. Get yourself a good map. The street food (some sort of pretzel-like bread) was cheap and delicious, and I found a place that had passable pizza.
I couldn’t find bottled water that wasn’t mineral water, though.
As for Auchwitz/Oswicem: I wish I hadn’t gone alone, and I had no idea what a shock it would be to go there and visit the place. I couldn’t even make myself go to the Birkenau part - it was just so overwhelmingly sad and depressing. I’m glad I went but it’s an experience I never need to have again.
I went in summer 1997. I spoke passable Russian at the time so as long as I communicated verbally I was fine. I did struggle with signs and written materials (I would sound them out slowly like kindergartener, LOL).
In Krakow there is a very famous poster shop. During the Communist era, commercial poster art rose to an incredibly high level in Poland. You are in luck as I have a poster from there on my wall and it even has the address:
Galleria Plakatu (“Poster Gallery”)
Ul. Stolarska (“Stolarska Street”)
8 - 10 (I think this is the building number)
There is also famous salt mine which is quite an unusual thing to see (some miners carved it into ballrooms and sculptures in their spare time). Traditional Polish pottery can be bought at the covered market. Krakow is also a big trade center for amber. I don’t remember the castle being anything special.
As far as Auschwitz, my grandparents were survivors of Auschwitz/Birkenau and I would not pay money to enter its gates (for example, paying for the bus to get there, etc.). Some people may disagree with my position but there you are.
I went to Krakow for a 3 or 4 day trip by myself while I lived in Prague. A “Let’s Go” guide was unbelievably helpful, from finding my way to an open hostel at 3 in the morning to finding good, cheap places to eat to sightseeing to what have you. I spent the whole first day just walking all over the town and trying to see all the sights. I must have walked for close to 12 hours. Had some great food, traditional and otherwise. Polish pizza is indeed interesting, and the street pretzels were great.
The next day I took a train to go see Auschwitz and Birkenau, and it’s something that I would very much recommend doing. Some people absolutely refuse to, and I can understand why they would feel that way and would never argue with them over it, but I’m glad I did. I decided to go after I was told that it would be an experience that would leave a deeper impact on me than I could ever imagine, and that was true. On my walk earlier the day before, I went to a small synagogue that showed a short film of the Krakow jews being forced from the city with all their belongings, and there was a shot of a man overcome with emotion fighting back sobs and trying bravely to maintain his composure. As moving as the scene was, it was seeing the site of the camps themselves that really brought home that the whole experience wasn’t just words in a history book or a black and white scene from a film. The impression that I distinctly remember was the incomprehensible enormity of what took place there; it’s something everyone knows, but seeing it demonstrated and attempting to picture it and still failing to understand it is something I can’t really describe, it’s beyond description. Anyway, I would definitely recommend seeing it with your own eyes.
Auschwitz/Oswicem:
I was fortunate to be there as part of a tour, as part of a local youth orchestra. Not fortunate in that we were able to visit, but fortunate in that the visit to Auschwitz was set alongside performing a concert in a local church. Without question it was the possibly the most confusing bundle of emotions I’ve experienced in any one day
Ive not been To Krakow myself, but I just wanted to add that my sister was there maybe three weeks ago. None of the people she was with could speak Polish but they all got on fine and had no major hardships. She found that the Polish could speak English, they were just reluctant to do so, but they would if it came to it.
She said the biggest problem with the place was finding pubs/restaurants etc. She said its not like the other places shes been where you would literally see them everywhere (Maybe she was in the wrong part - I dont know).
She said Auschwitz was definately worth seeing but was very sad. Also, she said the Salt mines, which I think are about an hour outside the city, were amazing.
There’s a tourist office there. I’d just go there and take a look at brochures to find out what tickles your fancy. The City of Lublin, while not close, isn’t far either and is worth a visit , as well as the town of Zamosch, which has one of the most beautiful town squares I have ever seen.
Please, don’t miss Auschwitz. I’ve actually been there twice, and it completely broke my heart both times. Still, it’s one of those things that will make you a better person afterwards, though probably sadder and more cynical. Make sure you get to see both camps - Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz 2 - Birkenau. Auschwitz 1 is terrible enough, but Birkenau is the death camp, and it pretty much left me completely speechless for days. Just walking up to the gate was completely horrifying, like walking into hell, but still, it’s something you absolutely shouldn’t miss. Hearing stories about what went on there is one thing, but actually seeing the place in person gives the whole thing a completely different sense of reality, and I think that’s important. I think the Holocaust feels very unreal to most of us, even mythical, but when you see Birkenau it hits you in the gut that this thing really went down, right in the heart of Europe, and just recently, too. I think it’s important to know that. Much of the camp has been levelled, but there’s still enough left to give you a good sense of what the place must have been like.
As for Krakow: the girls! Polish girls are just loovely. However, I’ll admit that I had spent a rather long time in the Czech Republic before going to Krakow, and those Czech broads all seem to be wading in the shallow end of the gene pool… so it might have been down to the contrast.
Tower Dweller - just MHO and all but - going to visit the camps or not is your choice, your reaction to what you see there (if you go) is *your own personal * reaction. Please don’t feel forced to go or that you need to justify how you felt. (Some people don’t or can’t respect this and get caught up in the “how did it make you feel?” “oh you should have gone early in the morning that’s when we went it’s more atmospheric then” “what was the worst bit for you?” “blah blah” 
.)
Krakow itself is nice and compact but I can’t see myself spending 2 weeks there without day trips. Others have suggested the salt mines and other nearby towns let me add Zakopane to the list. (Slight caveat I haven’t bee there for almost 10 years) a small town in the foothills of the Tartra mountains. You can do a bit of hill-walking, take a cable car up to the top of Kasprowy Wierch and walk over the border into Slovakia; I think Morskie Oko one of their famous lakes is nearby too. In the villages sand smaller places you can see a different, perhaps a more traditional side of Polish life.
Since the expansion of the EU you may even find you can easily travel to Prague, Bratislava.
As for language, as others have said the lack of Polish is no real barrier, younger folk will speak English, over fifty it will be German or Russian, however if you can master at least the general greeting of “jin do-bree” and thank you “jen coo-ya” they’ll be very pleased.
Be sure to listen for the trumpeter of Krakow. If you can find somebody who will let you into the tower (just stand near it, and you’ll likely get an offer), it’s well worth it. When I was there, several of the lights in the tower were out. Climbing a gothic tower in the dark is quite an experience. And the view from the top is incredible.
Definitely visit Auschwitz and Birkenau.
I’m not sure how you’d arrange a tour, but the Nova Huta Steelworks are quite a sight.
You sister must have defiantly been in the wrong part of the city. When I was in Krakow last August you couldn’t go 5 yards without coming across a bar or restaurant. The whole of the very large market square is lined with good eating places and the streets leading off the square are also packed with them. Some of the bars can be a little hard to find, as they are tucked away in courtyards leading off the main streets.