Mangy does Krakow
So my nickname Mangy has stuck...hard. I can't shake it, thank you Hanif. Its great when I'm talking with a cute guy and then Mangy gets busted out, totally increases my attractiveness level. After the wine tour, I had about an hour and a half to shower, pack and get myself back across town for the night train. All I wanted was a nap from wining and biking all day in gorgeous 28 degrees...but it increased my odds of having an amazing sleep on the train. This was my first experience with overnight train travel, it made me nervous because I can't sleep on busses or airplanes but trains and I get along splendidly. I have not slept so well in a long time, nearly uninterrupted and very peaceful as I got rocked to sleep. We shared our compartment with an awkward old Polish lady who didn't talk to us. At least we knew she wouldn't steal our stuff. Amanda didn't have a great sleep, which is a rough start to the trip...the old lady was a snorer. I'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, so 7am arrival in Krakow and a trek to find our hostel equals a grumpy mangy.
We settled into Mama's hostel and already I loved it, our concierge was hilarious and let us have breakfast even though we weren't checked in and we quickly freshened up, changed to summer wear and we were ready to hit the town. We didn't make it very far and we ended up watching pigeons...they are fascinating to me. Haha they are everywhere and it is incredibly disconcerting when they don't move at all as you run at them. We went on a free walking tour of Krakow and learned about the dragon that this guy defeated to become king. Honestly, the guide said it more eloquently but my exhaustion was peaking at that point in the tour. Krakow has a tragic history just like Budapest but to a far greater degree. I absolutely loved the Polish people...they were happy go lucky and genuinely nice. We got a map with best places to eat, drink and see from our guide and the first stop was cheap pierogies. Amanda and I decided we deserved a beer and the first half litre was consumed...more to come. Seeing as we started wandering around Krakow at 9am and got back to the hostel around 4, Amanda and I desperately needed a nap while Hanif went shopping. A little backwards if you ask me. My whole reason for going to Krakow was Auschwitz, so I felt it was important to try and watch as much of Schindler's list as I could before we went the following day.
We met a really sweet Aussie girl who was sharing our room, so we happily invited her to dinner and had pierogies round 2 which is perfectly okay with me, only complaints were from my waistline. We had heard about this bar that serves 3 litres to the table in a huge tube, it sounded like a necessary experience and it was a big mistake on a full stomach. We were suffering when we got to the halfway mark and we tried to pawn our beer off on another table that was still there. 3 litres between 4 people is doable with enough time...but not on full stomachs.
Auschwitz-8am
We got up bright and early for our Auschwitz tour as it took 6 hours including transport out there and time to walk around with a guide. After driving in circles around Krakow, we started a very touching documentary to set the tone for the day. Sidenote: Miss Piggy in the flesh was on our tour...she was my focal point whenever I got too emotional because she just looked ridiculous. Fake eyelashes with sparkles, pink top, pink leopard print jeans and a sparkly belt. Seriously? The tour took us through Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau-Auschwitz. It was really interesting and heartbreaking, but we rushed through it. So far I have been used to going through exhibits and museums on my own meaning that I have time to read all of the plaques and back story. Even though we had 4 hours there, I wanted more time. What got to me the most was the shoes, childrens shoes specifically and the suitcases with people's names on them. I was surprised by my reaction to the hair...it was gross more than anything. Our tour guide started working there because of her father in law, he had been through Auschwitz and Mathausen (Austria) and he came home weighing 66 pounds. She said it was heartbreaking and devastating, he died young because of his health problems from the concentration camps and his dying wish was to have her work there...its been 37 years.
After our tour we took a quick jaunt over to jewish quarter to have the best Zapiekanka in town...it was amazing. Let me describe this to you. Half a baguette with cheese and whatever toppings, it is amazing. We needed to chill out after hours of walking and an early morning, but our nap quickly digressed into writing a song about my life in Vienna set to the tune of "Call me maybe". It is epic and one of my favorite moments on exchange with Amanda and Hanif. Some lyrics include: "I'd trade my soul for a wish, kebaps and durum for a kiss" and "She's hard to look at cause she's so mangy". We managed to finally meet up with Mathias after some failed connections during the day, we played card games at his hostel and ended up going to Hedonic to dance...not the best club, random 90s music and filled with teenagers...Our time in Krakow came to an end with pierogies for breakfast and another batch to go for a dinner on the train. So pierogied out after, but worth every bite. The train was long and slow, Amanda and I were overly optimistic with shorts to start the day but it rained the entire way home, so we had to hunt for our pants during a train change and we watched the last part of Schindler's list which was really powerful after seeing the place it all went down.