This was my 1st visit to Poland and I don't think it will be my last visit though as I really enjoyed my short time here. Quick flight on Lufthansa from Frankfurt, got me to Krakow at 10:30. Though am a dedicated train rider in Germany, I chose to take a taxi from the airport to my hotel, because it is easy. Cost was about 30€. She told me upfront what it would cost. Paid with my EC card, and experienced the choice between zloty and euro. Always pick zloty.
Stayed at Shalom Kazimierz, which I found on booking dot com and got 5 nights for 350€, which included breakfast. My room was huge and even had a balcony. Decor was beautiful and the breakfast buffet was delicious. Location was perfect, with trams only a 5 min. walk and the whole area is filled with cafes, restaurants, and quirky little boutiques. I would stay here again!
Went for a walk in the neighborhood and found the old Remuh synagogue with cemetery, cost was 4€. Well worth the cost. It was interesting to see the difference in the Jewish cemetery here compared to the old ones in Germany. Most of the gravestones had metal roofs/covers, something I had never seen before, but they seem to be there to protect the stones.
Time for lunch and found a lovely restaurant across from the Synagogue, called Once Upon a Time in Kazimierz. Lovely service, unique decor and delicious food. Had the Cholenta, which is a traditional Jewish bean stew. Walked to the Old town area next, popping into St. Mary and had a coffee and odd choc. chip cookie at a cafe. Then met up with Andrea (from this forum) and her husband as they arrived early evening from the airport. They had a nice apt. in the Kazimierz area too. Then we went to dinner at the cool looking place across the street from my hotel. Chose potato pancakes with goulasch and got a HUGE portion. Took some back to my room since there was a small fridge there.
Day 2 - Had a great breakfast and then met up with Andrea & Jim and we went exploring, joining a Free Tour of Krakow that went everywhere in the old town, including up to the Wawel castle. Had some lunch, then they went on a Jewish tour and I went and took a short nap. We met up later for dinner and met the rest of the group that had also traveled from Frankfurt to do some tours here and to visit Auschwitz. Dinner was in a traditional Polish restaurant. Though it was good, this was my least favorite meal here due to the brusque server. She seemed to have an odd attitude, but we all just laughed about her later.
Day 3 - Met up with the group for a tour of Jewish Krakow, but in German, that lasted almost all day. The Synagogues were closed for New Years, but we saw where they all were, went over to the former Ghetto and also saw Schindlers Factory. Though the plan had been for us to visit inside, we were all just tired and it had rained all day, so headed off to our hotels to rest for a while. Dinner was planned for us at the Klezmer House in the square of Kazimierz and included a concert. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was delightful. Highly recommend a stop here for dinner and concert of Klezmer music.
Day 4 - Woke to more rain but we had our visit to Auschwitz planned for today. My friend had rented 2 cars for the 13 of us and we drove to Auschwitz, which was about an hour away. Met up with our guide for a private tour. Well worth it as we skipped all of the lines and had a much smaller group. There seemed to be 1000s of people there on tours. You cannot just buy a ticket and wander around. There were many places on this tour that asked that no photos be taken, but people were doing it anyway. So many heartbreaking exhibits here. The kids clothing got to me the most, knowing they were likely made by hand, with lots of love. The exhibit with the prosthetics was shocking. So many veterans who had given their limbs to Germany and then killed.
Then we drove to Birkenau for the rest of the tour.
(to be continued)