"Schindler's List" increased tourism which increased financial investments and improved tourism infrastructure. Krakow is a beautiful city, and the Jewish sites are now well preserved. We visited the factory (did not tour inside), the Jewish square where the Jews were rounded up (some shot) and put in ghetto, saw several historic synagogues. Krakow has many Ukrainian refugees and our guide told us that visiting Poland is helping the Ukrainians too. Ate lunch again at Hamsa hummus restaurant-had lamb tagine (delicious)
Dinner at Balaton restaurant near main square. Hungarian food. Delicious food but very heavy. Highly recommend the smaller portion of original Hungarian goulash on potato pancake.
Prague Day 1- 10am flight to Prague on Ryan air. Uber to airport was 20 minutes from Sheraton. Luggage Check-in took 20-minutes. Security 10-minutes. Locals said lines are much longer for early morning flights. 40-minute Uber ride to Augustine Hotel in Prague. Wonderful hotel--Lovely rooms, delicious breakfast, excellent service. Note: the entrance to the hotel is on the tram line- watch for trams when coming and going. Started walking to Town Square when it started to rain so we went to Jiserske Pekarny for a sandwhich (“Honest Guide” online recommended) then to The Spot for some delicious carrot cake and blueberry cheesecake. Dinner at”. Ichnusa Botega Bistro (reservations a must) Sicilian Italian food. Very good. Food was not as cheap as Poland, but not too bad.
Prague Day 2- EatingEurope.com food tour of Prague. First stop was a brewery on a boat…. great way to start! Eating Europe has wonderful tour guides. Lots of history and info about the cities as well as history of the foods and drinks. 5-hour tour and we were stuffed by the end! A few places I would recommend: Café Louvre- restaurant food was delicious. Make a reservation, but they were not packed. Sisters’ café for sandwiches and desserts- yum! After all that food, we walked along river and rented a paddle boat for 30 minutes…lots of fun!
Prague Day 3- Tram #22 to Strahov Monastery. Bought tickets onboard the tram with credit card at orange box. 90-minute ticket. (20 cents (crowns) to use bathroom at monastery). Rick needs to update his book---Photos are free. Incredible library at Monastery!! (FYI-35 steps up to the library) Rick’s guidebook was very helpful. Walked to Prague Palace in time to see changing of the guard- crowded but fun to watch! Rick’s walking tour thru the Palace was perfect. Walked down the hill to the Tram #15 to Sisters’ café for lunch. Husband ate across hall at Nase Maso for pastrami sandwich- excellent! Shopping as recommended by Rick Steves’ (he needs to update this book info): Hevelska market- bought fresh fruits and some souvenirs. Ungelt was nothing, skip it. Celetna and Na Prikope were good areas to walk around. Palladium mall was good when it was raining, but typical chain stores. Prague is a city to walk around and look up. The architecture is beautiful. We sat in squares, strolled around. Enjoyed when it wasn’t raining which was a little bit every day. Dinner : Mincova. Just off the square. Food is excellent. Make a reservation.
Prague Day 4- Bought tickets for Jewish Quarter sites (tickets are valid for a week and unlock door to the bathroom). Followed Rick’s walking tour of Jewish Qtr.