Krakow

Before I actually got into Budapest, and especially Krakow I expected them to be so much different than they were.  I feel like not only myself, but most Americans had/have more of a stigma about Eastern Europe.  I thought it would be dirtier and I thought I would feel scared walking on the streets especially if I was with only one or two of the girls.  I was so surprised with how absolutely beautiful Krakow was and how much I loved it there.  The square in Krakow is known to be the largest and one of the most beautiful in Europe, and its something I never expected from Krakow.  The square and the surrounding gardens were definitely the geographical part of Krakow that I was most fascinated with.  I couldn’t get over how big the square was, and how clean it was too.  Also, the market hall in the center of the square had tons of great souvenir shopping.  On our first afternoon in Krakow we walked through part of the gardens around the square and there were benches all over the place.  Gene told us that when its really nice out around the lunch hour all of the benches would be filled with people, and I think that would have been a really neat thing to experience.  I really enjoyed how obvious it was that this city took so much pride in its history and in the heart of their city. 

Town Square

My favorite educational activity in Krakow was definitely Auschwitz.  I have learned about the Holocaust over and over again in various history classes and on my own, but absolutely no amount of education on the topic could have prepared me for what I experienced at Auschwitz - it was hands down the most powerful experience of my life.  Just being there and actually walking into the buildings and standing where all of those people stood and seeing first hand the belongings of those people was so extremely sad. My stomach was in knots all day long, even into the evening after we left the grounds of the concentration camp.  I'm so thankful that I got to have the experiences I did the day we went to Auschwitz.  

Auschwitz

My favorite extracurricular activity in Krakow was souvenir shopping in the main square area.  Pretty much every chance we had at some free time, a lot of us found ourselves grabbing a coffee at one of the nearby coffee shops and wandering around the square.  My favorite part of souvenir shopping was definitely shopping for the amber jewelry.  There was so much of it, and it was all priced well too! The atmosphere of the square was enjoyable as well - with the horse drawn carriages and all of the tourists and even locals. 

Klezmer Hois

An eating spot that I would recommend to future students would be the Klezmer Hois.  We stopped there during our last evening in Krakow for desserts and to listen to live Klezmer music.  The building was so cozy - it kind of reminded me of my grandma's house - and it was really neat to sit and listen to the Klezmer music in such a close setting.  I had tea and chocolate cake, which were both very good. Having desserts and tea added to the warm atmosphere of the Klezmer Hois.  It started off a great last night in Europe.  

The following map shows the distance from Krakow to Auschwitz: 

View Larger Map