Week 8-

  Pierogi heaven in Krakow Poland!

 The entire class ventured over to Poland for a weekend field trip. It not only became one of my favorite cities, but one of the best weekends!

"Krawling through Krakow"

            Friday morning we got on the bus and drove four hours to Krakow. When we arrived we headed straight for the salt mines. I had never been to something like this before, but it was so neat to see how they chiseled out to rock salt and learned about the process. We took the tourist route, which consisted of 800 steps down and 20 different chambers. Our tour guide told us to imagine the Eiffel tour, only turned upside down. By the end of the tour we had seen underground saline lakes, statues made of rock salt, and even got to lick the walls! After exploring the excavated salt mines we barely saw 1% of the whole mine.

            After the tour we all loaded back onto the bus and headed to our hostel. Once settled in we grabbed our stuff and headed back out to explore Krakow. We stayed very close to the Jewish Square and decided to try Pierogies. This is a dough dumping that may be filled with potatoes, cheese, cabbage, or a variety of meats. The restaurant we decided to eat at had an entrée that consisted 24 pierogies, but it was a variety so I got to try many different kinds. Pierogies, pierogies, and more pierogies!

            The evening was filled with great memories and even better company. We went on the “Krawl Through Krakow” Pub Crawl and thoroughly enjoyed the night going from pub to pub with almost our entire group. This is definitely a must do activity while staying here.

            Our second day there we had the opportunity to see Wawel Castle in the morning and then had the rest of the day to explore Krakow. We visited the town square, ate some delicious polish sausage, and then shopped at the markets there too. By the end of the day I had purchased a beautiful hand carved and painted wooden box for my friend, bought polish ceramic dishes for my family, and met some very nice locals. We made our way back to the hostel for the evening while still exploring what Krakow had to offer. The evening came and we headed out for dinner then unexpectedly danced the night away.

            All too soon it was our last day in Krakow and we went to visit Schindler’s Factory before another four-hour bus ride home. At the museum our guide told us the story of Oskar Schindler and how he helped give jobs and protect the Jewish individuals who were in trouble. The museum was interactive and our guide was so passionate about everything he said that it made the tour even better.

            Krakow has been one of my favorite weekends in Europe so far. I had no idea what to expect, and that’s kind of why I love it! Daily life being a foreigner I’m not really sure what I'm doing. Frankly, I want to live life as unexpectedly and with as many surprises as it has to offer. I have decided to stop figuring out precisely how to feel and stop deciding what I want, and to simply see just what happens next. If I did otherwise I feel I would be not living at all.

Here's to one great weekend!