Well, I think I've decided that it's a really good thing I didn't study abroad in Poland. Because as much as I loved Krakow, it would not be good for my waistline.
For real, though, I think that the best food I've had here in Europe was in Poland. They know how to do it.
I went on a weekend trip with a larger tour group, there were probably about 70 of us. For half of the bus ride there, it seemed like everyone wanted to sleep, and for the other half, I think there was a contest between the students from Spain and Greece to see who could be loudest. (And everyone says Americans are loud...) Four of us Americans went: me, Carah, Charlie, and Avery. We shared a hostel room with two sweet girls from Greece, who I think were surprised at how early we went to bed. (Gotta love bedtime.)
On the day that we left Brno, (Friday), we stopped at the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps on our way to Krakow. That was a really interesting experience; there is definitely something about being there, and walking that ground, that bears a lot of weight. It makes history very real. I'll be honest, some of the exhibitions were difficult to handle, and it struck me as a little strange that we let, and even encourage, people to walk around a place where so many terrible things happened. I thought about it, though, and the alternative would be to shut it up and ignore it. Which definitely isn't right. It really is better to learn from it.
We got to Krakow later that evening, at which point we decided the first thing to do is try pierogis.
These are Polish dumplings, and basically one of the best things I've ever eaten. It's a dough that is filled with something, sometimes meat, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, etc. Then the edges are crimped together and its boiled. So. Good. I have an uncle that served his mission in Poland, and I now blame him for not introducing these into my life sooner. I then proceeded to drink a month's worth of calories disguised as two glasses of the best hot chocolate I've ever had.
The next day we took a tour around Krakow and saw a lot of the beautiful buildings. During our free time, we went souvenir shopping. . .
. . . and I had another amazing meal, potato pancakes soaked in goulash. Another years worth of calories, but hey, #itsnotcaloriesitsculture.
More hot chocolate.
Was reminded by some friends from home about the lack of cafes and good hot chocolate in Logan. I didn't feel so guilty about my hot chocolate consumption after that.
Went on another tour around the Jewish quarter, and finished up the day at a mini festival and more pierogis.
The next day was also interesting, we went to the salt mines. I thought it was going to be a boring tour, but it was actually very interesting. They take you 135 meters underground, and show you parts of the very, very old salt mines there. The interesting thing is that we had a 3 hour tour, went to 21 rooms, and covered 2 km, but only saw 1% of the mines. It really was massive.
Then we headed home. I definitely could have spent more time in Poland, or even just Krakow, despite the cold. It was a beautiful city, very rich in history. I hope I can go back someday.
No comments:
Post a Comment