A Trip to Somewhere New

 Hello there! Now if you've been a reader for a long time, then you'll know that one of my favourite blog posts (both to write and read) are trip posts. A couple of weeks ago now, Tom and I took a trip to Kraków in Poland for a few days. Neither of us had ever been to Poland before, and Berlin is the furthest east that I have been in Europe. We weren't really sure what to expect, both in terms of what the city would be like, and what the weather would be like! (When we went to Berlin it was mid-February and there was so much snow on the ground!). 

 We flew from Birmingham and this was honestly one of the nicest airports I have ever flown from. Birmingham train station was too galactic for us (there were touch screen timetables) and this topped off with going on a Virgin train was too much. Tom and I are clearly too rural and not 'city' enough! We arrived to Kraków in the evening, and so we had our evening meal at the hotel. Tom and I are used to going away in Premier Inn's (and quite happy to do so) but we stayed in a Novotel as this was a part of the package that we picked, and it was so lovely! I know it's another chain, but it was a step up (sorry Lenny Henry). 

 On the first day we had a walking tour through the city in the morning, which in typical fashion ended in rain. (This wasn't just any rain- it was so hard that our rain coats became useless).

 Before the days of numbering houses, Kraków used to have an emblem on each house, and so if you wanted to post something to this house below, you would put 'To the house beneath the Eagle'.

 At every hour on the hour in the main square, a trumpet will be played four times out of the tower below. 

 I fell in love with the main square as it was always buzzing and was so vibrant.

 Every Christmas there is a competition to make the Christmas statue for the year. These are completed by families, and they are only allowed to use material that is to hand (such as sweet papers) and this is a previous winner. It amazed me to think that this was made by amateurs, using such simple materials to construct something so beautiful.

 It was as we left this church that it started to chuck it down. We walked up to the castle, but unfortunately could only hide out and not have a proper walk around outside!

 In the afternoon we took a trip to the Salt Mines, and this was such an interesting trip- to think that everything is made out of salt! We walked around for ages and saw so much, but according to the guide this was only a small % of the completed mine. 

 In the evening Tom and I went to the Hard Rock Cafe, and the city was even more beautiful at night.

 The main reason for our trip to Krakòw was to go on a tour round Auschwitz as I will be writing a dissertation on holocaust literature this following year. I'm not going to say too much about the experience as this isn't really the place to, but everyone needs to take a trip. You can read all about it, but visiting is a completely different experience, and one that I think people need to do in their lifetime. Please follow this link for more information about the museum. 

 On our last day as our flight wasn't until the evening, we essentially had a free day. I'm so glad that we did as it was such a gloriously sunny day and made the city look even more beautiful. 

 We were able to go back to the castle from the first day, and see it in the sunshine. 

 For lunch we went to 'Bar Italiano' which was amazing. The thing about this place, was that the food was so good, and once you had converted the price from zlotys to pounds it was so cheap! We each had a freshly made pizza with a drink, and this all came to a total of £12. 

 Kraków really is such a beautiful city, and as I said to Tom, it shows that you don't always have to visit the capital of the country. If you ever want a city break to somewhere new and different, I really would recommend a trip to Kraków! It's not too far flight-wise and has a lot on offer.

 Have you been anywhere new recently?

Love Jess xxx