The corner of my eye caught a flash of light from Skippy's mobile phone as we crept through the streets of Krakow. He'd just received another text from Sham, our insider on tonight's mission. It was Thursday night, dark and chilly as we approached the city square. On the far side we'd rendevoir with Sham.Our scheduled arrival time in Krakow was Friday morning. We'd planned to spend the whole weekend and fly back on Monday. Friday was Tan's birthday and we were meeting her and a bunch of others for some Polish-style fun. But, with some careful planning, we'd arrived early so Skippy could surprise her. And surprised she was! We met Sham and she lead us to a bar where we met Alicia, Dave and the soon-to-be birthday girl. Tan was speachless!
After a couple of beers we went back to the hostel, played some pool and waited for Pete to arrive. We played more and more pool, had a few beers and Skippy bought some pizzas. Pete ahd still not arrived. Gradually the crowd thinned, but I was determined to stay and meet Pete. Finally he arrived. We had a beer and then called it a night.
First thing on the agenda for Friday morning was Polish Pete's Personal tour of Krakow. We saw some statues, the barbican, the city square and church, then ventured over to the jewish quarter. Lunch, naturally, involved more pierogi and pork knuckle.
We’d booked a spot for dinner just down the road from the hostel. We were joined by two aussie lads from the hostel who’d recently been to Oktoberfest. One of them had been attacked by some American military men on leave and still had a cut toe and blood spots on his eye. But, despite being on crutches, with bruises all over and only one eye to see out of he still enjoyed Oktoberfest to the full.
On Saturday, Liz, Abi G, Blairsy and I decided to stroll around the local markets, eating ginger bread and laughing at the silly souvenirs on sale. Who buys this stuff? The others visited Auschwitz, a place we’d been before and didn’t want to relive. Needless to say, Saturday afternoon was a somber affair.
Tan’s birthday celebrations were set down for Saturday night. Dinner at a fantastic restaurant followed by a cheesy Polish nightclub. The restaurant served traditional Polish food and the whole place was decorated in medieval theme. Large swords, shields and spears hung from the walls and we sat at large wooden tables. I felt as if any moment Errol Flynn would climb through a window, swing down from the chandelier, cheekily pick up a chicken leg and much away behind a devilish grin.
We decided to order the shared ‘trough’. The food arrived in metre long wooden troughs which were placed in the middle of the table. Everyone dived in, trying to identify what we were eating before putting it in our mouth. As expected; lots of meat, lots of bread and mostly very good stuff.
After dinner we ventured to a nightclub. Pete promised cheesy dance tunes but the music was modern and we had fun anyway. The place was a maze. Small corridors leading to small alcoves and tiny little rooms; some with dance floors, some with couches, all with a constant flow-through of people. Walking through this maze I would lose the others, then find them again without even trying. Every now and then I would come to a bar or a staircase and there they’d be.
On the final day we’d decided to visit the nearby Salt mines. We negotiated for two taxis to drive us out there. They told us the meters didn’t work so we’d negotiate a price beforehand. I think we got out of it without being ripped off, but the drivers also seemed happy.
The salt mines are full of rock carvings. There is a few statues and figures, but also a full chapel, a ballroom and chandeliers all carved out of the rock. It was amazing! There was an opportunity to try the water being pumped out of the mine. Seven times saltier than the dead sea! I’ve been thirsty ever since.
Finally it was time to go home. After a relatively long trip it was difficult getting back to cold, grey London. But it had been fun. Maybe not the trip of a lifetime, but certainly the best one this year.