Day 5: April 16 - To Kraków

At first I had planned to take the sleeper train from Prague to Krakow. I did this from Barcelona to Granada and it worked out pretty well. There are a couple issues with this.

First, sleepers can be expensive. Typically, you rent a couchette which is just a bunk in a 4- or 6-bed compartment. That is very reasonable. On popular routes, they can sell out in advance, though. I found that out when the route in Spain sold out months ahead of time. The only sleeper left was an expensive private room. There is some economy in that you don't pay for a hotel that night, but it still doesn't make up for all the extra costs. It was still a good experience, but not a cheap one.

Second, to book far enough in advance, the only accessible option (at least to U.S. residents) is via RailEurope.com. As I wrote before, the markup is very high, especially on sleepers. Waiting until you get to your origin point is a little risky (the worst that can happen is you have to sleep in a seat) but you pay dearly to avoid that risk.

Third and least important, sleeper trains mean that you have to store your bag all day at the origin (because you check out of the hotel in the morning and typically leave late at night), and when you get to where you're going -- usually very early in the morning -- you have to store your bag again as the hotel won't be ready for you. Doing so in Europe is no problem, as all major train stations have easy-to-use lockers, but it's some extra cost and hassle.

So I looked into flights between Prague and Kraków. Direct flights were only available via Czech Air and were over $400. But LOT (the Polish national airline) offered a flight in Warsaw for about $100 including taxes. Considering that a day train, while cheaper, would have taken at leat eight or nine good daylight hours, I figured that this would be the best option.

I soon found out that the Prague-Warsaw leg would be on a turboprop plane, which I had never ridden. I was a little excited about that.

Prague's airport is neat as a pin, efficient, and friendly. One thing I like about most European airports is the check-in. Rather than have some counters idle while others are swarmed, their counters are run not by the airlines, but by the airport. When you arrive, you check your check the screens for your flight, which assigned x number of lines at the central check-in point based on the number of passengers. Just seems more efficient.

The plane was great...had 2x2 seating and was very roomy and comfortable. The flight to Warsaw served tiny little sandwiches, and the flight to Kraków served a "Prince Polo" candy bar. I wouldn't hesitate to fly LOT again (they also have very beautiful flight attendants).

Warsaw appeared to sprawl in all directions, and was very industrial and smoggy. It is a big up-and-coming city, though, and after all it's been through, I hope it enjoys its popularity.

Arrival in Kraków was uneventful. There is a train a few hundred meters from the airport that takes you into the city. Trains leave about every half hour. The platform would be hard to find if you didn't know where it is, but there is also a free shuttle bus that takes you there.

The train was brand new -- the service was opened in the last year -- but the tracks seemed to be old relics that hadn't been updated in half a century at least. The train clicked and clacked very slowly until they got about halfway to the city (and newer track), when it sped up again. They claim 14 minutes but plan on at least 20.

First impressions of Poland during this small trip are much different those of Austria or the Czech Republic. Primarily, the infrastructure seemed older and more worn out. Buildings had a bit more grime, Soviet influence was obvious by the use of concrete for things like telephone poles, and the feeling was a bit more industrial. Things just aren't "prettied up" as much. Of course Kraków has always been more of an intellectual and cultural center; these impressions would have likely been more prevalent in Warsaw and other industrial cities.

The train station was pretty nice; your departure from the station into the center takes you under a busy road where vendors sell their wares. A detour directly from the station leads you into Galleria Krakowska, a brand new enormous (and upscale) shopping mall that would easily fit anywhere in Europe or the U.S. But for now I went toward the center of town.

You emerge from the short tunnel in the Planty, which used to be the town wall and moat, since filled in and turned into a park roughly in a giant ring around the old town center, where many tourist sites are.

The hotel, the Globtroter Guesthouse, was just a few short blocks from the edge of town, and just two blocks from the main market square, Rynek Główny.

The hotel staff was very friendly, immediately offering good advice to the area's sites. I already had a good idea of exactly what I wanted to see, but they showed me a few museums and other nearby points of interest that I hadn't considered. They also made some restaurant recommendations that I wanted to try. Though I don't often get too deep in real local cuisine, I was definitely going to try a variety of Polish food.

The hotel was situated in an inner courtyard, which it shared with a bar/cafe.

There were a couple "big" things I wanted to do while here; that is, things that require a trip out of town. Although it was getting close to evening, I decided to try to make the trip to Wieliczka, a still-working salt mine that has been carved out over the years to include sculptures, rooms, and even a cathedral. Although wildly popular, guidebooks generally give it mixed reviews. I decided to not use up a good portion of a day visiting the mine if I could do it tonight; this would make the next two full days more relaxing.

Wieliczka is reached most easily (and cheaply) by minibus. Most Poles don't own cars; transportation is easily accessible, fast, cheap, and widespread. There are trains, buses, taxis.....and minibuses. These are essentially large vans that run fixed routes and run by different companies. Using the Rick Steves updated guidebook, I found the minibus headed to Wieliczka just across from the main post office on the edge of the Old Town. It was only a few złoty, maybe equal to a couple dollars. The ride took us onto a highway to the nearby town of Wieliczka -- important to remember, as it doesn't just run to the salt mine but various spots in town as well -- pay attention or ask the driver, "Soli?" which means "salt" -- they'll know what you mean.

The trip was a good 40 minutes or so. The roads are quite bumpy, but we made it in one piece. I found out that I just missed the last English tour by 10 minutes; I opted to go on the Polish tour, just so that the time wasn't wasted (I couldn't have imagined missing too much since everything would be made of salt).

Our guide led us down what must have been 100 flights of stairs and started the tour. He seemed to be very serious. Rick Steves said the tour lasted an hour and a half, after which time you could shop for souvenirs underground before taking an elevator back up.

Well, our guide droned on and on for two full hours. I knew it wasn't just the langauge; even the Poles sighed heavily when we walked into another room - thinking we were at the end - and the guide flipped on lights revealing yet another point of marginal interest to jabber about. Everyone flopped down on the available rails or benches at let him do his thing.

He frequently took his flashlight and held it against various things in the room (showing that it wasn't black but fairly translucent...) and said in turn, "Soli. ...Soli.....Soli". Ok, WE GET IT! Everything is made of salt!! Let's go!

We finally reached the end of the line. There is a big circular loop that you can take to go past a restaurant, a cafe, and a number of gift shops selling crap made out of salt. Most of the time, you can hop over the rope (skipping this big loop) and get right in line for the elevator...but he made everyone make this walk, even though we seemed to be the very last tour group, and certainly the only ones left in the caverns.

Then we stood in line for 10 minutes doing nothing, until he finally led us to the elevator, at which he jabbered a little more. There were several cars that held maybe six people each, which they loaded up in turn and then sent to the surface. Upon reaching the surface (and a free shot to the exit door), everyone in my elevator car cheered.

In short, the mine is neat, but I recommend only visiting if you're sure you'll have time to do everything else; there is a lot of history and great sites in the city. In the short time I've been here, I can already tell that the story of this city is not so much in specific points of interest like Wieliczka but in its history and the fabric of the city, pieced together and torn apart many times over its long history. Put the mine further down on your list and go only if you want to, and can spare the time. An express tour of some sort (45 minutes tops including the descent) would be a nice addition to the mine's options.

The minibus was waiting when I got back to the stop (with a few others from the tour), and we rode back to the city.

I walked around a bit more, marvelling at the huge market square. Rick Steves uses the phrase "gasp-worthy" in his books and travel shows to describe this square, and it really is. The buildings are quite old, but have newer facades. They aren't as fancy or beautiful as in other cities such as Prague. But the sheer size of the square, coupled with the buildings at three of its corners (St. Mary's Cathedral, Church of St. Adalbert, and the leftover town hall tower) make it such a striking space that it's easy to just wander around and around. Outdoor seating for restaurant and cafés ring the square, making it inviting and bringing large crowds to just soak in the atmosphere. It's big enough to support lots of musicians and other performers without invading each other's space.

I grabbed a doner kebab (the universal cheap, filling food in Europe) and then an ice cream, exploring some of the shops on the streets radating from the square. The town center is very manageable by foot; in fact, there is no transportation through the city other than by private car or taxi, and there aren't very many of either of those. Lots of Poles commute by foot through this section of the city, making it even more vibrant.

Tomorrow will start with a visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau.