Cheap trills aka cheap flights, sorry Mother Earth it is stronger than me. Visiting Krakow from Berlin is possible via train, and it takes around 8 hours. Prices starting from around 40 euros per direction or 50 minutes flight, starting from 13 euros per direction. You do the math.
Even though on most of my trips I am opting in for the sustainable note, sometimes choices like this happen. Luckily, the weather was on our side too, and we spent perfect 48 hours in Krakow. Was it enough? Well no, if you are entering more than one museum. And especially if you are doing a trip to the Salt mine or Auschwitz. I would say, starting from three days is what I consider enough, of course if you want to feel the city vibe.
Krakow is very walkable city. We made 40 K steps on our first day and 30 K on our second day. How did we manage that? Well, we landed at 8 o’clock in Krakow, took the train to the city – (one direction ticket is 17 PLN = 4 EUR), and in around 20 minutes we were at the main station. In the old town area, almost nothing worked before 10 AM. The breakfast choices were either Charlotte, french style cafe or Gossip Cafe, your typical eggs & pancakes spot. We went for the second one before starting the day.
Our first stop was the Old Merchant hall, UNESCO protected site – currently your go to area for souvenirs. Then, we ate one of the famous Krakow bagels (the only place where we used cash), and then continued to explore the city Market. We were not amazed as much as from the market in Lithuania, but we saw some pretty nice tomatoes and had a glimpse in the local lifestyle. Next, we entered the area known as Zabłocie, where the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Oskar Schindler’s enamel factory have their home.
If you are planning to visits Schindler’s Factory make sure to book your spot at least 2 weeks in advance. One week before our timing all the English tours were sold out, and this was April that we are speaking. We had coffee at Kawa, in a very nice Scandinavian looking neighbourhood, pop by in MOCAK, then to Lipowa Food Market, before continuing to the Stare Podgórze area.
Next on our sightseeing list were the Square of Getto’s Heroes, together with the Apoteka pod Orlem in the hip Stare Pdgorze area. Here you can find many bars and eateries like Targowa, Kropka, Vamos. Many many specialty coffee spots, and the impressive St. Joseph’s Church. As the weather was not on the clear side, and we were full of everything, we crossed the Father Bernatek’s Bridge, and entered probably the most famous area of Krakow, Kazimierz – also known as the jewish quarter. I guess we were probably on the 20th kilometre in steps, and desperately needed a break. There are plenty of options, and you don’t know where to go first. We’ve decided for one of the cult places Mleczarnia. They have amazing garden, and even more authentic indoor seating spots. After this it was more than anything time to call it a day or half day.
We went back to our hotel, and after some sleeping hours, I woke up with strong ice cream craving. So, we ended up at Good Lood. At this time strawberries were in season, and the menu was based around them. We explored further around the old town, had nice dinner at the Black Duck, went criss-cross through the bars in Kazimierz, saw the lines for zapiekanka, and ended up at Alchemy bar, very laid back and chill spot.
That was all we needed since we finished the day with over 40 thousand steps.
Hotel: Cracow Central Apart Hotel
Recommendation: I would definitively not stay second time in this hotel (loud and not the cleanest), the reason for booking was closeness of the train station and because you could pay with Booking wallet points.
Breakfast included: NO
Price: $
Payment: Cash & Card
We started day 2 at even a slower pace than the first one, knowing we have more than 12 hours for our walking marathon.
In Krakow almost all the coffee shops and restaurants have a beautiful garden or a yard. Even if you can’t tell at first sight, I think that is what made me fall for the city immediately. Our breakfast was at Cafe Tociekawa, their burnt cheesecake and coffee were great, but the backyard was the greatest. Strolling through the Planty park, we got to the Wawel Castle and it exceeded our expectations. We didn’t visit the inside, as only for the outside part we spent more than one hour and we wanted to enjoy the sunny day out.
The descend from the castle was towards the Dolnych Młynów area. This is student area, probably even more busy on weekdays, but we were already very happy with the offer. Plenty of spots for coffee and chilling. One street food park – Mural, very nice park – Wisława Szymborska Park – so we were more than happy in this region. The old town was bursting with people, so we decided to finish our trip with lunch somewhere further from the crowds. Ended again in Kazimierz in a Michelin recommended restaurant before we went to the airport. I think I didn’t mentioned anywhere, but Michelin guide was very generous with recommendations in Krakow. I think I saw more than 15 spots with the famous red sign.
I started the trip without expectations, even with very low expectations. As for me Krakow has always been related to stag parties, but ended up with very very positive experience, and “I could live in this city” moment.
Once I explore the world a bit more I’ll make sure to be back.
And most probably will stay at PURO Kraków Kazimierz
CONCRETE COLLAGE 