500 reasons why: Krakow, Poland

Earlier this year I decided it was time to plan a child-free weekend away with some friends. My first nights away from the boys! Undoubtedly long overdue. Nick and I hadn't done much of Eastern Europe and Auschwitz had always been on my list of places I wanted to visit, so Sarah B, Rachel, Sarah F, Rachel's friend Donna, and I all headed off to Krakow.

We left cold, wet London around midday on Friday and arrived to a lovely, mild and sunny Krakow mid-afternoon. We checked in to our hotel (the very nice Radisson Blu), dumped our bags and made the short walk to the Old Town Square which was full of people enjoying the weather. We found a table and got some [very cheap] drinks (about £1.20 for a pint of beer) - definitely a nice way to begin our weekend.

Horse and cart

Lots of people in the Old Town Square, Friday afternoon

There were lots of horses and carts lined up waiting for tourists and after 2 beers, we all thought it would be fun to take a horse and cart ride to our restaurant for dinner. So we did. A slight miscommunication meant rather than get to the restaurant, we took a 15 minute ride to end up on the opposite side of the Square from where we had begun (where they thought our restaurant was...?), but another discussion and we finally got to where we wanted to go.

Donna, Rachel and Sarah B on the way to dinner

Dinner was at Restauracja Pod Baranem (which I had booked in advance based on it being #1 on Trip Advisor) and it was great - traditional Polish style, delicious food and excellent service all for the bargain price of about £26 each for 3 courses and drinks.

For Saturday I had booked a car and driver with KRK-Krakow Tours who arrived promptly at 8:30am to take Sarah B, Sarah F and I to Auschwitz. It's about an hour from Krakow and although you can take the train, it's far more convenient to take a private tour - our driver was a lovely student named Mark who was very helpful and polite and drove us around in a nice Mercedes. Definitely worth it.

I think my interest in visiting Auschwitz was inspired by Lily Brett, the Australian author who has written extensively about her parents who are survivors of Auschwitz. Obviously it's not for everyone, but as the famous George Santayana quote goes (which was also used in one of the exhibitions at Auschwitz) - 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'. Apparently most school children in Poland visit Auschwitz as part of their schooling and based on the number of tour groups we saw on the day, it is a much-frequented destination.

'Work sets you free'

Electric fences

Our tour guide was Berta who had a perfect mix of knowledge and compassion. The tour was about 3 hours all together, so she must do this twice a day and I imagine it must be quite emotionally draining.

Our guide, Berta

We started at Auschwitz I which is a re-purposed army barracks. A number of the buildings are used to house exhibits. Some of the exhibits were quite overwhelming and despite what looks like relatively nice accommodation, the conditions and experiences of the prisoners is truly horrifying.

The Auschwitz 1 tour lasted about 2 hours and after that we all met at Auschwitz II - Birkenau, about 5 minutes away (we went with our driver). Birkenau more fits the visual of what I expected, but still looks so benign compared to the atrocities carried out there. Birkenau is huge and most of the buildings were made of wood and no longer remain (although a few have been reconstructed).

Remains of wooden buildings

Some of the original brick buildings

A train carriage which carried people from all over Europe to Birkenau

The memorial

After Birkenau we had lunch at a small restaurant suggested by our driver, Mark. We all had perogi (Polish dumplings) which were delicious. Then it was off to the famous, UNESCO World Heritage site, Wieliczka Salt Mine which is an amazing underground world - formerly a working salt mine, but now a tourist attraction featuring some stunning carved statues and chapels (where you can actually get married). Our tour started at 4pm and was interesting, but quite long... unfortunately once you are down there, there's not getting up until you've done the whole tour (which apparently only covers about 1% of the underground tunnels).

A lot of wood has been used to reinforce the walls/ceilings

The breathtaking Chapel

Chandelier made of salt crystals

Carved Last Supper in the wall of the Chapel

After the tour we went back to our hotel and after a quick change headed out for dinner at the Hotel Rubinstein (as in Helena Rubinstein) in Kazimierz (the Jewish quarter).

For Sunday morning I booked a bike from the hotel to take a ride (I had actually booked bikes for all of us but I was the only one keen at 9am on Sunday morning!) The weather was perfect and Krakow is very flat so ideal for riding. My first stop was Wawel Castle which is a strange mix of architectural styles and materials -