Krakow - Olomouc (updated 7.12.07)

I took the overnight train to Krakow on Sunday night. During the day there was a Couchsurfing meeting where we were supposed to go iceskating but the outdoor rink was closed. Instead we drank Gluhwein (hot wine with spices) and chatted, there were about 15 of us all sitting around a long table in an wooden building as part of a Christmas market.

I head to the train station after this and the train ride is fine, except we arrive about an hour later than expected in Krakow. My couchette cabin is full but surprisingly comfy for such a cramped space with 6 people and luggage. Perhaps I was pschying myself up for it to be a lot worse..

Hostel I stay at is great, good choice again. Staff are so friendly and give me the rundown of the city. But first things first, it`s laundry day. I picked the right place to do it as its free here! As they have no dryer I spend the whole day lounging around the place as I have no trousers or socks to wear! Lucky this place is small, like an apartment, feel right at home in Krakow watching a big plasma tv and using the free internet. There is free brekky and free supper too, I am getting the vibe Krakow has a very competitive backpackers market.

Make friends with some other travellers, and we go to dinner at U Babici Maliny. My clothes are not dry yet so must head out all rugged up on top but wearing 3\4 length leggings and no socks! I wish I knew Polish for "its washing day" so I could make a sign and wear it on my head. Everyone takes so much pride in their appearance here I feel like a bit of a fool. Oh well! I had a massive meal, as did Alan the guy who came out to dinner and with our beers all together the meals only cost about 5 pounds each! Its suprisingly not that bad walking back in the snow with my shins uncovered but Im glad to get back to the warmth. We organise to go together to see Auschwitz the next day, early in the morning.

So, we get up at around 7.15 to have brekky and take the bus to Osweicim/Auschwitz, it takes about 90 minutes. We decide doing a guided tour and its a good decision, we take our time with the museum instead of just being rushed in and out. Of course the exhibits are shocking in Auschwitzs museum but we are more struck by the sheer siye of the second camp, Bikenau. At Auschwitz you got an insight into how the victims of the Nazis were treated, some sense of the people and thier lives before the troubles and a very good display on the Polish Resistance. There were rooms which held amazing amounts of peoples property inlcuding suitcases, shoes, glasses, hairbrushes and human hair. The human hair was kept by the Nazis to make into material.

Birkenau was not so much a museum but gave you a feeling of how awful the conditions were for the Jewish. Absolutely awful, it made us even more sombre walking the length of the camp with the railway with the gates of death at the top at one end and the crematoriums at the other, while it snowed hard. We were frozen and in many layers, the victims had no more than a pair of pyjamas, not even shoes. Their calorie intake was counted so that with the labour they performed, they would only live to see 3 or 4 months before expiring. We take a long, slow ride back to krakow. it wasnt a pleasant day but something I felt I needed to see. No amount of seeing will ever make me understand how the Nazis could do so many atrocious things to so many people. Never.

That evening about 5 of us from the hostel go out to dinner at a Georgian restaurant. Good to chat although the big tables are only in the smoking section - bars are one thing but smoking in restaurants I just find repulsive now. Get over it though and have a yummy chicken dish with rice and the best thing about Georgian food is that it comes with lots of sauces you can add to the dish.

Left the gang who were all heading back to the hostel but I needed to walk off some of that sauce! It's so pretty all lit up at night and people are having snowall fights in he park. The next morning I do a bit more sightseeing before I catch my train to Olomouc. I took a tour bus as I thought it would be quicker and easier than walking but it was a waste of time and I have never been so cold in my life sitting on the top of a bus while it is snowing in order to get some good pictures. Especially when we picked up speed (for some reason we went on a highway), the wind was like knives. I wasn't the only one suffering either, there were a group of Enlgish tourists as well (although I suffered more than them as I had to overhear their very bad jokes).

Onto Olomouc, in Moravia, Czech Republic. I have a few train changes and one completely baffles me. In Katowice after askin at the window what the next train transfer I have a young Polish guy comes up to me ad says thats what he was wanting to ask too, he's going to the same place. I have to get rid of my Polish loose change so say to him 'see you on the platform'. Thank God I did after spending about 20 minutes of not knowing what was going on he spots me and tells me the train is delayed. We chat for the next few hours on the train he's a medicine student on an Erasmus programme in Olomouc. It's his last year of study. I am Couchsurfing with Anna, a uni student as well and we find out that they both live in the same uni residence...small world!

After meeting up with Anna, we all take the tram back to the residence and get numbers to meet up again that night in town. I get freshened up nd we head out to dnner at 'Torture' restaurant which was quite funny, the food wasn't very good but it was like eating in a dungeon (hoping that was part of the theme). After that we head to the club where Anna's classmates are (they study Chinese). It's great fun and many drinks are consumed, mine includes Kofola, the Czech alternative to Coke! I think it's nice although it has a lot more flavour than coke and is not as fizzy. There are a few Slovakian students and I get the lowdown on why I should visit Bratislava. It was on my wishlist, but again some other time. Next time. there is a guy who smokes cigarillos but is convinced he is not a smoker and I rile him up a about it. there is also another guy who was obsessed with Scrubs and loves the fact I know it as it is not shown over here.

We stumble home at 2am, my plans for getting up early the next morning are foiled but I spend mid morning enjoying a crisp, clear blue sy and the sights of Olomouc. This includes the many fountains, the astrological clock and the Christmas market, where I buy some things and a potato pancake for lunch. I ignore the amount of oil it was fried in and it as delicious. My host Anna showed me a great time in Olomouc an I'm glad I made the stop off there before continuing to Prague. I got a great glimpse of Czech student life and saw another city I'd never heard of until a few days before but would now recommend to anyone who will listen!