First, I will give general information of cities I would recommend seeing before giving more detailed thoughts on Warsaw, where I spent the most time and saw more tourist spots.
Other than Warsaw
1. Tri-City (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot)
This area was a big favorite with many others on my program. Gdansk has a lot to see and to do: Solidarity Museum, the famous shipyards, Old Town area, and historic sites (meeting halls, monuments/statues, churches, etc.). Gdynia is a very green-looking area and has more famous places and monuments, important to WWII history of the area. Sopot is just a very pretty, yet sometimes expensive, seaside town. It reminded me of resort towns/cities in the US, such as Atlantic City. It has a beautiful boardwalk and a bustling little area on the shore with hotels, shops, and restaurants. It was nice to come here to see the great Baltic Sea.
2. Wroclaw
I swear, whenever I mentioned going to or having been in Wroclaw, the Polish people I would be talking to would not stop praising the city as their favorite or somewhere they were dying to visit. The Americans on my program tended to overlook this city - except for one girl who may have visited after the program ended and the students who would ask me about my thoughts on Wroclaw when I spoke of it - but anyone I knew who was Polish or had a chance to go were only positive about it (which was uncommon for most places, since there were usually good and bad comments about anywhere from Warsaw to Krakow). Not exactly sure what I recommend most, except maybe the Panorama Raclawicka (http://www.panoramaraclawicka.pl/en/what_to_see.html) and walking around the city and over its many bridges (especially seeing Old Town and the Rynek). I also hear the zoo is pretty great.
3. Krakow (Nearby: Auschwitz & Wieliczka Salt Mine)
Visiting Krakow is not a one-day event; it really does need a few days to see a better amount of the city and some sites nearby. Krakow has its Old Town with the amazing Rynek, which houses the famous Sukiennice, churches, and tons of stores and cafes/restaurants. There is also Wawel (cathedral with royal tombs and castle), the newly-opened Schindler Factory Museum, Nowa Huta (for Social-Realist architecture), other churches, Kazimierz (former Jewish district that now has synagogues, hip galleries and cafes, plus the best zapiekanki in town - so I've heard), Jagiellonian University (such as the library and Collegium Maius), monuments (Battle of Grunwald Monument and Kosciuszko's Mound), St. Florian's Gate, the Planty (park with walkway around Old Town), and many other museums (I heard the Ethnography Museum is good). For trips outside the city that are not too far of a bus or car ride away, my main recommendations are Auschwitz in Oswiecim [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/] and Wieliczka Salt Mine (very popular with the other American students, who licked everything, which is allowed) [http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?id_language=2].
4. Honorable Mentions
For a few hours or if there is a lot of time to visit around Poland: Lodz (I recommend Manufaktura [http://www.manufaktura.com/EN/HomePage/Default.aspx] and walking along Piotrkowksa Street), Poznan (did not have much time there, but the Stary Browar [http://www.starybrowar5050.com/en/miejsce/idea] and Old Town's Rynek are great), Torun (see the birthplace of Copernicus and the university named in his honor, plus walk around the pretty brick Old Town, see the leaning tower, and maybe try some fresh piernik (gingerbread) - there is even a museum for it where visitors can make their own; I also walked the bridge connecting one side of the city to the other, not by choice but it was still a nice way to say "hello" and "goodbye"), Lublin, Legnica, Malbork Castle (on the way to or from the Tri-City area)
5. Places I would go
Some places I would see if I had more time (and may see in the future one day): Rzeszow, Bialystok, more of the Baltic Coast, more of Poznan, Białowieża National Park, Zakopane/Tatra Mountain Region, Zamosc, Gniezno
Travels in Poland and other places. In the USA for now... Back to Poland in 2012?
Showing posts with label Legnica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legnica. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Be Our Guest: Polish Food Favorities
Thought I would give some information about some restaurants and foods I liked while in Poland... It's my extended "Best Thing I Ever Ate..." in Poland edition.
FYI: ** Means I like it a lot. :)
1. Chains (Polish or International)
-Dessert: Ice cream, sorbet, chocolate, etc.
- Grycan: this is all over Poland, so should not be too difficult to find in a big city; I prefer sorbet because I like fruit and the displays for all of the ice creams and sorbets are always so pretty here. http://www.grycan.pl/
- E. Wedel: there are candies sold all over and then there are the special E. Wedel cafes (pijalnie czekolady - named because they are meant to be places for drinking the chocolate, but foods are also offered at them); thick hot chocolate, chocolate fondues, and other desserts - made right in Warsaw at the Wedel factory in the Praga district.
http://www.wedel.pl/
-Vegan, vegetarian, salads...
- Salad Story: decent chain of quick-service salads; the menu is decently large and varied; I've had a smoked salmon salad ("Rybaka") there and a few others looked pretty good as well. The prices are inexpensive and this is a fast meal when on the road or at a mall. http://saladstory.pl/
- **Green Way: great VEGETARIAN chain in Poland, yes, a POLISH chain that is meatless. The USA cannot exactly claim its own and Poland beat the US to it. :-P This place has a set menu and daily specials (meals and soups of the day). I have been to several of these in Poland (Toruń, Łódź, ate at two of the three in Warsaw) and know they are cute, fast, tasty, and inexpensive. I LOVE soup and this place had a lot of great soups, many of them being famous Polish soups (sometimes with the same recipe, but with any meat removed if the directions call for it). Some of the best foods I had in Poland were here: zupa grochowka (split pea soup) and krupnik soup. http://greenway.pl/
- **Loving Hut: the only FULLY vegan place in the city, it is part of an international chain of places serving only vegan foods. I strongly recommend the Heavenly Salad; this place is cute, quick, and inexpensive. Plus, it is healthy, animal-product-free, and mostly Asian-inspired dishes. http://lovinghut.waw.pl/
-And there is always Pizza Hut... at least it's much nicer outside the US: http://www.pizzahut.pl/ ;)
2. Non Chains
-Warsaw
- **Malinova: considered the BEST ice cream in Warsaw. The shop is adorable and the place is close to where I lived and my spring semester school. There are rotating flavors and I tend to hear they are either good or amazing, so it seems that anyone wins with whatever is chosen. :) As with Grycan, personally, I go for non-dairy/sorbet and fruity. This place was a favorite among me and my fellow American abroad students.
- **VEGA: not easy to find, but really inexpensive, fast, and tasty. This is another "bar" or quick service lunch spot. I think the soups are pretty good and all of the salads and sides that were made always tasted great (I love me some shredded beets and other "surowki" - sides/salads). http://www.vega-warszawa.pl/index.php
- POLKA: one of the two Magda Gessler restaurants I ended up dining at while in Warsaw. I liked the salad with grilled cheese and tomato sauce. http://www.restauracjapolka.pl/
- **Jumbo Salad: another place that is not so easy to find (it's in an apartment complex neighborhood area, not exactly close to the beaten path since VEGA is at least directly off of a major street), but worth the trouble (sadly, I only went once, but it was pretty close to my area). This is another adorable place with good, fast, inexpensive food. I had a salad with crab meat and vegetables, which was tasty. I wish I had gone again, but I am glad I went at least one time. http://www.jumbosalad.com/
- Giovanni Rubino: I did not go to too many Italian places while in Warsaw, but this is a good choice near Old Town. http://www.giovanni.pl/
- **Literatka: another good choice near Old Town, but this one is mainly Polish food. The outdoor sitting area is very nice when the weather allows (but the inside of the restaurant looks really pretty as well). I really enjoyed the dishes I had on my visit there: fish soup and a salad with sun-dried tomatoes and grilled salmon. http://www.literatka.com.pl/
- **Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem: this is another Polish/Eastern European/Russian restaurant that was well-reviewed by me and others I know who have gone there. It has a neat newspaper menu and the Communist theme is interesting (I loved their website and name-dropped the place a lot before ever going...). I had a tasty meal there of borscht and seasonal salad with grilled chicken and strawberries. This place seems to be pretty memorable and eating outside is recommended if possible. http://www.czerwonywieprz.pl/
- Salad House: another salad bar place with a good-sized menu. This one is similar to Salad Story and Jumbo Salad, but its location is close to city center and the Swietokrzyska Metro station.
-Gdańsk
- Velevetka: This place has dishes that are regional for near the Baltic Sea area and this city in particular. I remember the pickles served to the table were a great combination of sweet and sour. I had a regional (Kashubian) fish soup that had large pieces of salmon in it and was quite tasty. http://www.velevetka.pl/
- **Kresowa: more Polish/Eastern European/Russian cuisine. I drank some clear barszcz (one of the best I had in Poland) and I REALLY liked my main dish: white fish (cannot remember what kind) with cooked, shredded beets on top. Unfortunately, I was with a large group on a busy Restaurant Deal Weekend in the area, so our service was not amazing and we waited a lot, but the food was delicious.
-Kraków
- Da Pietro: good Italian cuisine near the main rynek. I remember having another good fish soup here as well. http://www.dapietro.pl/
- Wesele and Miód Malina: two good Polish restaurants near the rynek (Wesele is in the rynek, but Miód Malina is not too far from it). At Wesele I had a salad with duck meat and was quite surprised at the way duck meat looks and tastes; it was almost as if it were red meat... http://www.weselerestauracja.pl/ and http://www.miodmalina.pl/
- **MOMO: along with many of my favorites in Warsaw, this place is vegetarian/vegan-friendly, with a lot of organic and healthy foods. Plus, it is in a cute little location with great prices, fast service, and a varied (somewhat daily) menu. I had some tasty miso and vegetable soup. Also, I remember having as part of my main dish some zucchini and broccoli in a sauce that was GREAT.
- Horoscope: [http://www.restauracja-horoscope.pl/horoskop.html] I did not eat at the actual restaurant, but ordered my first ever zapiekanka at their to-go window. It was delicious, plus hot and fresh from the oven. Kraków seems to be THE place for zapiekanki, as I also saw (but did not try, though my friends were eating them and offered to give me a bit) a well-known and strongly recommended place called "U Endziora" at Plac Nowy in the Kazimierz district of Kraków. This place may be a little kitchen with a window in a market square, but it also may serve the best zapiekanki in Poland... My friends raved about them as they ate, but they also were a bit under the influence and it was late at night (in Polish, but good pictures: http://prowincjalnawioska.blox.pl/2008/08/Bylam-U-Endziora.html). I encourage the use of garlic sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and chives (but there also could be chicken, bacon, ham, salami, peppers, onions, ketchup, mayonnaise, and other toppings).
-Lublin
- **Mandragora: this is a Jewish restaurant in the main area of Lublin. It was here that I had another fantastic soup, this time a great cabbage soup. Also, I finished off with a warm Israeli drink that had cinnamon and bits of apple. Yum. http://www.mandragora.lublin.pl/
-On the road
- Brovaria (Poznań): great location in the main rynek. I really liked my lunch here: a grilled tuna salad with fruit slices and vegetables. http://www.brovaria.pl/EN-H28.html
- Random food/milk bars (Legnica & road): Now, milk bars are a mixed bag... some are nicer than others in looks and some are better than others in dishes, while at one place alone there could be both great and inedible foods. The price is so cheap that you may be given what you pay for, but it is an experience whether your food turns out well or not... at least the price was not so high that it would be a complete waste of money and time. Give them a chance and they could surprise... and maybe even give a second chance if the first time does not turn out so well. I am a fan of borscht (well, I am a soup lover in general), especially Ukrainian borscht, which I had at a bar on the road and at a restaurant in Legnica. Both were great.
- **Don Giovanni (Legnica): good Italian food in the rynek. I had a grilled salmon salad that was really good and the entire menu looked great. http://www.dongiovanni.legnica.pl/
- **Krotoszyce Palace (near Legnica): gorgeous palace and grounds, commonly used for weddings and other important events. The restaurant is great with a wonderful menu. I really liked my lunch main dish of a green bean salad with sun-dried tomatoes and sliced turkey (usually served with grilled tuna, but the waitress said they were out of tuna or some issue and asked if I could replace it with turkey) http://www.palackrotoszyce.pl/
3. Products
-Eko chipsy: dried apple chips
-Cisowianka: lekko gazowana (lightly carbonated water)
-Whomus: Hummus
-Sonko: rice cakes/waffles and other crisps
-piernik/gingerbread
4. Street food
-gofry: freshly made waffles with or without toppings. Warm with strawberry jam, that's how I did it. I also would have tried with other jams or with fruit (not really into whipped cream or other syrups and sauces).
-zapiekanki: PLEASE do not eat any ho-hum zapiekanka. Seek quality, which may mean waiting in a line and/or for a fresh zapiekanka to be made for you on REAL baguette bread, toasted in an oven with your toppings of choice (cheese, mushrooms, chicken, etc), with sauce(s) (ketchup, mayonnaise, garlic sauce), and seasoning (chives). I trust certain fresh ones made in Kraków. Go for the real deal, a big and fresh one over the sad wannabes at any gas station or stand.
-kebabs: I am not much of an expert and they are everywhere. It seems there are a lot of good places to go for these and they are common in any city with at least a few people (from big cities to smaller towns). If there is a line waiting for them, then that might be a good indication for taste. I wish I could say more, but I went to a pretty good one in Kraków and I heard of many good ones in Warsaw. I just do not eat much meat, so I had to wait to find a vegetarian version, which means I was not a good judge of where to eat them. Sadly, there are probably a lot more bad or mediocre ones than good ones, but that goes for anything.
-pączki: I am not really a fan of these Polish baked goods (I find it difficult to call them donuts), but this is another item where I stress looking for freshness and quality. Please go to a good, known place where they are warm, soft, and delicious. It does not matter too much about large selection versus no selection over fillings, but what does matter is quality. I know, based on recommendations and Fat Thursday/Pączki Day, that A. Blikle is good (only one filling, but this place is a chain considered to sell the best pączki in Poland) [http://www.blikle.pl/] and Cukiernia Pawłowicz (MANY filling choices from rose jam to chocolate and cherries) in a stand on Chmielna Street in Warsaw.
-cupcakes: recently popular in the US, now becoming very popular in Poland. My first-hand recommendations: Cupcake Corner in Kraków [http://cupcakecorner.pl/], Lola’s Cupcakes in Warsaw [http://www.lolascupcakes.pl/], and Goodies in Warsaw [http://www.goodies.pl/]. All have interesting flavors, fillings, and toppings in cute, little shops.
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Suburbs
Legnica was fun as usual. :) It was nice to see more of it from my last two visits and to experience the town with family again. We spent some time hanging out with friends of my mother's on Saturday (went to their house, saw a swimming trophy award ceremony and business picnic, and back to their house - including a great soccer match) and Sunday (going to a really nice public park and local palace for lunch [http://www.palackrotoszyce.pl/; I had bullion soup with little meat dumplings and then a salad made of green beans, sliced turkey, and sun-dried tomatoes] before hanging out in their backyard garden for the afternoon/evening (I also played around with a mini golf set with the young daughter)). It was sad to say goodbye, as usual, but there are always possibilities to return sooner for more visits (and maybe even a closer location to western Poland than months in Warsaw). Sunday afternoon and night I watched my first partial episodes of "The Flintstones" in Polish and Polish "X-Factor," which is basically "American Idol" with some differences. Monday was spent mostly traveling back to Warsaw after hotel breakfast (seeing mostly countryside and small towns after a brief trip through some of Wroclaw early on), with a stop at a fruit stand and a lunch bar along the way (I had red borscht and a sampling of different sides/surowki - shredded beets, shredded carrots, and a little salad). The weather has been lovely the last few days with warm temperatures and sunshine. We now have given up the rented car, collected all of our luggage (including what I stored in Warsaw at school), and arrived at our final hotel near the airport (after some brief issues on the road with traffic and/or construction). Tomorrow is our last full day in Warsaw before an early flight on Wednesday morning. I have some school work to do and a bit of planning for the final day, along with relaxing in the hotel room (such as watching Polish TV).
Friday, May 27, 2011
Culture War
So, we walked around some of Legnica, including where my Mom used to live and to go to school. It is neat to see how it is now and to compare changes I may know about since my visit five years ago and the times when my mother and grandmother used to stay here. We stopped by a newer mall and even went inside the apartment complex my mother and grandparents lived in, where my mother and grandmother spoke with a woman who lived there when they had and told us about some people still there and changes. Our lunch was Polish food (I had Ukrainian borscht and a salad with roasted chicken). Later on, we relaxed at the hotel and some of us went back out to the rynek and had dinner at an Italian restaurant [http://www.dongiovanni.legnica.pl/] (I had a salad with grilled salmon and later some fresh fruit) before walking back. Tomorrow we spend some more time here in Legnica visiting friends.
Deutschland and Back...
We drove to Dresden from Prague on Thursday. On the way there, we ended up taking a ferry to cross the river, while sitting in our car. It was strange, but neat as well. We saw a little bit of Dresden, such as some of the Old Town area. In the afternoon, we took a three hour boat ride along the river Elbe that is along the city. The ride was slow and relaxing. We also saw a lot (including palace and castle-looking places) along the river. After the ride, we went back to our hotel, which was on a hill a bit outside of the city. Today, after breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, we went from Dresden to where we are now, back in Poland. Right now, we are in Legnica, my mom's childhood town. We will be here for the weekend and head to Warsaw on Monday. Our hotel is a cute place where we stayed our (except my Mom) first time here, five years ago. Pictures soon... Now it is time to head out around Legnica. Our hotel: http://www.hotelpalacyk.lca.pl/
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Make Some Noise
Some upcoming events:
-Monday, May 9 = Back to school
-Last couple of weeks = filling in free time with any places I have yet to visit around Warsaw (library roof, parks, etc.)
-Friday, May, 13-Saturday, May 14 = Lublin trip (Majdanek death camp, cemeteries or synagogues and other important Jewish sites around the city)
-Saturday, May 14 night = Night of the Museums [http://noc-muzeow.pl/index.php/noc-muzeow/wojewodztwo-mazowieckie/warszawa]; in particular, I will try to attend the inaugural Chopin in Lazienki Park performance that night... and maybe head back for the weekly day performance the next day
-May 16-19 = last week of classes
There will also be one more group dinner for us CIEE students. Not sure what else may happen or is being planned, but on our last day in Krakow we heard about the Lublin trip this weekend and the final dinner.
Then CIEE is done for the spring and I head on 2 weeks of family travel to such places as back to Swiebodzin and Legnica, but also to Prague, Dresden, and near Rzeszow/Jaroslaw.
-Monday, May 9 = Back to school
-Last couple of weeks = filling in free time with any places I have yet to visit around Warsaw (library roof, parks, etc.)
-Friday, May, 13-Saturday, May 14 = Lublin trip (Majdanek death camp, cemeteries or synagogues and other important Jewish sites around the city)
-Saturday, May 14 night = Night of the Museums [http://noc-muzeow.pl/index.php/noc-muzeow/wojewodztwo-mazowieckie/warszawa]; in particular, I will try to attend the inaugural Chopin in Lazienki Park performance that night... and maybe head back for the weekly day performance the next day
-May 16-19 = last week of classes
There will also be one more group dinner for us CIEE students. Not sure what else may happen or is being planned, but on our last day in Krakow we heard about the Lublin trip this weekend and the final dinner.
Then CIEE is done for the spring and I head on 2 weeks of family travel to such places as back to Swiebodzin and Legnica, but also to Prague, Dresden, and near Rzeszow/Jaroslaw.
Another cool website: http://www.tastingpoland.com/index.html
Saturday, April 30, 2011
On To The Next One
Feeling a bit of travel/train lag today. :-P I need to finishing preparing for my program's trip to Krakow tomorrow midday.
The few days I had in western Poland went by quickly: visiting "Jesus," seeing around Swiebodzin or Lagow or Sieniawa or Legnica or Wroclaw, Easter family visit/meals/gifts, music video channels, bus rides, train rides, watching movies ("Chloe" and "Limitless"), first time at Pizza Hut in Poland (it's fancy here :-P) and first gofry (with strawberry jam), shopping, listening to organ music, learning Polish, and being able to see people who had not seen in a while.
Now I am resting and preparing for a few days in the Krakow area. :-D I am also looking more at where I will be going in about a year when I finish up in Fairfield. Right now I think I might be interested in pursuing a Masters in International Management/Business. Since I am thinking Europe might be less expensive and more sensical than the US, I am researching schools mainly on this side of the Atlantic... particularly because I am in the process of earning a Polish Passport. This would mean probably going to Warsaw again or to Krakow or to Poznan [I am thinking using English and being able to continue learning more Polish while being close to friends and family again]. Some prospects include:
http://www.kozminski.edu.pl/index.php/en/graduate_ma/abe_international_master_in_mana [mostly in Warsaw, but also time in other parts of the European Union]
-maybe back to the school I am at now (SGH/Warsaw School of Economics)
-maybe the school of economics in Poznan or Wroclaw or Krakow
The few days I had in western Poland went by quickly: visiting "Jesus," seeing around Swiebodzin or Lagow or Sieniawa or Legnica or Wroclaw, Easter family visit/meals/gifts, music video channels, bus rides, train rides, watching movies ("Chloe" and "Limitless"), first time at Pizza Hut in Poland (it's fancy here :-P) and first gofry (with strawberry jam), shopping, listening to organ music, learning Polish, and being able to see people who had not seen in a while.
| Backyard Garden in Legnica :-D |
http://www.kozminski.edu.pl/index.php/en/graduate_ma/abe_international_master_in_mana [mostly in Warsaw, but also time in other parts of the European Union]
-maybe back to the school I am at now (SGH/Warsaw School of Economics)
-maybe the school of economics in Poznan or Wroclaw or Krakow
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Websites of the Day
Went along for a ride to do some errands and shopping today; we went to a bakery, grocery store, meat store, and a prepared foods shop. I watched some TV and chatted (Polish listening and speaking practce :-P ) with my hosts before we have lunch later on.
Here are some interesting websites:
http://worldsbiggestpacman.com/
http://www.tomhaverfoods.com/
http://theyelpelite.tumblr.com/
http://dadsaretheoriginalhipster.tumblr.com/
http://gaycaptions.tumblr.com/
http://www.refinery29.com/everywhere
Here are some interesting websites:
http://worldsbiggestpacman.com/
http://www.tomhaverfoods.com/
http://theyelpelite.tumblr.com/
http://dadsaretheoriginalhipster.tumblr.com/
http://gaycaptions.tumblr.com/
http://www.refinery29.com/everywhere
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter/Spring Break Part II: Legnica
From the town of my mother's birth to her hometown in Poland. I took a bus from Swiebodzin to Legnica this afternoon. Today was a more chill day since I had breakfast, watched music videos, went on the computer, and had a Polish tomato soup lunch (had noodles, chicken, carrots, and tomato-cream broth) before my journey. I had a pretty long bus ride since there were a few stops along the way (left a little after 3pm and arrived at about 6pm; it would be about 2 hours-long if direct). Now I am in Legnica until Thursday afternoon.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Easter Weekend
Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych! Wszystkiego Najlepszego z okazji Wielkanocy i Smacznego Jajka.
[My rough translation: Happy Easter! All the best on the Easter occasion and tasty eggs! - The last part is a Polish phrase for the holiday. :-P]
I am here in Świebodzin (the place of my mother's birth, close to the Polish-German border and the Polish cities Poznan and Zielona Gora) celebrating Easter with family (my first Easter in Poland, of course). Yesterday I packed and took the train; I have a guest room at the house of my mother's cousin (his house with his wife and daughters is very nice and they are all wonderful hosts). Today I visited the famous Jesus statue here and walked around the town a bit (lunch included a seafood soup and Nicoise-like salad at an Italian restaurant; I liked the soup since I quite enjoy anything with tomatoes - broth, sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, cooked tomatoes, raw tomatoes... - and seafood).
I am in the process of earning Polish citizenship (dual with my natural US citizenship) so that I can be part of the European Union, which would mean cheaper tuition in member states in case I decide to go to a graduate school here. It also means easier travel between countries.
I am very excited for certain people in the US to join me here in Europe. ;) I am also the only one on my program who has yet to leave Poland for at least a couple of days (I do not mind this fact), but being taken out of the country (as my family will take me) is a lot easier than doing it myself alone or with other students here. :-P
Labels:
Culture,
Easter,
Film,
foodie,
Holidays,
Legnica,
Poland,
Polish,
Swiebodzin,
Television,
Travel
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Spring Break & Tours
Yesterday, after my Polish lesson, our program group had a meeting about our Spring Break plans (since our vacation begins after classes today :-D) and our nearly week-long trip to Kraków that begins right after at the beginning of May. We are leaving midday on Sunday, May 1 and returning (most of us probably) on Friday, May 6. Our hotel is the Royal Hotel: http://www.hotelroyal.com.pl/index_uk.html [which is apparently inexpensive, nice, well-located near downtown, and includes breakfast]. We will arrive in the afternoon to the city and go out to dinner (right now being planned to go to Da Pietro: http://www.dapietro.pl/) before having free time. On Monday, after breakfast at the hotel, we are having a tour guide take us around the city, including Jagiellonian University (particularly the Collegium Maius area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegium_Maius), St. Mary's Church, and the SUKIENNICE/Main Square ( <3 love it from last time :) :-D). Later on we head to dinner before having the night free. Tuesday is our trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine: http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?urlMain=2,,1,1,,&id_location=1&reloadMenu=true&level=-1&id_site=10000 This is exciting for me because this is one place I have yet to visit. :) Wednesday is the tour of Wawel: http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/ the castle, Royal Cathedral, royal rooms, treasury, Sigismundus Bell, and royal tombs. Thursday is our trip to Auschwitz (I have visited and our program directors said we can opt out of any tours we do not want to go on if we have done them already or have personal reasons not to do them, but this is such a significant place; I feel as though going again with my classmates should be an interesting experience). Friday we have a tour of Kazimierz [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimierz] before heading back to Warsaw (unless we decide to remain in Krakow for the weekend, but I may enjoy the weekend in Warsaw since it is easier to travel back with most of the group than to have to worry about accommodations since our train rides back to Warsaw are given to us included in the overall program cost but not additional nights at a hotel or hostel).
Today is laundry and packing and preparing for my trips over Spring Break (Swiebodzin-Legnica-Wroclaw). I have one class in a couple of hours. The weather is nice, but I am stuck inside for a bit since I am in the middle of laundry. :-/ I have some work to do over break as well, but I am here to go to school and should try to think about that. :-P
Today is laundry and packing and preparing for my trips over Spring Break (Swiebodzin-Legnica-Wroclaw). I have one class in a couple of hours. The weather is nice, but I am stuck inside for a bit since I am in the middle of laundry. :-/ I have some work to do over break as well, but I am here to go to school and should try to think about that. :-P
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