Krakow, Poland

I didn’t have any expectations for Krakow other than the photos I had seen that looked pretty and that people told me it snows alot. However, there still isn’t any snow despite BBC saying there will be today, it hasn’t happened yet and isn’t looking likely. Krakow has a lot of character and many interesting buildings.

I arrived yesterday afternoon after a good flight and an express train to the town center. The train station is next to a huge shopping mall, which is nearly as extravagent as the one in Prague. After a short walk, I found the main town square with its gothic style church and decorative buildings. The hostel is right in the centre, so I unpacked my stuff and headed out for food. I decided to go for Polish, which came with a similar style bread and spread course to Prague, however the pork and dumplings that I ordered were quite different! Unfortunately it came in a red/orange/oily sauce with a smell that made me feel nauseous. Not a good start, so I tried to scrape the sauce off the dumplings but that didn’t improve the situation. The waiter said they were dumplings with potato in the middle, which sounded fine but the texture reminded me of a savoury version of the oriental dessert, Moochi, except they tasted of fat. I was only able to eat a few of them because they were too aweful! The pork itself was fine but the taste of the sauce was too much so I left a lot of it. I think I got really unlucky finding such a revolting flavour and hopefully next time will be better. I have no idea what the sauce was.

When I returned to the hostel, I met a Polish girl called Dorothea who knew Krakow quite well so she took me out to find cake. I bought what looked like a marble cake but even that was a bit strange. With poppy seeds and icing on the top, and a nutty chocolate mix with pieces of fruit peel, it was more of a success than the previous meal. I went to a Mexican restaurant with Dorothea and had a drink while she ate her spicey dish. Later, she showed me around Krakow, pointing out all the sites that I’d return to in the morning. We finished the evening in a coffee shop with surrealist artwork covering the wall and large yellow tulips on our table.

I spent today walking around and taking photos. I found an apple cake that I actually liked, and bought some food from a supermarket for lunch. I think I’m going to return to the hostel and see if I meet anyone who feels like going for dinner.

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I decided to cook my own ‘Polish’ food tonight, since I thought at least that way I get to choose what I eat and hopefully make something nice. I found spinach pasta in a supermarket, and after much time working out what each sauce was, I found a cheese and mushroom mix which I thought would go with the pasta. As soon as I added water it smelt disgusting. I continued cooking it anyway in the hope that it might improve when heated. It tasted like mouldy sock and plastic mushroom sauce and was promptly binned. Thankfully the pasta was edible and I amused a group of French people in my attempts to cook. It didn’t help that there was no appropriate cooking utensils, saucepans, microwave or working oven, so all things considered, I feel it was quite an achievement.

Krakow town square, Poland from Natalya Dyer on Vimeo.

Krakow feels incredibly small compared to Prague and I think I’ve covered it pretty well. It’s a nice city, but compact. It doesn’t look like there will be any snow here so I’m planning on getting a bus to Zacopane tomorrow, known for its timber buildings and mountains. I asked the lady on reception what the roads would be like and if they were icy and she assured me that they will be ok. I might google for other travel blogs to find out how bad the journey is. It’s also two hours each way.

I have a feeling that when I return home, I won’t want to eat bread for a while! Breakfast at the hostel is either cereal and milk which I don’t have or stale bread and jam. Bread is available everywhere and great slabs of it arrive with fat at the beginning of each meal. I bought some ham at the supermarket, which even that tasted like nothing I’d had before. I wasn’t keen on the flavour. After having several mini frankfurters for lunch, I think that might be another snack that I’ll skip for a while! Polish people must really struggle with our food when they come to England, so I see why so many Polish delis have opened. It does seem to be a set of flavours completely isolated to this country. It’s a shame that I’m not enjoying them.