Stateside Adventures, Hunt Style

We had a blast in the former capitol of Poland, Krakow. The bus trip there was grueling, but worth the trip. Our bus ride was 16 hours long. I think way too long to be on a bus, but cheaper than train or plane. It took 8 hours to just cross Germany, and an additional 8 to go across Poland to Krakow. We went with another couple, Jordan & Monique and then Jeff.
We arrived in Krakow on Thanksgiving day. We had an hour or so to kill before we were able to check into the hotel. We wandered into the main market square and got some food. They were setting up for the Christmas market, so a couple of food stalls were open. We all tried some meat kebob thing. It was layered with, I think, pork, onion and fat. I ate the pork and onion, but discarded the fat. The pigeons were everywhere trying to eat off your plate while you are still eating. Gross. We walked around a bit and then headed for our hotel.
The hotel was nice and newly furbished. It was right next to the train tracks, but oddly enough it wasn't that loud. After we settled in we went to the mall. OOHHH. I haven't been an indoor mall in sooo long. It felt like home. Who would have thought that I would miss them. The mall was huge. We only had a few hours to kill so we only made it into a few shops. We bought me a new warm hat. I love it. Hand-made and warm and pretty as can be. You can spot it in the slide show.
We returned to the hotel to dress for our Thanksgiving dinner. Of course I brought something nice to wear to dinner. I changed, curled my hair and prettied myself up as much as I could. We went to a lovely traditional polish restaurant for a traditional polish meal. The soup was excellent. Main course very reminiscent of a schnitzel and the mashed potatoes were good. Dessert was a cheesecake, but no sweetness to it. Somehow it was bitter. Odd.
The entertainment was exceptional. We had singing and dancing. The costumes were colorful and the dancing vibrant.
After dinner, we got lost. Found the castle and our way back to the market square. We went for a night cap and then headed back to the hotel.
Wow if I keep up with this much detail, its going to be a long post. I will trim it a bit from now on.
Friday, we had a tour of the city. Beautiful, friendly, and so much history. After the tour we (Myself, Matt, Jordan & Monique) separated from the group for some lunch. We had pizza...mmm it was good. Afterwards we caught a taxi to Schindler's Factory. Our taxi driver became our tour guide and took us to the quarry where the work camp was located. Watch Schindler's List, and you will know what I am talking about. The grand house at the camp was destroyed, but the guard towers remain. Our newly instated tour guide also took us to the Jewish ghetto and the memorial to all the Jews who died there. After our impromptu tour we headed back to the market square.
We went shopping in one, if not the oldest "mall." It's now for tourists, but beautiful. Bought us some trinkets and souvenirs. Then we just walked and explored. We had asked our taxi driver for a great restaurant for dinner. We navigated our way there, thanks to the brilliant map reading done by moi, but they were closed for a private party. Dang it. We meandered back to the main square on the prowl for some steak. We ended up at the Sioux. A very cheezy restaurant dedicated to the wild west with some cow-hide chapped waitors. Jordan ordered this steak and for 5 zloty more it came with clapping. What's clapping you ask. They would deliver the food to you and be clapping. Oh, we got a good chuckle. Needless to say he didn't get it with clapping. I got the "Nevadan." How could I not. The only dish named for a state and it's my state. It was pork chops and they were good. Here I go again, with more details.
Matt had bought some local vodka. He said it was smooth and of a great quality. Rolled down the throat with ease. Well I took a shot. Blahhh!!! I am definitely not a vodka drinker. Just next time your at the gas pump, take a sip of what you are putting into you car and that is what vodkay tastes like.
That night we retired a little early. Not getting enough sleep on the bus ride there and knowing we had to do it again the next day we called it a day at around 10pm.
The next day we went to Auschwitz. See the posts below.
Afterwards we headed home. We got to our car just when it started to snow at around 4am on Sunday. We made it home safely and I just crashed into bed, for some real sleep.
That was our trip. There was a lot more, but it would take too long to tell you all of it. Enjoy what you got.