After finishing up with Wrocław, I took another FlixBus ride, this time to Krakow, also in Poland. I was here once before, with my brother in 2005. The past 17 years have been kind to the tourist scene, and while I really like Wrocław, it clearly isn’t on the tourist radar yet like Krakow is. To be fair, Wrocław is great in its own right, but Krakow certainly takes it to the next level. And with that have come the tourists. A Tuesday mid-afternoon in Krakow is crazier, more crowded, and more active than anytime on a Saturday in Wrocław. One good aspect of this is simpler accessibility – there’s much more signage in English, and people I’ve talked to so far speak English better, and I hear so many more Americans (I believe I heard three total in Wrocław, though they may have been Canadian). A downside is that while I was never sales-pitched in Wrocław during my seven days there, within a 10-minute period strolling the old town in Krakow I was approached three times with something for me to consider buying. Tradeoffs.
I’ve only scratched the surface so far on my first day in the city, but I see that there is a lot on offer, certainly more than I’ll be able to get to, even if I wanted to, especially with my work schedule during the weekdays.
I’m now only about 125 miles (200km) from the closest point of the Ukrainian border, and one definitely gets a sense that there are many Ukrainians around, though of course in general it’s not easy to tell. But I’ve seen many cars with Ukrainian license plates, lots of signs in Ukrainian (which uses the Cyrillic character set), and apparent aid centers. On the drive in, I saw a military vehicle convoy heading in this direction – it doesn’t mean they were going to Ukraine, but maybe?
Krakow supposedly has Europe’s largest medieval square, Pope/Saint John Paul II was archbishop in Krakow, and Schindler (of Schindler’s List fame) had his factory here, where he saved the lives of around 1200 Jews.
Some photos…
Today’s dad joke: How is Krakow like Antarctica?
They’re both in South Pole-land!
Today’s travel quote:
The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.
Henry David Thoreau
Major Meander 
I can’t believe that was 17 years ago… I do remember the city fondly. I remember getting Mexican food at one point in Krakow which was a hoot. I imagine a lot has changed.
It’s the real deal now – e.g., no radishes! Hah. In Bratislava, where I am currently, there is a surprisingly large number of Mexican restaurants, and they all look good. I haven’t tried any because, well, I need to eat sheep cheese and bacon dumplings! As they say, when in Slovakia…