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 Poland 2002 - KrakowWe spent several days in Krakow. We were never bored. There are lots of shops, tons of restaurants, and plenty of pubs and bars catering to many tastes. You can get sushi, Mexican, or McDonald's (I promise Speed Muffin this will be my only mention of the fast-food empire in this report). You can also find plenty of traditional Polish food, which is always very filling and dependably tasty. I love stuffed cabbage. Just a sampling of some of the many non-sightseeing things to do in Krakow include:  The Boogie Woogie Café
This jazz café was always a pleasure to drop in on. The music varies from night to night. Sometimes it's traditional jazz of the John Coltrane variety, and sometimes it's four high school guys playing drums, muted trumpet, guitar, and piano while singing "Hello, Dolly." One night there was a sort of new age thing going on with a pianist and a trumpet player. Whatever your tastes, a good time is unavoidable. Listen to a half minute of Boogie Woogie magic.  Pub Pod Papugami Irish Pub
As young, English speaking, hostel-utilizing travelers, it was our duty to hang out at an Irish pub. We knew the pub was Irish because they had Guinness on tap (most nights) and U2 on the sound system. The bartenders didn't seem to like English speakers that much. I think they were tired of confronting that same blank stare from guys like me who, after being told how much my drink cost, opened my hand to display a ton of change, from which they plucked the correct amount.  On our first night in the Irish pub we watched three cute Polish girls attempt to play pool. Three cute Polish girls playing pool badly is much more entertaining than three guys playing pool well. I asked the girls if they would like to play against Todd and myself, since I'm pretty terrible, too. They turned us down saying we would only laugh at them. I explained that they could laugh at us if they wished. Todd and I then played each other and the girls laughed at us. Todd won.
On other nights, however, there were too many English speakers. Forgive my hypocrisy, since I too polluted the Polish air with my English. But when you fly across the Atlantic Ocean, then take a plane from London to Central Europe, you really don't want to be hearing Americans. That's just my opinion. In fact, if you are an American, please, don't go to Poland. I'm begging you. It's terrible.  Empik Super Store
Fast becoming a Polish institution, the Empik super store has several floors, each devoted to a particular type of merchandise. For example, there is a computer and gaming floor, a bookstore floor, a record store floor, plus tons and tons of periodicals throughout for you to leaf through. Take your reading material up to the café, if you desire. Miscellaneous Stuff Head down to the train station and browse through all the used books and periodicals. Sit in a park and watch the girls go by. Grab a bite to eat—or a half liter of Zywiec beer—at any of the numerous pubs and restaurants in the city. Check out an English language movie with Polish subtitles. Feed the second largest population of pigeons in Europe (warning: Krakow pigeons are aggressive). If you are bored in Krakow, God help you. Our favorite hang out place was Kryjowka. It was so good, in fact, that I've given it its own page. Introduction to our Poland trip Krakow (1) Kryjowka, Krakow Auschwitz Lublin (1) Lublin (2) Warsaw The Park, Warsaw Some interesting information Some useful information
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