Our booking said we had to be at the airport 3 hours early in case of a change of departure so good little me and sick little Lacey got up early and caught a dodgy bus to Tigu Mures only to find the bus stopped at the bus station and that was it. . . So we then had to catch a taxi (I probably could have walked faster than this guy) to the airport.
Not a problem initially. Only thing was that the airport had like two flights a day and we were the only ones who seemed to have followed this "three hour early rule". Finally people started to drift in, yet there was no rush as our flight eventually left about 1 hour late.
So that was Saturday - spent in a tiny airport.
Once in Budapest we felt at home as we had both already been here previously. This time was a bit different though as Lacey was still as sick as a dog and the city was a heap colder than last time. We had a hostel that we wanted to stay in so we went there only to find they were booked out so the guy took us to his "other" hostel, which turned out to be the biggest cave/dive/mess that I have ever stepped foot in. Only good thing about it was that we got to spend our evenings at the Suite Hostel which was like a cool apartment with 16 beds and a bunch of really friendly people.
Originally the idea was to spend two nights in Budapest and then head to Krakow Poland on Monday but there turned out to be no buses that day and with Lacey still being quite ill we decided to stay in the city until the next scheduled bus on Wednesday.
This time around in Budapest was spent wandering and relaxing. We did do a city tour on a bus one afternoon which was nice but the lady giving the tour was kind of hard to understand. I did a bit of shopping one afternoon and also called the kids back in Zurich. They sounded so grown up! Funnily enough we also saw our friends from Brasov a few times in Budapest which was nice.
After waking up at the nice and early time of 4.15AM Wednesday morning we jumped on a metro in time for our 6am bus ride to Poland. The ride took about 7 hours and was quite comfortable as we got to watch 3 movies and we also got the yummiest hot chocolate ever served to us.
Once in Krakow we fell in love!! We had heard so many nice things about this city and we weren't disappointed. The bus terminal is right by a mall so we had lunch there and then we waited in the main square for our host for the next two nights Ewa (pronounced Eva, we're in Poland)
It was our first try at the famous couchsurfing. Basically the idea is that you advertise yourself (and your couch) on a website and people find you and ask to stay with you. Our friend had already stayed with Ewa before so Lacey and I went to stay with her for two nights to give it a go and save a few Zlotys (Polish money) on accommodation.
Not really for us I found I like the hostel atomosphere better as you get to come and go as you please and meet lots of people, Ewa was really nice to open up her home for us and it was really friendly of her to let us know a few things about the city, but I still prefer hostels. . . especially the one we are in now called Crackow Hostel.
So on Thursday, our first full day in Krakow, we headed out to Wieliczka. About a 20 minute bus ride from Krakow this is where 700 year old salt mines are. Not only did we get to venture 130 metres underground to view the salt mines, people (with a lot of time and patience) have carved statues, chanderliers and entire rooms out of salt. We saw a chapel that was entirely made from salt, even the floor.We had lunch at the underground restaurant and when it was all over we caught a lift 130m to the top in about 40 seconds!!
That evening we had an early night in at Ewa's as we were still recovering from our early start on Wednesday, I think. We also had another early start the following morning as this was the day that we planned to go to the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum.
** "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" Work makes you free" **
A 1.5 hour bus ride from Krakow we arrived at Auschwitz at about 10.30am to watch a movie about the story of Auschwitz and to re-cap on history.
The movie was bad enough to visually recall what happened over 60 years ago but then we walked through Auschwitz I and saw the gas chamber, torture rooms and such things as masses of glasses, kilos of hair and all the shoes the children were wearing before being sent to their death.
The Nazis and the SS left nothing to be wasted. To be honest I was actually quite blown away by it all. It really seemed unbelievable that such a thing could have happened so recently ... yet it did.
After a quick dash to the food shop for lunch we jumped on a bus to Auschwitz Bireknau which is 1.5km away. This is the biggest camp. A one way train heads into the camp and it is there, that the SS decide if you will live or die. Most Jews were sent to the right for instant death and the rest were sent to be prisoners. Slaves who eventually would die from torture, starvation or
supposed laziness.By the time the tour was over, I really was ready to leave. Being at Auschwitz really was a depressing day. Our guide while at times got quite emotional really knew alot about Auschwitz and even had relatives who were murdered by the SS.
That night we went to our new hostel where we had left our bags earlier that morning. In an 18 bed dorm we were in heaven with clean bathrooms and a well-equipped kitchen where we have been cooking our meals for the past few nights.
Saturday in Poland was a public holiday called All Saints Day so we had a sleep-in and really took it easy for the day. Everything was shut anyway so we had a bit of a look in the St Marys Church, which was stunning, and walked down to the river, and even saw the legendary Krakow dragon breathing fire...
Sunday, we went SHOPPING (for groceries) and walked around the Jewish Quarter. Now it seems only about 100 pracitising Jews live here.
Today we organised our bus to Vilnius. Tuesday night we will jump on the bus for 14 hours and hopefully not cross into Belarus (where we will 100% get thrown out because we dont have a transit Visa) and then arrive in the capital of Lithuania.
We went to Nova Huta today for a bit of a walk around but the weather today was freezing and the clouds were seriously at my head level.I would have to say that Krakow is one of my most favourite European cities now. I think it has something to do with the fact that we stayed on the Main Market Square, the largest plaza of Medieval Europe. On every hour, a trumpet signal is played from the top of the taller of St Marys two towers. The tune breaks off in mid-stream to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city. It was really beautiful to listen from our room every evening.
The city itself is so picturesque and there is lots to do, even just wandering is nice because even doing that you will see people singing on the street or some other novel thing will be happening.
Our last day here, being Tuesday will be spent at the Wawel Royal Castle which will be good and then at 7pm we will head over to the bus station to begin 14 hours of fun. I really hate buses, because my giant legs dont fit and it is always so hot but hopefully it will be ok tomorrow and we will make it without too many hassles ;-)
I also hope it wont be too cold as we head furthur north. In Zurich it already snowed last week being 3 degrees when it was 11 degrees here but Lacey thinks it could quite possibly snow here soon because the air was so cold - - I would have to agree.
One month today and I will land at Sydney Airport. That leaves 2.5 weeks left of travelling and then a mere 10 days with my beautiful little Swiss kids before I leave for good...
Leaving them and my friends will break my heart.
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