Comfort Food

After a rather depressing start to the day, we arrived back in Krakow just after lunch and decided some good comfort food was in order. What could be better than some authentic perogies?! We walked over to a local perogie place that was recommended to us called Zapiecek. We each ordered a plate of the delicious dumplings and were not disappointed!

Sunshine + patio = :)

creepy bunny!

After our meal we went over to the mall for a little retail therapy to really heal from our sombre morning. Ice cream is sold all over town, so a little of that helped lighten the mood too. Our hostel serves free dinner at 7, but we still had a little time before it was ready and decided to hit up the main square once more for a patio drink. We enjoyed the sunshine and a round of beverages before returning to the hostel for some burgers! (The first night they made us pasta.)

After dinner Christine and Eric were planning on doing a pub crawl, so Josephine and I went in search of a delicious dessert place. We walked through the old city, down to Wawel castle. It was fun looking in all the windows and jumping out of the narrow streets as horse-drawn carriages pulled up behind us. We finally settled on a little place I had read about in my travel book called Camelot Cafe. We enjoyed our dessert by candlelight on the patio, along with a glass of wine. When we got back to the hostel, Christine and Eric were there watching a movie. Turns out the pub crawl was cancelled and Josephine and I were the rowdy ones out late - go figure!

Horse carriages all lined up

Wawel Castle

Tuesday morning Josephine and I headed back in to the city, while Christine and Eric had paid for an excursion to go shoot some guns.. to each their own.
We did another walking tour of the Old City and learned a bit about the history of Krakow and the legend of the dragon.

Dragon!

According to legend, Krakow was founded by and named after the mythical ruler Krak, who built the town above a cave occupied by a ravenous dragon.

Up at Wawel Castle

Mmmm Zapiekanki

After the walking tour we went back in to the old Jewish quarter to Kazimierz for lunch - zapiekanki. Basically a long piece of fresh bread with whatever topping you want. A scrumptious Polish twist on pizza. Then we braved the 30 degree heat and marched back up toward the castle for some more pictures. Finally going back to the Old City.

Inside Cloth Hall

By this time Josephine was tuckered out so she went back to the hostel while I checked out the Old City Square and the Cloth Hall some more for souvenirs and such. By the time I got back to the hostel everyone was there. We rested for a bit, then went out to sit on a nice park bench and relax before dinner. On the menu tonight was 'authentic Polish' - more sausages and potatoes. They do a good hearty meal in this country!

The Gang!

After dinner we all went out and found a nice patio for the worst customer service but the best cake ever! Then it was back to the hostel for a quiet night. We were all pretty beat from a long day in the heat. Wednesday morning we were up early for breaky and off to the airport for an uneventful (thankfully) trip back to London. A few more days off before it will be back to reality.... for four weeks, then off to Spain :)