List of things to do from this post:

Stay at Hilton Garden Inn
Visit Kazimierz
Nova Restaurant
Duffy’s Irish Pub
Le Scandale
Old Town
St. Mary’s Basilica
Pierogis, anywhere
Wawel Castle
Nazi Documentation and Interrogation Center
Auschwitz tour
Wieliczka Salt Mines
Bianca
Wodka Bar

In October 2018, Neal and I went to Poland, Estonia, and rounded out our trip in Finland. He’s an engineer and had a training in Germany for 2 weeks prior and had invited me to meet him and travel together after his training. This was our first big trip together and I was so nervous but very, very excited! I have traveled quite a bit and this was his first experience in Europe. We had only been on one other trip together and it was to New Orleans, which I am very familiar with, so I was fine wandering around and not really having a plan. But Europe is a whole other deal!

I had found flights from Chicago for around $600 and flights to Chicago from Memphis were about $250. For comparison, Memphis to Poland was around $1200-1300, so I saved quite a bit by buying my flights this way. I had a layover in Frankfurt, which is where Neal was, so we ended up being on the same flight to Krakow together. We got to Krakow at around 10am and went straight to our hotel. I’m a VERY loyal Hilton Honors member, and try to stay at a Hilton wherever I go. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn along the river and we had views of the Wawel Castle. Though it was a bit too far to walk into Old Town from our hotel, the currency was working in our favor. Ubers/Lyfts ended up being around 25-75 cents a ride. We checked-in, took a quick shower and got on our way.

Once we checked into our hotel, we went to Kazimierz, which is the Jewish District. We went into a few shops at the mall and then walked around. We were both starving, so we ate at Nova. They have a beautiful patio and really great food. I should also note that this area has some incredible memorials for the Jews who were murdered here during the Holocaust and this is also where Schindler’s Factory is. I regret we didn’t make it to Schindler’s Factory, but it gives me another excuse to return :)

After Nova, we continued to wander the area and happened upon an Irish Pub called Duffy’s. If you know me, you know I LOVE a good pint of Guinness and I always try to stop at an Irish Pub on my travels and have a Guinness around the world. If you didn’t know that, now you do :). It was partially underground and they had a great seating area with a cavern and a tv in it. We had a couple of beers here and then went on to Le Scandale.

Neal at Le Scandale, hours before food poisoning attacked

Le Scandale is a trendy bar in a little square with lots of bars and clubs. I like to check out Instagram stories from the locations I’m about to visit, and kept seeing a bar with this one cocktail that looked like it had a line of cocaine on it… I kept telling Neal, “Damn! Poland parties!” So after I was feeling a little loose from Duffy’s, I ordered that drink and I am here to tell you all that it was only sugar. But it was very convincing! It had a fake rolled up $20 bill next to it and everything. Very convincing. And the drink was quite good, too.

At this point, we had been traveling all day and had been going hard. We went home early, after stopping by the food hall outside and grabbing 2 cheese buns lol. We got back to the hotel around 11pm-midnight. I woke up about 45 minutes after I fell asleep to Neal violently getting sick in the bathroom. He got food poisoning from chicken meatloaf in Germany (to which I said “WHY would you get chicken meatloaf?!”). He was sick for hoooours. Luckily, I travel with a mini pharmacy and gave him some zofran, but he was still worse for wear. I had already bought a tour of Auschwitz the day I booked my flight for that next morning at 7:15am, but was worried I’d maybe get sick at Auschwitz, or Neal would continue to get sick. So I had to cancel my spot. Auschwitz was the exact reason why we went to Krakow, and it was number one on my bucket list and I was heartbroken. I went to the lobby to get Neal some water and gatorade and mentioned to the front desk how upset I was and they actually had open spots for the following day at 5:45am, so I’d have a free day with Neal to help him recover. It was a miracle!

We got up around 9:30am the next morning and decided to visit Old Town. We got our super cheap uber and they dropped us off right outside of the Main Square, or locally known as the “Rynek Glowny”. This is when I started taking a million pictures lol. The Old Town Main Square is MASSIVE. St. Mary’s Basilica is gorgeous (I even snuck a few photos inside), the architecture is unreal, and there is a gorgeous market hall with local goods. We then walked around the Old Town and had some amazing pierogis. Pierogis are a GEM to Poland. And if you don’t eat any while you’re there, you’re missing out. They are these amazing dumplings filled with mashed potatoes, cheese, and whatever else your heart desires. Usually cooked with sauteed onions and served with sour cream. We stopped at a random mom and pop shop in Old Town, but to be hones,t most pierogis there will be fantastic.

After pierogis, we walked to Wawel Castle, which is huge. There are lots of stairs, lots of grounds, and a statue of a dead dragon that blows fire every now and then. After Wawel, we went to a Nazi Documentation and Interrogation Center. It was about a 25-30 minute walk, so I would recommend ubering to it since it is outside of Old Town if it is cold or rainy. The exhibit is very small, and I had been to one in Cologne earlier that year, but we were still able to see the holding cells, which never is easy. This day was mainly trying to help Neal recover, so we took it easy. Walking around took up most of our day, and most of Neal’s energy, so we head back to the hotel so relax and go to bed early since I had a 5:45am tour the next morning.

At 5:30 on that Monday morning, I woke up ready to see my number one bucket list item. My first international trip was to Germany where I visited Bergen Belsen. I will devour anything related to WWII history, especially related to the Holocaust. Like I mentioned above, I bought a tour to visit Auschwitz because I wanted to make sure that I didn’t mess anything up. It was $25USD on Viator and was completely worth every penny. It had a hotel pick up, transfer to the camps (about an hour and a half from Krakow), an English speaking tour guide, transfers between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz- Berkenau, and then drop off at the hotel. The tour itself took about 2 hours, and showed you everything. This was the highlight of my trip and is the most impactful visit I have ever experienced. I highly recommend visiting Auschwitz and getting a good look at how horrific the Holocaust was first hand and realize that this was not that long ago.

Wiliczka Salt Mine - one of the chapels. Everything is made of salt, including the chandeliers!

After Auschwitz, I got back to the hotel at around 10:30am and joined Neal for breakfast. Then we went to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. What an incredible sight. It is one of the world’s oldest working salt mines, dating back to the 13th century and producing table salt up until 2007. It was maybe a 20 minute uber ride from our hotel and was so incredible to see. We waited for an English tour and wandered the grounds while we waited. The salt mine has some major religious feels to it. It has 4 chapels, dozens of statues, a chandelier, and a version of The Last Supper all made by salt or carved in the rock salt. The salt mine is about 1073 feet below the surface and extends about 178 miles horizontally. The tour takes about 3 hours, is around $17USD and will take you about 135 meters deep. If you get claustrophobic or don’t enjoy walking much, I wouldn’t recommend this for you.

For dinner, we ate at Bianca in the Main Square. Yall, it was so wonderful. There is a specific seat that will give you incredible views of St. Mary’s Basilica, but we didn’t reserve it. Neal and I tried to BALL OUT here. We got a charcuterie board, 2 glasses of wine each, I got a steak with black truffle shavings on top and a potato stack, and dessert and it was around $75USD including his meal. After Bianca, we decided we needed a night cap and went to Wodka Bar. This was probably second on my list of favorites in Krakow.

Wodka Bar has several locations in Krakow and is such a neat experience. Poland is actually home to vodka, the Russians stole it from Poland throughout their multiple invasions. At Wodka Bar, they have over 200 flavors of vodka. We asked the bartender for their recommendations and we got 6 flavored shots of vodka (salted caramel, strawberry, honey, hazelnut, cranberry, and raspberry), a beer, and a sprite for $6USD!

Wodka Bar. From Left to right - Salted Caramel, Strawberry, Honey, Hazelnut, Cranberry, Raspberry

To finish, Poland is a hidden gem that doesn’t get as much tourism as your more popular European destinations but I was blown away by the charm, the history, and the honesty of this city. Definitely add Poland to your list.

List of things to do from this post:

Stay at Hilton Garden Inn
Visit Kazimierz
Nova Restaurant
Duffy’s Irish Pub
Le Scandale
Old Town
St. Mary’s Basilica
Pierogis, anywhere
Wawel Castle
Nazi Documentation and Interrogation Center
Auschwitz tour
Wieliczka Salt Mines
Bianca
Wodka Bar

3 Days in Poland

5 items to bring on the plane ALWAYS