In Krakow

So the weekend and finally the chance to be 100% a tourist. And how easy it was too - unlike Warsaw, Krakow appears to be built for tourists with a lot to see and do and plenty of others who had come directly from abroad to do it.

Today was to be pretty packed, with a tour selected that would pack as much stuff in as possible (albeit with sights all outside of Krakow proper). The first stop was Auschwitz which probably doesn't require any introduction except for me to admit that I didn't actually know it was near Krakow until I had to come here. It was both as expected and surprising - as cliched as it sounds things really do become more material and... real once you actually see where it happened. It was all pretty sad.

The second part of the afternoon was spent visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mines (but not before enjoying some Polish ice cream of course). As interesting as the mines were I have to admit having been slightly underwhelmed overall. That's not to take away anything from the attraction itself; I guess I've finally been desensitised to mines and caves.

The tour ended early enough to catch a nice dinner in a boutique restaurant back in Krakow old town. You'll be glad to hear that I didn't have dumplings - but even though the food tonight was much fancier I was still surprised by the bill. For you foodies out there: food in Poland is very cheap. Go nuts.