Krakow, Poland...

We rolled through the center Warsaw around lunchtime.  I was curious to see Old Town - which was restored to the pre-war architecture after being destroyed by Hitler.  We didn't stop so I only got to see it from the seat of my bike and didn't get any photos.  Old Town is pretty cool looking but the rest of Warsaw is very modern - not particularly interesting.  From what I have read the city is currently in its largest economic boom in history.

We stopped for lunch a bit outside the city at a roadside cafe - our second of this type in two days.  The food both times has been great.  Today I had tomato soup and Pierogi Ruski -  delicious!  The food in Poland is not only good but cheap as well - my meal with a coffee came to $4 US.  

The highlight of Poland so far is Krakow - the cultural capital of Poland.  The city was mostly spared of the destruction that Warsaw encountered during the war.  We had reserved a hostel right in the center of town.  As we entered the downtown area I got the same good vibe that St. Petersburg gave out - that this was a very unique and historic city worth exploring deeper than I had time for in this visit.  I'm pretty sure I will be back to both someday.

We checked into the hostel and walked around a bit to find a pub to sample the local beer.  We had not yet had a beer in Poland - last night we wild camped in a farmers field about 150 km northeast of Warsaw.  We found a cool place built in the old cellars from the war.  They were used by the Jews to hide from The Germans.  The city is filled with these underground caverns and many have been restored and put to use like this particular spot.  After a few drafts of some local brew we decided to look for a place to have dinner.  There was a Mexican restaurant on the same block - we hadn't had any Mexican food in the entire trip so decided to give it a try.  What a mistake - it turned out to be a crap tourist trap.  The food was not completely horrible but certainly not doing any justice  to one of the best cuisines on the planet.  I had read earlier on Triposo about a good Mexian spot in Krakow owned by a chef from Mexico City that served good authentic Mexican dishes and thought this was that place.  After checking this was not that place and the reviews were pretty much what we experienced - oh well, the Corona was cold anyway.

Sunday morning I got up early to walk around Krakow a bit during the day and get a few photos.  It was overcast and foggy so the pics didn't really do justice to the dramatic architecture.  The churches are massive.  It was interesting to see the city wake up this early in the morning.  The shop owners were still cleaning up from a busy Saturday night while getting ready for the Sunday morning tourist crowd.  I was suprised at how many places were already open at 7am.  I found a cup of coffee - the coffee is so good now that we are in Europe.  It was instant crap all throughout eastern Russia and Mongolia - when I could even find it.

Later this morning we will visit Auschwitz - not exactly a happy place by any streach but certainly a must see while visiting Poland.  Then the plan is to ride out of Poland and into the Czech Republic.

My $4 lunch - yummy!

Krakow at night.

The pub down in the WWII cellar.

Some pics from my morning walk...