We seemed to spend the last 24 hours in Krakow, after our visit to the concentration camps, eating and sleeping. Was it a subconscience response to the starvation and sleep deprivation we had felt for the victims of the holocaust? Or was the experience so overwhelming we had to regroup our emotions with some down time and feed our bodies with comfort food? I am not sure, but eat and sleep we did..........
Our friend Darren caught up with us at the Yellow Hostel in Krakow. So he joined the fabulous group we had hooked up with, mostly from Australia and New Zealand with a New Yorker and an Alaskan thrown in too. We seeked out traditional Polish food at a restaurant in the main square and had five kinds of perogies (little nummy pastries with cabbage, mushroom, ricotta, meat, etc. fillings) hearty meats, slawed cabbage, whole fish and some Italian wine, because I just don't know about Polish wine....... we had a great time and dinner and planned the next meal.
Next day, same group all went to a traditional Polish self-serve deli restaurant for lunch.....even more fun than the night before! Darren got pork knuckle, Steven tried the garlic soup and creamed spinach, Elly had a riccotta filled crepe, Molly ate mixed vegies and a stuffed pepper....Dan and Erin had something, I wish I knew the name, a slop like corned beef hash that was really good.....I had turkey and more cabbage goop. After such a hearty meal, Molly and I walked all over town, lost in the darkness.
We made it back to the hostel in time to organize our baggage and head off to the train station for our first OVERNIGHT train ride back to Prague. We had a little sleeper car for two and the beds were comfy and the night was quiet and we slept easily back to our originatio
We hadn't originally planned on seeing the Eastern European countries like Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Bratslava. But I am so glad we did! These countries are full of their own history, people and culture, unlike what we would have experienced if we would have safely stayed in more familiar territory. Each destination had its own unique qualities, unlike its close neighbors, which made it fun and adventuresome. I also believe because the value of our money goes farther there, it made that piece less stressful both for us and all the young travelers we met.
The downside of Eastern Europe this time of year is the weather......although we have had countless rain free days and much sunshine, it has been cold.....so we are headed south to the warmth of the Mediterranean. A transition I can do easy.
