During my visit to Poland, me and 8 others were hosted by friends Kacper and Alia, who are based in Warsaw. We flew to Poland all the way from the Philippines to attend their wedding day. We also took the chance to see nearby cities before the big day. Alia arranged a mini tour for us to see Krakow, Budapest, Vienna and Prague in a 5 day, with our own private van. The arranged tour cost us around 620 Euros, inclusive of breakfast, dinner and very nice hotel rooms. Though I must admit that arranged tours can be really stiff (laging kulang ng time), but seeing 4 countries with such comfort and privacy is already worth the cost. Poland is a relatively inexpensive country in Europe. Considering that they have the vastest of farmlands, food in Poland is fairly cheap. Say, a kilo and a half of strawberries in a basket costs only around 1 Euro (50 Pesos). I could eat that all day, seriously.
Anyways, here are some snips from the first stop of our tour, Krakow. Dating back to the 7th century, Krakow City of Southern Poland in one of the oldest cities, and second most important city in Poland as center of history and academic. Today, the town center of Krakow still has this old world, charming and laid back feel, worthy of the Unesco World Heritage seal it holds. A nice leisurely walk from the square to the riverside Wawel castle is definitely a must do.
What to see in Krakow?
The Wawel Cathedral, a Roman Catholic church located on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. What makes this basilica unique are its domes and chapels that undoubtedly look different from each other. These were built on different eras and of different royal bloods that aims to surpass its predecessors.
The Wawel Castle complex imposingly sits on top of the hill with a great view.
After hiking across the enormous Wawel Castle, it was nice that we spent the evening at the main square. The main square of the Old Town of Kraków, Lesser Poland, is the principal urban space located at the center of the city. It dates back to the 13th century, and at roughly 40,000 m² is one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe. (Wiki)
The market place at the main square
St Mary’s Cathedral at night
Feast on Polish carnivorous meals right at the main square. Dinner was included in the tour cost.
Nice interiors of Wesele, which happens to be a Michelin Star restaurant
Heavy meat platter, fit for a king. By far this is the best meat platter that has ever appeared in front of me.
Bigos , a traditional Polish dish of fermented cabbage with pork and sausages.
Pierogi – dumpling in bacon fat sauce.
We stayed at Hotel Alexander, which is also part of the tour.
Biyahe ni Josemanuel 