Poland - 22nd to 25th of May 2009

Gotto love May in the UK - two bank holiday Mondays! So after the first long weekend in Prague, we spent the second in Poland. We flew into Krakow on Friday night, but arrived late, so only got into our sightseeing on Saturday morning. We got straight on a bus west for about an hour and a half to Ośweicęm, better known by what the Germans called it, Auschwitz. Auschwitz I, previously deserted pre-war barracks, and the purpose built Auschwitz II - Birkenau, 3 kms away, are incredibly moving and depressing places. Its something everyone should see, and we are glad we did it, but its not somewhere we ever want to go again. It didn't really feel right taking photos, but I took a couple:

After getting the bus back into Krakow about 3ish, we wandered the streets of the old town through to the main market square, reputedly the largest medieval town square in all of Europe.

We walked along the river and out to the Jewish quarter, where we had an early dinner - dumplings of course.

Back into the main square for a few drinks, although neither of us were up for a big night given the morning we had had.

Sunday we again jumped on a bus, this time 40 minutes southeast to the salt mines at Wieliczka, which have been in operation for 700 years. A guide takes a group of you through about 2 km of the mines that are open to the public, down to about 135 metres underground.

Sunday afternoon we had another walk through Krakow old town and through the grounds of the Wawel Castle.

We even had time to watch about half of the F1 from Monaco at a sports bar, before our 5pm train to Warsaw. 3 hours later we checked into our hostel in Warsaw and walked into the "old" town for dinner. I say "old" because basically all (i.e. 85%) of Warsaw was ruined in September 1939 when Germany invaded. The rebuilt old town was based on old photos and drawings, so it looks old, even though it is just over 50 years old. The Palace of Culture and Science:
The Royal Castle at night:Monday morning we went up to the 30th floor of the Palace of Culture and Science for a view over the city, before walking out to Lazienki Park. Warsaw is surprisingly green, and Lazienki Park is a very pretty park just on the edge of the city centre.

Monday afternoon we had another walk through the old town, and then a quick walk through the Royal Castle, another building that looks old, although it was only rebuilt in the '70s.

We had a 9pm flight so we were always going to be home late, but due to bad weather in London the plane stayed on the ground in Warsaw for an extra hour and a half. So we didn't get back to Putney until 2.30am.