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Below, a festival in the Rynek Glowny(main square) of Krakow on June 13, 2008.
Damn brits. They've invaded my city!
Arriving in krakow, I found my best friend in John Paul II airport's tiny terminal amidst dozens of Poles anxiously awaiting loved ones. It's so refreshing to be back here. Poland has become much more toursity since I studied in Krakow 3 years ago at Jagiellonian University. Even my old tour guide of the Collegium Maium, Jagiellonian's old central campus, seems to be worn out by the new waves of british, irish, scottish and asian tourists.
I was surprised to see a large influx of Brazilians into Hawaii a few weeks ago, sometimes making up 20% of the islands, but even more shocked to see they've come to Poland as well! Poland's economy is booming, the fastest growing in the E.U., and although it is still very cheap(2 polish zloty to 1 American dollar) Poland is starting to cater to Tourism. This scares me.
This place used to be my secret! I don't even speak polish, at least not fluently, and I feel like I have a second home here. The people are lovely and so is the food and culture. As one friend put it, Krakow has everything a big city has, but still keeps its small town feel.
Few town squares can truly compare to Krakow's Rynek Glowny(main square) in the Stare Miasto(Old Town). Americans still associate this part of the world with communism and the iron curtain, expecting to find bombed out buildings, dreary people worn out from a regime and ugly concrete neigborhoods. That's more like Warsaw 15 years ago.
The europeans have already figured out where the best place to be in Europe is, and it must be, without question, Krakow. Another claim I have made that was just affirmed by a Canadian friend, a group of Irish Blokes, and my best friend: Polish women are gorgeous.
The next Euro hot spots that are relatively undiscovered are L'viv, Split and smaller getaways like Lublin. These places haven't been exploited and ruined by tourism, like Prague(which, if I am frank, is a complete waste of time. You can get the same beauty, better culture, better prices and more charm from Krakow). Prague, although a pretty town, has become a 2nd Amsterdam, catering prostitution, drugs and parties towards the hordes of budget travelers and backpackers in Europe. Don't get me wrong, you can go to Prague and have a lovely time, it's very romantic and it's still safe, just not my cup of tea.
Still, Krakow is the best and my favorite.
Arriving in krakow, I found my best friend in John Paul II airport's tiny terminal amidst dozens of Poles anxiously awaiting loved ones. It's so refreshing to be back here. Poland has become much more toursity since I studied in Krakow 3 years ago at Jagiellonian University. Even my old tour guide of the Collegium Maium, Jagiellonian's old central campus, seems to be worn out by the new waves of british, irish, scottish and asian tourists.
I was surprised to see a large influx of Brazilians into Hawaii a few weeks ago, sometimes making up 20% of the islands, but even more shocked to see they've come to Poland as well! Poland's economy is booming, the fastest growing in the E.U., and although it is still very cheap(2 polish zloty to 1 American dollar) Poland is starting to cater to Tourism. This scares me.
This place used to be my secret! I don't even speak polish, at least not fluently, and I feel like I have a second home here. The people are lovely and so is the food and culture. As one friend put it, Krakow has everything a big city has, but still keeps its small town feel.
Few town squares can truly compare to Krakow's Rynek Glowny(main square) in the Stare Miasto(Old Town). Americans still associate this part of the world with communism and the iron curtain, expecting to find bombed out buildings, dreary people worn out from a regime and ugly concrete neigborhoods. That's more like Warsaw 15 years ago.
The europeans have already figured out where the best place to be in Europe is, and it must be, without question, Krakow. Another claim I have made that was just affirmed by a Canadian friend, a group of Irish Blokes, and my best friend: Polish women are gorgeous.
The next Euro hot spots that are relatively undiscovered are L'viv, Split and smaller getaways like Lublin. These places haven't been exploited and ruined by tourism, like Prague(which, if I am frank, is a complete waste of time. You can get the same beauty, better culture, better prices and more charm from Krakow). Prague, although a pretty town, has become a 2nd Amsterdam, catering prostitution, drugs and parties towards the hordes of budget travelers and backpackers in Europe. Don't get me wrong, you can go to Prague and have a lovely time, it's very romantic and it's still safe, just not my cup of tea.
Still, Krakow is the best and my favorite.
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