Entry #6 from June Travels.

While I'm on a roll with writing, I'll see if I can manage a bit more...

30 June 2010

So, I'm in Krakow, and all is well. I was too tired and lazy yesterday to write, so I guess I have to catch up now. Yesterday I was up early again but lazed about for hours in the hostel, reading awful girly magazines that were there. I had breakfast, which was just bread and jam - I couldn't eat any of their spreadable cheeses.
I went into the old town - saw the castle, which was really nothing special. Went for a long wander. It wasn't very exciting, but it was ok. I bought some red currants for just zl3 at the markets near the hostel. Back at the hostel, I washed them, and lovingly picked them all from their stalks. I ate a lot of them, but saved plenty for my train journey. I was sorry to tell the hostel lady that I was going, because she was really lovely, and seemed really concerned that I was going early. I said that I was meeting a friend in Krakow, to give an excuse for catching the earlier train. She gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and wished me well. I felt guilty for running out. It's a pity that the town is such a dive. It's just not a place for young travellers, and therefore not a good place for a hostel. Oh well.
I caugh the 160 bus because Lonely Planet said that it would go by the train station... but it didn't. So I caught another bus back to the centre - it had "glowny" as a stop, but of course one stop before that, I realised that in this particular town (and certainly not in others!) that meant the bus station, not the train station. Lonely Planet had called the train station "glowny" - wrong again, LP. So from the centre I caugh the bus #1, which I knew went there. Thankfully, owing to my early leaving, I still had plenty of time to spare. I waited in the terminal, watching the train-time sign turn over letters and numbers with noisy clacking. It was a bit mesmerising, really. I boarded my train half an hour before the departure time. It was so hot! No air con, just open windows, which aren't too useful when the train is stationary (and arguably useful when it isn't). I was worried because my ticket wouldn't be valid because I was using it a day early, and had formulated a list of excuses, but all was fine. Ate lots of currants, and the other half of my bread, at about 6:30 or 7pm.
The train got into Krakow Glowny a little after 9pm. Oh, before I forget - I went to the bathroom on the train, and discovered (by way of an open pipe, and some glints of light) that it all falls down onto the tracks! I was so entertained that I took a photo, and resolved to use the bathroom the next time that the train was stopped at a station somewhere. Such low-brow humour... I am my father's daughter.
Anyway, I left Krakow station, found the tram easily enough, and even paid for a ticket! Machines were at the stations and had a variety of languages. Brilliant! See, I do pay for public transport, when people make it possible for me to do so. The "15-minute short trip" ticket was only zl 1.80. I got off the tram, and had a bit of a look around the street. Couldn't see it, so tried to open my bag for my map, only to discover that my new travel lock was jammed and unopenable. I eventually got it, and discovered that the map only had the old town area, so it was useless. I eventually found the street, though.
I checked in, put down my bags, and went to the kitchen. Made dodgey pasta for dinner and saved half for later (today). Went to bed about quarter to eleven. This morning, I woke up early again - I got woken up a bit during the night, and kept waking every 15 minutes. Not sure why my body clock seems to think that 5am is ok, but whatever. I got up at 6:15 (alarm was set for 6:30), and discovered that there was no hot water in the showers.
So I went to the reception, but no one was there, just a bunch of polish kids playing videogame soccer in the common room. They all ignored me, and there was no one behind the desk, so I gave up waiting and just used a shower that was designed for rooms on that side of the building. Whatever. So I put my stuff back in my locker, and went down to breakfast. It was only bread and jam again, which I think is pretty stingy. Oh well.
Went for a walk to the old town, took photos, then hung out at the Castle, waiting for it to open. And actually, Wewel Castle was awesome. Reasonably priced (the State Rooms were cheap considering how much I saw!) and lots of different stuff to see, but the ticketing system was a bit dumb. After that I went to the old town, climbed the tower, saw St Mary's Church, walked along the remaining defense wall, and visited the Barbican.
Then I did some shopping... bought sunglasses, which I've been needing desperately. And then a shirt and a new dress, then some jeans-leggings (jeggings!)... but rest assured that they're only for under dresses where my jeans look too bulky. There's no way I'm joining the crazy of wearing leggings in lieu of pants. Ugh.
Went back to the hostel for leftover pasta. Bought some basic food - bread, jam, sweet bun - along the way. After lunch, I lazed about for a few minutes, resting my tired feet. After lunch, went into the old Jewish Quarter, which was very cool. Lots of hip little bars and cafes. The Jewish Museum wasn't very good. What's with everyone charging zl 7 for photos? No way was I paying that to take photos of a synagogue. But there were 2 amazing artworks, huge paper cutouts from beautiful paper, hanging on the wall there, quite modern. In the last few years I think. I really wish I'd written down the name of the artist.
Went to a different synagogue after. It was small, and a bit makeshift in the tourist department, but oh well. After that I bought some apricots, and half a kilo of cherries from a market stall I found. The apricots were the best I've had since the tree at Rushworth Ave (my childhood home) unfortunately died. And the cherries were huge, with lots of flavour. I walked down to the river, to rest and snack. Then back to the hostel, where I ate the rest of the fruit, plus some bread and jam. Such a guts!
I checked net stuff and found that there's a 7:10am bus to Auschwitz, so I'll be leaving here by 6:30am tomorrow. So early! I'm a bit nervous about it - I guess because it's important to me. When I came back here, I discovered that I've managed to get athlete's foot... so my feet were all itchy and hot and sweaty, but really there's not much to be done when you walk around all day. I washed 2 tshirts and 2 sets of underwear in a sink when I was here for lunch, and they're still damp. Hopefully they're dry tomorrow, so I have something clean to wear! I'm totally craving vegies right now but I think I've eaten enough. I'm not hungry, but I'm definitely not satisfied. It'll be nice to be back in my own kitchen!