Krakow – the city of delicious food and cheap beer (Day 3 – Day 4 – Day 5)

If you’re travelling and looking for a cheap place to stay I recommend using Airbnb, here you can find a discount since I’m a long time user!

So the first two days were filled with walking around the city – my Fitbit went crazy with notifications telling me I’ve exceeded my daily limit or something like that, drinking till the morning and meeting new people. I woke up the third day tired and crushed from the previous two. Friends laughing about me eating cheeseburgers at 5 am and not remembering it. Have to tell you the partying was awesome and Krakow is the best place to do it due to its cheap food and drinks.

My friends and I in Krakow

Since me and my friend didn’t see the castle the day before, we all went to the castle and it is the best place to visit in Krakow apart from the main square and the buildings surrounding it if you’re interested in castles, historic buildings and architecture. The view from the castle is stunning and so is the inner part.

Krakow castle

Krakow castle

Walking all around the castle is a great hangover cure, lots of walking and fresh air. As it seems there is only one entrance open to the castle, so going through the gate we started looking for a museum or a way to enter the castle not just the property around it surrounded by walls.

Krakow castle

We found the tourist information office and there we could also buy tickets to one of the museums. You can visit the State Rooms, Royal Private Apartments, Oriental Art, Lost Wawel, Dragon’s Den, Sandomierska Tower and Crown Treasury and Armoury. If you want to purchase tickets for most of these attractions you should come early in the morning. We got there about 2 pm and there were no tickets for most of the attractions but fortunately there were tickets for the Crown Treasury and Armoury, and who doesn’t want to see the knives, guns and cannons once used. Also have to mention that the lady working there didn’t know English well, so after asking me for my student card she continued talking in Polish looking at me like I understood. I was also asked if Croatia is in the European Union, which it is since 2013., she didn’t believe me for a few moments still talking to me in Polish. So finally after checking with her colleague, who also didn’t know that Croatia was a part of the EU she sold me the tickets with a polite smile.

Krakow castle

The Crown Treasury and Armoury was amazing. There were all kinds of medieval weapons, from bows and arrows to swords and guns. There was a combination of a blade and a pistol in one, which I’m sorry I couldn’t take a photo of.

Royal crown and armory – Krakow castle

And also the cannons below the castle looked massive and destructive!

Cannons – Krakow castle

After visiting the castle the hunger set in. On our way we bought a few souvenirs we broke some, but all’s well that ends well. Still wondering why my friend didn’t take the pieces of a ceramic souvenir he broke so he could paste it together to fill he’s time here in Zagreb?

We continued to a restaurant we found the other day. Passing different parts of the busy city center my friends were joking that it’s like the first day for me in Krakow since I couldn’t remember seeing some of the architecture partying the night before, and partially I admit I didn’t remember still thinking they didn’t either, but just lying to pull one on me.

Restauracija Morskie Oko – Krakow

Restaurant Morskie Oko Krakow, a nice restaurant serving traditional dishes with a modern twist. You can see a grandma at the door, I think she greets people there because she opened the door for people to leave as we were approaching – and she is always looking if there are new guests coming.

Chicken noodle soup – Restauracija Morskie Oko

Chicken noodle soup is a must if you’ve been drinking the day before and this soup was an original grandma’s soup. It had pieces of chicken with handmade noodles and it was one of the best soups I’ve tried in a restaurant.

Steak filled with cheese, peppers and mushrooms & baked potatoes

For the main course me and some of my friends ordered was fried steak filled with cheese, mushrooms and peppers with a side dish of potatoes. It could have used a bit more seasoning, maybe not using cumin with potatoes, but it was really delicious. Makes me so hungry just thinking about it!

Steak filled with cheese, peppers and mushrooms & baked potatoes

In the next photo you can see my friends taking a selfie and me enjoying food like a real man! I was so hungry that I couldn’t even hear them asking me to look at the camera, but food is food and for me it is a priority.

My friend taking a photo and me eating

One of my friends wanted to try an original Polish dish so he ordered Pierogi, for me a dish I can associate with dumplings.

Pierogi

Also a delicious dish – steak with mushroom sauce and baked potatoes if I remember correctly.

Steak covered in mushroom sauce & baked potatoes

At that moment I was full and couldn’t even think of eating more, but my friends ordered one of two delicious desserts – Apple pie with vanilla ice cream and Cheesecake with raspberry sauce. Both of the desserts were amazing and if I had to choose I couldn’t make the choice.

Apple pie with vanilla ice cream

Cheesecake with raspberry sauce

So the moment of me being full had passed when we returned to our apartment and I was hungry again, so I took a plate and had some traditional Croatian food. Nothing is like the familiar taste of home.

Balkan food!

On my disbelief after two nights of partying we returned to the scene of the crime, Bania Luka and its cheap beer and tasty shoots. If you’re really looking for a great night out in Krakow – go there!

After eating the whole day, why not eat more? On our way home next to one of the bridges connecting one part of the Krakow with the city center we found one of the best and the biggest Kebabs working at 4 am. That is where I first tasted Chicken Kebab and it wasn’t bad. The people working there didn’t really understand English so we got all of the sides and sauces – so keep that in mind if you want to eat Kebab in Krakow at 4 in the morning.

Bania Luka bar – Krakow

Skipping the whole waking up part.. new day new possibility of trying out new food. This time it was Moa Burger, one of the best burgers in Krakow. Their burgers are from 500 g to 800 g. Of course there were friends of mine who just had to take the 800 g one, with two beef burgers and all kinds of sides with a batch of fries and bbq sauce.

Moa Burger – Krakow

Moa Burger – Krakow

I ordered BBQ burger filled with onions, bacon and sauce and it was amazing, especially tasty.

BBQ Burger – Moa Burger Krakow

Chicken Burger – Moa Burger Krakow

Krakow Cathedral

After eating another crazy large meal we decided to buy a cheeseburger – just kidding. Some of the friend grabbed a beer at the local pub and I decided to visit the Krakow Tower with a friend.

Krakow Tower

A friend described it perfectly, like a trip to Mordor – bring a ring! Steep stairs, chains on the walls, dimmed lights. But it was actually really fun, a bit of exercise to lose some of the weight gained moments ago while devouring burgers & fries.

Krakow Tower

Krakow Tower

And the view of Krakow is the best thing about climbing the Tower.

Krakow

After rolling down the stairs of the Tower we decided to visit the underground museum Podziemia Rynku beneath the Cloth Hall. As I understood while making some changes to the main square in Krakow the workers found ruins of the city and remains of the people buried underneath the whole square. They estimate that the ruins and also remains stretch underneath the whole Krakow. The museum itself is very interesting and gives you all the information you need about the history of Krakow. I didn’t expect it to be so modern and vast, it is really worth seeing.

Krakow is the city I’ll be glad to visit again, as soon as possible, but now it’s time to decide which road trip destination is next!

Cloth Hall Krakow

A bit grim ending but a reminder to us all – the last day of our trip, on our way back to Croatia we stopped to witness everything that hate can do. A place where you can barely hear birds singing and the silence brings chills to the bones. A reminder how little it takes to let the hate in. No words can describe this place and no words are needed.

Auschwitz – camp Birkenau