Weekend Time, Party Time: Poland

Last week my roommates and I went to Krakow with our program, CEA.  At least 75 CEA students joined us for the lovely 9-hour bus ride.  If you know me, you know I have no problem falling asleep and staying asleep, no matter where I am.  This stayed true for the long bus trip and I was just about the only one who didn't absolutely hate the travel time.

We got into the city relatively late, so we couldn't see much since it was dark.  We also stayed on the outskirts of town since there were so many of us.  We attempted to make it into the more lively part of town on our first night, but the idea of being tired for our full day on Saturday was not plesant, so we ate a yummy dinner and headed back to the hotel.

Our Saturday was devoted to visiting Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau.  I've honestly been avoiding my blog because I'm not sure what to say about my experience.  There really aren't a lot of words to describe what I saw- everything was so raw that I barely felt any emotion during the tour.  I was way too overloaded.  I will say, though, that I never expected Birkenau to be worse.  I always thought Auschwitz (technically #1) was the worst because you always hear about it, but it's so bad because it encompasses several work and death camps.  I've never been somewhere that I felt was actual hell on earth, but after visiting the death camp at Birkenau, I understand the expression.  The tour didn't leave anything out, so I saw all the horrifying objects, heard the stories and walked through all the buildings and gas chambers.  Despite the overwhelming experience, I'm so thankful that I was able to see such a monumental historical site.  I'm also a little proud of myself for being so brave - I wasn't sure if I would be able to suck it up and actually go through with the tour.

I didn't take many pictures, but I wanted a few to remember exactly what the grounds looked like.  Here's the famous entry sign:

Needless to say, Saturday was a very exhausting day.  After a little rest we finally made it into the city center of Krakow.  CEA planned a traditional Polish dinner for us at a downtown restaurant and I wish I could tell you what I ate, but the waiters just brought out plates of food and we all scarfed them down!  It was all amazing... except for a dumpling, fish, veggie, something or another that I was too scared to try.  Personally, I liked the food more than the typical Czech dishes you get here in Prague. Dinner was followed by a night out in a very cool and trendy part of town.  We managed to find the more local spot for college kids and skipped out of the touristy bars.  It worked out perfectly because I was so ready to get away from our obnoxious group of 75...

Sunday was our day to see Krakow and get in all the sites before we got back on the bus.  We had an awesome tour guide that was able to show us all the must-sees within a 2 hour timeframe.  Some of the things we saw:

Wawel Castle

Wawel Cathedral (Pope John Paul II's church) I absolutely LOVED this!! 

Pope John Paul II's home

Market Square

Our tour was followed by lunch.  I tried pierogies for the first time and I absolutely loved them!! Mine were filled with potatoes and cottage cheese.  After our meal we had a couple of hours for free time, so the girls and I decided to spend our time wisely and go shopping! We found a store that we're all obsessed with and picked up much more than we probably should have.  It was decided that the best purchase of the day was a shirt I got on sale for the equivalent of about $10.  It's a screen print shirt with a very Euro-like picture and the phrase "Weekend Time, Party Time." I didn't noticed the phrase until I tried it on, but it made the shirt a must-have.  I have no idea why we all thought it was so funny, but now our whole group of friends says it.  Now whenever Wednesday rolls around (because that's when the weekend starts here, duh) we say the stupid phrase and heavily use the hashtag #weekendtimepartytime in our tweets.

Fun Fact #6:
During the tour I learned lots of fun facts about Krakow from our guide, but this one I really liked! When the Nazis occupied Poland, they took over all of Wawel Hill, including the castle.  They hung a huge swastika flag across the tower on the edge of the castle along the river.  Little did they know the tower is called "The Tower of Theives."  Krakow residents love pointing out the irony.