Krakow

The night train from Prague was not entirely awesome. My bed was surprisingly comfortable but sleeping was a challenge with the non-stop passport-checking and ticket-stamping that was apparently necessary. I'd finally dropped off around four in the morning when I was awakened by a man banging on my door and shouting at me in French that we were at Katowice and I needed to get off the train immediately.

"Allez, allez!"

"Okay, okay!"

I had an hour to kill in Katowice so I decided to venture downstairs into the train station, a decision that was instantly regretted as the Katowice train station somehow manages to be even smellier and more depressing than Hlavni Nadrazi. So I waited upstairs in the cold.

When I got to Krakow, it was cold and windy and threatening to rain, like it's been nearly every day of my trip thus far. I finally bought a coat in Prague, hoping that Murphy's Law would guarantee sunshine for the rest of my trip but instead it just got colder. It was a Sunday morning and I was cold and hungry and tired and my ATM card wasn't working so I didn't have a single zloty to my name so I did the only thing I could think to do.

I went to church.

The service was in Polish, of course, and the cathedral was beautiful. I didn't stay for the whole show because Catholic services always intimidate me with all the standing up and kneeling down and chanting in unison. But it did make me feel better somehow.

Krakow is easily as pretty or prettier than Prague and it's much cheaper and less touristy. In Krakow, I get the sense that there's a life here outside of people on holiday whereas in Prague I got the feeling that if the tourists left, the whole city might collapse in on itself. Keep in mind, of course, that these observations are based on very short periods of observation. For example, I know for a fact that Prague is full of real life Czech people and considering the vast quantity of bankomats, internet cafes, and English speakers here in Krakow, the tourist industry here must be considerable.

Anyway, my point is that Krakow is beautiful, walkable, and inexpensive and you should book your next vacay as soon as possible. The hostel in which I'm staying, Greg Tom Hostel, is wonderful, too. It's lovely and clean and there are no bunk beds and the rooms are spacious and $18 USD a night includes breakfast, internet, laundry, special events, coffee, tea, etc. Last night, a few of us walked home in the rain at around midnight and when we got in, the guy working the night shift sat us down at the kitchen table with steaming mugs of tea and coffee. It's important to remember moments like those (moments when everything is easy and comfortable and nice) when you're having one of those "other" moments.

I've made some friends in this hostel and two of them are Americans. One of the Americans grew up in Florida, lived in Madison, WI for several years, and then lived in New York City, which has been my exact trajectory. Her sister is going to NYU law school with me in August. The other American grew up in Kentucky, went to Oberlin for his undergrad, lived just outside Madison, WI for a few years, and then went to the University of Oregon at Eugene for grad school, which has been my friend Chris's exact trajectory.

It's a small world.