The Happiest and Saddest Place On Earth....In One Weekend

Well if I ever study abroad again it will be in Krakow, Poland. That city is the happiest place I could ever imagine! I adore it. Walking down the street you can see any number of things including: men doing yoga on the sidewalk, people running around doing Borat impressions asking for high fives, children singing in choruses, men singing in the street sounding literally like women?, people in full dracula cartoon costumes, mothers playing accordian next to their babies in strollers, horses practically have their own lanes in the street, and there is always something to see. There was a jazz festival going on while we were there, as well as some summer animation showcase. It was super hot this weekend! It felt like it was 100 degrees out and the hotel we stayed in (which was beautiful!) had no air conditioning. Ouch. But it was worth it. I loved Krakow!!!

We tried great food this weekend, too! We had Polish food (obviously) which was delicious!(And everything is so so so cheap in Poland). I had dumplings with raspberries and rose. Best food ever! And the next day we ate at a Georgian restaurant. Also amazing! I had chicken with cabbage and honey cake. I think I gained about 50 million pounds this weekend! But the absolute best was for dinner: We ate at a Ukrainian restaurant and it was unbelievable! I had pork with apple sauce and plums and the best fried potatoes I have ever had. For dessert I got this apple pastry which was also amazing!


























Along with loving Poland, we also went to see the remains of Auschwitz and I really do think that was the worst place I've ever seen on earth. It was pretty upsetting. It was not the abundance of remains that was so terrible, to me, but the absence, the absence of people, the space of the area, and the complete silence around all the remains. It was pretty sickening. But the worst part, believe it or not after 70 years have gone by, was the smell. It still smells there. We went to the concentration camp 1 and 2 which is Birkenau and they both smelled. I was really happy to get out of there.

On a lighter note......Poland was still amazing and I think it's one of the most underrated places in the world. I would go back in a heartbeat!