Ten days in Poland: From Winter Wonderland in Zakopane to sunny spring in Krakow
Journey through the mountains and first impressions of Krakow
When I left Hungary in mild spring weather in March, I knew that it’s going to be colder in Krakow, but I didn’t expect that it will be snowing!
The distance between Budapest and Krakow is only about 300 km, but the journey by FlixBus took exactly 8 hours on the way there and 7 on the way back home. The landscape was beautiful, we went across the mountains and through small towns in Slovakia. I think that our average speed was about 50 km/h and I was thinking that within this time of 7-8 hours, you can get from Budapest to Munich by train and from Germany to the USA by plane. So, it was a little bit too long by the end, but it was actually a nice journey.
My first impressions of the former capital city of Poland were positive. On the one hand, it reminded me of Warsaw where I have been before, on the other hand, it was also a bit like Bratislava regarding the size of the city. My Airbnb was a few stops by tram from downtown, but it was a very modern neighborhood with lots of shops, restaurants and beauty salons. And the apartment was also very nice and modern, I enjoyed my stay there. People seemed to be friendly and helpful, most of them spoke English, especially the younger ones. It was interesting to find a vending machine where you can buy bouquets of flowers. It was right next to the tram stop, the first day it was full of flowers, the next day it was already half empty. For me, it told a lot about the culture and the behavior of Polish men toward women (by the way, they also always let you go first and open the door for you).
The only thing that wasn’t so nice was the weather. It was the middle of March, but the wind was chilly, and the temperatures were low. I quickly realized that I’d need to buy a hat as I forgot to take one with me in that mild weather back at home. So, the next day, I already purchased a cute pink hat that I could wear for several days in Krakow and in Zakopane. The first days it was snowing, and I had the feeling that it’s still real winter there.
Visiting Wawel Royal Castle
On the first day of sightseeing, on Saturday, I had a ticket for an English guided tour in the castle. I had been informed that it’s going to be quite a long tour, but I was a bit surprised when our guide said it is going to be about two and a half hours long and there is a lot to see, we won’t even be able to see everything! It was beautiful and interesting but also tiring. That was a good program for that day, because it was snowing outside, it was definitely cold, but luckily it stopped snowing by the time we finished, and I wanted to walk around in town after lunch. The castle area is quite big, you can walk around, enjoy the great view from the hill and have a look at the different building: the castle, the cathedral, etc. Not surprisingly, there were quite a lot of tourists there, but Krakow is generally not such a crowded city as many others in Europe. Inside the castle, there were different types of rooms that we could visit and could see a lot of different objects, etc. Even though such a guided tour is a bit long and tiring, plus there was only one English tour per day when I was there, I still recommend it to you. That is one of the most – if not the most – famous places in the former capital city of Poland.
Winter Wonderland in March
I travelled to Zakopane for one day to look around the town and see how it is in the middle of the mountains where so many people go skiing, also from Hungary. What I hadn’t expected was the so much snow both in the mountains as well as in the town. Shortly after leaving Krakow, we found ourselves between the white mountains: looking out both on the left and on the right from the bus. It was just incredible in March! I also realized that it’s going to be quite cold in Zakopane. Well, it was, but it was beautiful and had a special atmosphere. Since it wasn’t really winter anymore, there weren’t many people in town, even though it was a Sunday. I didn’t have many plans, just walking along the main street which is very famous and has so many shops, cafés and restaurants. It was just beautiful, and I had the feeling that I am in winter wonderland… I found a very nice restaurant where I could eat gluten-free pasta and a warm meat soup that I really needed in such cold weather. The restaurant was great, the food was delicious, the waiters were kind and the view from my table – next to the window – was just amazing. I could see the mountains in the background, covered with snow, and the small river right next to the restaurant. I must say I enjoyed the time there!
Besides having a nice lunch and walking around in the main street and nearby, I bought some gifts and souvenirs and sat down for an afternoon coffee and cake. In such cold weather, I couldn’t stay outside for a longer time. What was really surprising and astonishing was that they both had Christmas and Easter decorations in town. Once I found a small shopping street, starting from the main street, decorated by Christmas stuff, and on the other side of the street, opposite that one, were some Easter bunnies! Well, it was a few weeks before Easter, but still chilly and snowy weather, after all…
When travelling back to Krakow by bus, I thought to myself that it was a great idea to go on a day trip to such a nice mountain town. I had the impression in Zakopane as if time had just stopped for that Sunday, no one was in a rush and life was simply quiet there.
Churches in Krakow: Wawel Cathedral and St. Mary’s Basilica
I left the visit to the Wawel Cathedral to another day and didn’t go there right after the guided tour of the Castle as it was already too long. Of course, you can also visit these two places after each other as they are at the same place, but you will need to buy two separate tickets, in different ticket offices, because they are two separate institutions. The Cathedral is very famous because it is not only the coronation church of Poland, but also because all the previous Polish kings are buried there, and the ticket is valid for the church, the catacombs under it and the small museum which belongs to the church. It is a very old cathedral, from the Middle Ages, and you can feel it when you are inside. It is dark, with a lot of black color, it has a special smell, it is just old, but very special and also huge. You can walk around the church, see everything, then go down to the catacombs and finally, you can visit the museum quasi next to the church. It’s worth a visit as you can see some of the relics of Pope John Paul the Second. For me, it was quite a special feeling to see all that.
One of the other days, already at the end of my trip to Krakow, I visited the beautiful basilica on the main square. To be honest, I have been there several times, as it is so central, but if you do not buy a ticket to the church, you can only see it from the back door. And because it seemed to be so beautiful, I decided to buy a ticket, which is not expensive at all, and could walk around the whole basilica. It was so amazing and beautiful! Even if you don’t know the name of the church, you can see inside that it is the basilica of the Virgin Mary: the color blue dominates, plus there are many paintings and other objects referring to the Virgin. I liked the organ especially a lot, it was astonishing from the middle and the front of the church. It is a Gothic church, so it’s newer than Wawel Cathedral, and somehow, I liked it much better. The style and design were amazing for me. I very much recommend it to you if you are sightseeing in Krakow. Plus, you can hear trumpet calls every hour there. One more thing that I found interesting was that I had never seen so much gold before as in the churches in Krakow.
Sightseeing in Krakow
I walked around in the main street and on the main square several times during my stay, but I could also visit some other places and see some further buildings, sculptures, etc. I could also have a look at Wawel Castle from several viewpoints and in different weather conditions, both during the day, for example in sunshine, and in the evening, when it was illuminated. Besides working from home during the week, I did quite a lot during the nine-day stay in the city. I went to the National Museum and saw two interesting exhibitions, went to the castle and to churches, did some shopping, tried different restaurants and cafés. Almost everyone spoke English, I didn’t experience any language barriers when eating out or doing shopping, and the people were always nice, friendly and helpful. The waiters always helped me find some gluten-free options on the menu and were flexible. I appreciated this kind of hospitality very much.
Once, I visited the Jewish quarter which is famous in Krakow. By the way, you can find quite a lot of references to the world war in general in the city, which was not surprising to me. The Jewish quarter was nice and interesting, but not as special as I had thought it might be. I saw a lot of Jewish people in traditional clothes and saw some synagogues but just from the outside, but there was also a huge and beautiful catholic church there which I could visit for free. Besides that, I just enjoyed walking on those little streets which were full of souvenir shops, restaurants and nice places, and I finally had lunch on a square which seemed to be a central one of this quarter. By that time, it got so warm that I could have lunch outside, wearing only a long-sleeved T-shirt in the sun! Later on, as I was walking toward the riverside, I bought an ice-cream, the first one this year. Well, I could not imagine that just a few days before, when I was wearing my warmest clothes in the snowy, windy and chilly weather. Such a change within one week! It became a special trip for me as I could experience two seasons at the same place in March. But it wasn’t the end of this crazy story with the weather, because when I left Krakow and headed back home to Budapest, it started raining. I knew that I could expect such weather in my home country, too…
The riverside was very nice, especially in such sunshine. I was walking across one of the bridges and walked back to my Airbnb by the river. It is not such a big city, after all… Although this place wasn’t like the Bank of the Danube in Budapest, I really enjoyed having a walk in such nice, spring weather. Finally, I could experience this season in Krakow.
My trip to Poland was nice, but I was happy to come home after one and a half weeks. I knew what to expect regarding the long bus drive, but it was fine, quicker than on the way there. After seven hours on the bus, I finally got off in Budapest. It wasn’t raining at that time.