We do love to eat

When we arrived in Krakow, it seemed that all we did was walk around and eat food, and we were okay with that. The rest of the time we spent working since we were trying to prepare for a conference for a travel blogging conference called TBEX. It was something we have always wanted to check out and since we were in the area, it was an easy decision.

We ended up staying in the Jewish quarter, which turned out to be a prime location for us. Not only to see the sights we wanted to see, but because of the fantastic restaurants! Our first meal consisted of a schnitzel with potato dumplings and two very large cabbage rolls with tomato sauce. We didn’t realize how big the portions were going to be when we ordered, we were blown away! After barely finishing half of the meal we ended up bringing the food home and saving it for another very filling meal!

That night we checked out the gorgeous centre square in the ‘Old Town,’ which was simply spectacular. If you ever get a chance to see it, you will be blown away, just as we were. Horse-drawn buggies being pulled for tourists as the sun set on the city. As touristy as it is to hang out in the square of a city, it is the best place to just sit and watch people go about their evening.

The next morning we went to check out the Jewish Cemetery. It is absolutely beautiful, overgrown with vines and moss on the cement stones of the lost and forgotten. …as I trail off singing ‘The Circle of Life’… Check out the photos below of the cemetery, it is just amazing.

We walked toward the water to walk along the Vistula river we came across this beautiful bridge where people - hundreds of them - placed a lock with their initials either carved into the lock or just written on them and locked onto the bridge. Couples from long ago right until now have been putting these “love locks” on bridges and hurling the key into the water to proclaim their love to last for eternity. You’ll find these locks on many bridges throughout Europe, but it’s not always a good idea. In Paris for example, they actually had to take them down. They were weighing the bridge down too much and actually ruining the structural integrity of the bridge!

After all of this walking we were due for a meal, so off to a ‘Milk Bar’ we went to get a full meal of soup, salads, buttered potatoes and mushroom gravy on delicious, turkey meatballs. It was also amazing, and this time we were smart and shared the whole meal and were able to actually finish it! The whole, filling meal, only cost around 4 Canadian dollars!

The next day we headed to Wawel Castle to walk around in the grounds (which is free) and take some good pictures before heading to our next amazing meal. This time it was Kylee’s favorite: Pickle soup! We also had pierogi filled with couscous, dried fruit, and pork. Again, another outstanding meal in Krakow, though it was a little heavy for a mid-day lunch.

We didn’t end up doing much more, since we were working so hard, so we decided to have one more of the “things to eat” in Poland which was a bacon lardo spread served with pickles and rye bread. It needs to be paired with beer, so we were happy to take a break for an hour. It was delicious but it didn’t feel great after an hour, so I would suggest bringing more than two people to share this with, if you try it out.

With full tummies, we were off to Ostrava in the Czech Republic bright and early the next morning for a 5 am train, so we went home to pack.