Monday, 23 May 2016

Three Days in Krakow

My youngest brother has been living in Poland for the past five months and I thought it was time I should visit him. As we have Estonian grandparents, we are automatically considered Estonian citizens at birth therefore eligible for EU Estonian passports. My brother obtained his Estonian passport last year and it has since opened up the world to him. Whilst most of his Australian friends have restrictions when travelling in Europe, he can work and live in the European Union for as long as he wants.  Now based in Krakow, my brother has done a lot of travelling, made many new friends and even has a new Polish girlfriend. Life is good for him right now. 

I decided to spend three days with my brother in Poland to see how he was getting on. I have been to Krakow a few times before but it comes in handy when you have a local showing you around. He showed me all the highlights of the city. We had such a great time!

Estonian passports.
Dual citizenship comes in handy when you are born in Australia.

Krakow Town Square.
The city comes alive in spring.

Cloth Hall (Sukiennice)
Located in the main square, the market has lots of interesting gifts on offer.

If you want to try traditional Polish food, then visit Kuchnia u Babci Maliny. 
(Grandmother's place)

Poland is a very Catholic country and Krakow has many beautiful churches.
I was in Krakow during Pentecost  Sunday and was surprised to see so many churchgoers. 
Every church I passed was full of people, 
I even saw people standing in church doorways just to take part in the service.

Oskar Schindler's factory.
A must when visiting Krakow. 


It is interesting to note that the film 'Schindler's List' is based on the book 'Schindler's Ark' written by the Australian author Thomas Keneally. For years Keneally has lived in the same Sydney suburb as me and a few times I've seen him in the same cafe whilst I've been out for breakfast with my family. I think it's great that Keneally's powerful book of survival and heroism has led to many people discovering the beautiful city of Krakow. The city has so much history and culture.   

Oskar Schindler's office.

Three days was definitely not long enough to spend in Krakow. Hopefully I'll be back there again soon!