Cracking Krakow
So this is the trip where the beloved had an accident. When I tell you we were so lucky to be in a fantastic hotel and opposite a shopping centre with a decent food court when 2 ribs were broken (in the bathroom, of course) you’ll think that doesn’t sound lucky at all. In 2020, however, we are lucky to have a trip at all.
It’s eight months since our last overseas trip and a couple of months since the 2020 restrictions on movement were lifted (we didn’t have an actual lock-down in the UK). By the end of August, we were expecting to have enjoyed at least three adventures; a family wedding in Croatia in May, probably Mexico as part of the beloved’s year-long 40th birthday celebrations and the usually anniversary break around 6th August. Plus, as we’d had the biggie to New Zealand at the end of last year, I really wanted to a couple of UK breaks to fill the gap leading up to May.
To get back to day one, we stepped out of the hotel to the Gallerias Krakowska shopping centre opposite and grabbed some lunch. The food court has an excellent yet simple system to let us know which tables had been cleaned and ready to use. This topped up our energy levels from the early start to get us out for an initial exploration of this renowned fairy tale city. Coffee number one came courtesy of Coffee Cult with the first of Krakow’s mouse-like cheesecakes. For dinner, as we were given 30% off, we decided on dining at the hotel’s Winestone Restuarant.
We learnt two things: dinner was excellent and everyone got 30% off. Poland being wonderfully affordable, the dinner was amazing value even before the discount so we tipped the friendly staff well. Mine was a fish dish as per eating out usual with lentils and all sorts of things I wouldn’t normally eat like celery and I devoured every morsel. During the walk afterwards, I witnessed live music for the first time this year in one of the many squares that litter this pretty city.
Coffee number two came courtesy of Tociekawa who have about 3.5 seats inside, meaning in the current climate, one person could be seated but a huge garden that we took advantage of with another slice of fluffy cheesecake. Knowing the next day was going to be too warm to be outside, we snuck in coffee 3 in the garden of Karma Coffee too and got around to as much of colourful Krakow including the lively Jewish Quarter and the cathedral before walking along the riverside back to base.
Dinner was fabulous Thai at Edo. And because we didn’t want the evening to end there, we went for a walk and discovered Book Book, a late opening coffee bar/book shop. I can’t resist and book shop (even if all the books are in a language I don’t speak) and I can’t pass a late opening coffee shop. Things I only ever see abroad and relish every moment of being in one. It feels utterly luxurious when we don’t have these simple pleasures in the UK. Oh and we had another mousey cheesecake concoction with our iced coffees.
On day three, AKA the hot day, we just managed coffee number 4 (with chocolate tart this time) at Wesela fairly local to us as the stifling Sunday had already emerged by the time we got out. We sought shelter in The Rynek Underground museum and pretty much called it a day later in the cool of the shopping centre.
Everywhere we went people were taking precautions to stay safe and yet it was bustling. It can be done and Krakow knows how.
So yes, we felt lucky to be in Krakow even with two broken ribs. After the first couple of days acclimatising in the city, we’d written the third day off as far as exploring goes as temperatures soared into the 30s. Instead, we ploughed everything into days four and five and booked our non-refundable excursions.
We were so excited to have a day in Warsaw (one of us over-excited) that we were happy to get up early to catch the 8 am train from just across the road. The hotel delivering breakfast to the room at no extra cost (a nice way of keeping people out of the communal areas) added to the adventure that lay ahead. Sadly rather than enjoying our pastries and coffee while getting ready to catch the train from the station across the road, we spent that morning in A&E, or rather me pacing up and down outside as obviously, hospitals are currently offering bare minimum.
I felt we were in good hands, helped hugely by a Polish mate from home reassuringly constantly messaging me. Also by the hotel initiating everything by getting two ambulance staff to our room administration strong pain killer within 15 minutes. Credit to the amazing Polish health care. (Patient currently two weeks into recovery, doing well).
We managed teas in the Green Cafe Nero over the road. This Nero brand appeared to be at the base of every new building. The whole hospital saga and lack of sleep set off nausea in me and I couldn’t eat or horror - drink coffee - for the rest of the trip. We managed to hobble down to eat in the hotel again, just as we couldn’t stray too far from the hotel although I only managed about half of it this time, I’m glad we did it.
Krakow is endlessly pretty and effortlessly friendly. Even though we only managed two days plus one too-warm-too move in, I loved Krakow and I’m looking forward to going back.
August 2020
Coffee Cult
