Krakow, Poland -- Part One

Rose and I went to Krakow this weekend! We left on Saturday morning and got back Wednesday night. Why go to Krakow, you ask? The plane tickets were super cheap, that's why! Turns out, it was our favorite place we've traveled to so far.

Krakow is the second largest city in Poland, after the capital, Warsaw. Our hostel was southeast of the Wawel Castle in the Kazimierz area.

We stayed in the Panda Hostel for four nights. It was a really great hostel, probably the best one I have ever stayed at!
The only problem was, there were no screens on the windows, so at night bugs would fly into our room. We got in late the first night and found them scattered on the top bunk, which was Rose's bed. We were SO disgusted, I mean, who wants to sleep with bugs?! Rose and I ended up sharing the bottom bunk bed, her head on one side and mine on the other.

Another problem with Poland was that you couldn't drink the water from the tap! This was so odd to me. Poland is a second world country, though, which makes sense. We were rebels and drank a few glasses of tap water the first day, but I felt a little sick the day after. Rose and I had to keep buying large bottles of water, which were about 2.25 zloty, which is less than $.75! Not bad, Poland!

Let me tell you about Poland's currency.

They use zloty (PLN or zt). One zloty = $.31. One dollar = $3.19 zt. This was a very good exchange rate! When we saw things for sale, there would be so many numbers! We got used to assuming how much it would be in dollars by dividing it in thirds.

For example, ever since I've seen this beautiful H&M dress on the sides of Dublin buses and billboards, I have been on the hunt to buy it. When we were looking for it in a Barcelona H&M, they said that they were sold out! I didn't know it was a seasonal item, so I was really bummed out. Rose and I went shopping one day when we were in Krakow and we found the dress! It's a size larger than what I would have chosen first, but it was the last one. I had to get it, I was in love with it! Anyway, it wasn't $79, don't worry. It was only $27!

What do you think?

Poland was full of great news! I found the perfect dress, after hearing that it was sold out, Rose and I met a very handsome man from Portugal, I heard that I was hired as a Gamma Chi and for the Social Media Internship on Monday, AND we went to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. Okay, the last part doesn't sound like good news, but it was very interesting. Keep reading for more stories about Poland!