It's hard to imagine that I left the US only a week ago. Even harder to grasp is how much change can come to a person in a single week. I think that perhaps the biggest theme for this season of my life is best described as "unknown". I intend to navigate my travels by following intuition and opportunity, chasing the flow of life and allowing myself to be surprised at where I end up. After my week in Kraków, this philosophy gives me confidence for whatever is to come.
Leading up to my departure I spent 6 weeks in Seattle with Jerred, Brandi, and the kids. I was put to work on house projects, revived my swimming lesson skills, and tried to maintain my sanity whilst living with a 5 and 7 year old—not to mention training my liver for all of the European travel. I left Seattle at 6pm on Thursday, January 16, landing in London at 11:50am on Friday, the 17th. The flight was uneventful, and after a short layover in Heathrow I was on my next flight to Kraków, Poland.
Unfortunately, it was decided that we would be unable to land due to heavy fog, and the flight was diverted to Warsaw. After lots of waiting, British Airways told us that we could get a hotel and they would try to find us a flight the next day. Most passengers made their peace with the news, but the woman sitting behind me was having none of it. Basha, a British/Polish retiree, had a party to attend, and damned if she wasn't getting to Kraków that night. Not one to miss an opportunity, I asked Basha if I could tag along, and she navigated us via train to Kraków. We spent the three hour train ride talking about life, philosophy, and sharing her lunch (I was initially shamed for trying to be polite in declining). We got to Kraków around 1am and parted ways—her off to a party, and myself off to find my air bnb and some long overdue sleep.
Waking up the next morning was a wonderful, strange feeling. I woke up without an alarm and realized that I had absolutely nowhere to be—no commitments, nothing weighing on me, not a care in the world. It should be mentioned, I have opted not to utilize a phone plan while I am traveling, so everything is done solely off of wifi. I set out to find some breakfast, enjoying the insanely cheap prices of Eastern Europe (13 PLN for a full Polish breakfast, which is roughly $3.50). The rest of the day I spent meandering through the old town: a maze of medieval squares, castles, and cobblestone streets that transport you to an entirely different world.
Kraków is also home to a number of museums, Holocaust memorials, and a variety of different historical districts and buildings. In my week there, I visited Oskar Schindler's enamelware factory and museum, the Kraków Museum of Modern Art, The Manggha Japanese/Polish Museum, explored the Old Town and the Royal Palace, Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter), and took a tour of Auschwitz. I was also fortunate enough to experience the city through the eyes of some kind locals.
I met a woman named Gosia (pronounced "go-shuh"), through the couchsurfing app. Gosia is an english language teacher, and she and her husband are Kraków natives. She was kind enough to take me out for a long walking tour of the city, showing me all of the hidden secrets and local restaurants that might be passed over as a tourist.
Oddly enough, the other local that I met was ALSO named Gosia— I asked if this was a common Polish name, but it apparently is not, so it was just a funny coincidence. We met at a language exchange, and after some conversation we discovered a shared love for dancing. In perhaps one of the best memories I have from Kraków, Gosia took me to a hidden bar to show me the local Lindy Hop scene. I've never danced Lindy Hop, but I can say that opening a door into a bar that was full of Polish people dancing to 1930's American music was quite an experience. Gosia showed me some basic steps, and patiently put up with my attempts to keep up (Lindy Hop is not quite like Tango. . . )
It was such a funny feeling, to be surrounded by so much American influence and culture, and yet I was decidedly the only American in the room. What a strange, funny world we live in.
I left Kraków feeling like I had so much still to see, as though I was only just getting to see the real city in my last days there. But, what a wonderful city, with wonderful people. I have no doubts that I will return. As for right now; I'm currently killing some time in Munich, Germany. I flew here from Kraków yesterday and spent the night in a cheap hostel next to the hauptbahnhof (central station).
In a few hours I'll be meeting up with Alex, a British climber, to head to the Austrian alps for some ice and mixed climbing. The weather looks wonderful, and after a week in the city I am hungry to be in the mountains.
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