Krakow is a glorious city. It is one of my favourite destinations in Europe. I especially love Krakow in the evening, because the golden buildings look shiny and beautiful. Krakow is also a cheap place to visit; so you can afford a luxury trip here without blowing your budget. 🙂

I had a very relaxing trip in Krakow. For about €25 per night, I stayed in a luxury single room at Appena apartment (in a very good location). For the same amount of money, I can only stay in the dorm room in other parts of Europe. I was planning a 3-night stay here, but in the end, I stayed 4 nights. I also had a lot of food here.

 

Wandering around the city of Krakow

It is warm in Krakow in early autumn. I walked around the beautiful Old Town… I really love the shiny and colourful buildings. I also appreciate the street performance; most of them are very talented! When I was tired, I sat down and ate ice cream, and watching other people feeding birds. There are a lot of beautiful horse carts (I would like to try too if I am with someone).

Krakow is just amazing.

I didn’t think much here. Just walk around and feel the moment. Isn’t this one of the most enjoying moments in life? 🙂

 

Wawel Royal Castle

Wawel Royal Castle is one of the most famous attractions in Krakow. It is a beautiful castle. There is a church and a museum here. The museum is quite popular but I did not pay to visit. The castle is nearby the garden. I have been here twice because it is so close to the city centre.

Baszta Sandomierska tower:

The dragon above is very famous in Krakow. But sorry I have to say this is the ugliest dragon that I have even seen…

 

Eat, eat and eat

A proper meal in a restaurant cost about €5-6, and the quality is very good. I had lunch in restaurants almost every day. I don’t often have the meal at a restaurant in Europe because I am on a 2-month trip, it is not sustainable if I go to the restaurant every day. But Krakow is a place where I can pamper myself!

One night I had a big dinner and I can’t fall in sleep, I was too full… Maybe I was too greedy… >.<

 

About Safety in Krakow

Many people said that Eastern Europe is not safe as other parts of Europe. Krakow is one of them. So far I think it is alright. I think it is pretty safe for a solo female traveller when it is bright.

The staff at my hostel told me that it is beautiful in the old town at night, and it is very safe too, so I should go to old town at about 9-10pm. But I don’t think so. There was once I went back from the shopping mall to my hostel at about 7.30pm (the sky was dark); it was only less than 5 minutes walking distance… A drunk guy disturbed me and blocked my way to the hostel. In the end, I have to use another direction. The drunk guy kept looking at me, but I totally ignored him. There were a few people around, I can’t imagine what happens if there is no one around in dark night! I don’t feel safe at night, so I just stay at hostel every night.

 

Wieliczka Salt Mine

It is one of the most valuable resources in Poland and hence a must-visit place if you are here. You will go into underground and see the amazing salt mine and understand how it works. It is absolutely stunning. Each year the salt mine is visited by more than one million tourists. I heard it takes a long time to queue to buy the ticket during peak season.

It was about 14-16 degrees in the underground. I was brave to wear shorts, but anyway I did not feel cold. We walked 800 steps down… The salt mine is actually very huge, and we were only visiting 1% deep of the salt mine. Most of the things here were artificial, i.e. mainly designed for tourists, including the Salt Lake. Anyway, it was really impressive.

I bought a dark blue crystal necklace here.

 

I am very relaxed in Krakow

I am very, very, very lazy in Krakow. The city is so beautiful that I can just spend hours and hours sitting here without getting bored. I was a bit worried about the safety but I found that it was not that bad. The tour guide told us that most of the people in Poland are highly educated because the education is free (although it may not be good for them as this causes a lot of Polish to immigrate to other countries since there are not enough job opportunities in Poland).

The guide also told us that the locals typically earn about €800+ per month in average but the rent in Old Town is €200+. Well, it may be a bit tough to live here, but anyway it is definitely a very good destination for tourists. It is a relatively cheap country to visit so you can have a luxury trip here. XD I hope I can come here again.

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