Kraków, Polska!

A long weekend to Poland (minus Fletch) for a work/holiday (Ellie) and holiday (guys). Kraków has a very pretty old town centre as the city was saved from bombing during the war. The architecture of some buildings is striking and many original features remain intact. Toured the city one afteroon: the traditional market, market square, cloth hall, up the gothic tower for some great views, Wawel castle and the Jewish quarter. Had traditional Polish food for dinner - dumplings, meat, more meat, lard... all things stodgy; it's a suprise more Poles aren't obese! Stayed at Greg & Tom hostel (highly recommended) and the staff took us on a vodka and beer (pipes) pub crawl one of the nights. Ended up dancing the night away in Frantic. Next morning we were in recovery. In the afternoon I went to the Lazy experimental basin in the countryside (conference field excursion) and dined in Niepolomice Castle which was very grand. Last day we vacated early and joined a coach trip to Auschwitz. As expected, a fairly depressing tour, but very interesting and insightful. You just can't comprehend the scale of these historical events unless you visit the location, and even then it's still beyond your imagine.