The magical Wawel castle and cathedral are a beautiful sight, but the fire-breathing Wawel Dragon? That was awesome. Don't give up if it takes a while to breathe the fire out, it does it for 3 seconds in 5 minute intervals.

The Emaus Easter Fair is a traditional visit for all Krakowians on Easter Monday with plenty of snacks, toys, handmade accessories and more!

If you don't have a particularly long stay in Krakow, you may want to visit Auschwitz, Birkenau and the Wieliczka Mines all in one day. It will be tiring on your feet but it will be worth every moment, and you will have more time to do other things that you may want to do on the other days of your trip. As our driver had first said on the way to Auschwitz, "I wish you a fun day, but it can't be really fun because of where we are going, it can be barely called a tourist attraction", and he is absolutely right. Visiting the remains of WW2's horror is nothing to be excited about and many people can get affected badly, please be aware of this before you visit. The best thing is to understand, reflect and respect and learn from all that you see around you. It is very different watching movies and seeing pictures, compared to knowing that every step you are making is a place where one was tortured and killed. On the another hand, since it can have an emotionally draining effect, it is nice to continue the tour with the Salt Mine in Wieliczka to brighten up your mood again. I would rather be physically drained rather than emotionally. The body will heal itself after a nap, promise. Once again - this tour is worth it and I learnt many things that I would have never known otherwise.

My visit to Krakow this month was nothing short of extraordinary. Many people might skip this city in regards to finding a "perfect" getaway, however I am here to say that the magic of this Polish town is beyond amazing and if you ever have the opportunity to pop by, please do so and it will welcome you with open arms.

One of the first things I noticed when I landed in the beautiful town of Krakow was that it was quite a small city, in comparison to the many larger ones I have visited, however because of this it had a sense of familiarity, which was very welcoming. The architecture was noticeably picturesque with plenty of decorative churches, chapels and cathedrals. Daniel and I had counted the amount of them on our road alone, of course because there are so many, we may have definitely missed some, but they amounted to 5. Which, to me, is a large number, especially considering where I currently reside, Malta, has been an intensely Catholic nation for generations on end, and yet still does not have as many churches as in Krakow. That is not to say Malta does not have enough, I just now think that there is a greater religious following within Poland.

As Daniel, one of my closest friends, and I, had gone to Krakow during Easter time, we could see Polish customs and traditions first hand. What is most interesting is the fact that although Poland is a slavic country it is not based on orthodox but rather on catholicism. In turn, this meant that we saw a variety of Easter customs that were a perfect blend of a Catholic faith and Slavic nation. This included wonderful baskets of snacks, cheeses, hard-boiled eggs painted and decorated in different colours and patterns as well as cute figurines that the Poles would have bought from nearby shops. This would then be taken to church to be consecrated on Easter Saturday and eaten and shared with the family on the morning of Easter Sunday. Another tradition that we had seen first hand which was also very different to let's say, Malta's traditions, was the bonfire on Easter Sunday outside St.Mary's Basilica in Rynek Glowny, the main square of the city. This represented the holy spirit and the resurrection of Christ. These are both slavic Easter traditions that I, myself, am accustomed to from Russia. As for the Roman Catholic side of Krakow, that is clearly seen from the architectural insides of the churches, the paintings, and the mass itself.

On another note entirely, I was impressed by the strong knowledge of the English Language. Every person that we had spoken to was almost fluent, if not so. My experience with the Poles is an extremely positive one, besides the city itself making you feel welcome because of its size and quaint beauty, it is also the people - they are friendly, respectful and above all, laidback. Asking for directions or hints and tips for travelling around was never a problem in the slightest. There are also plenty of different hostels available to stay at, at a very reasonable price and so much to do for tourists like ourselves, even if we DID decide to go during Easter Time and many places were closed. Check out my next post on what I recommend to do and where to go while in Krakow right here.