Day 139: Wrocław

Another train, another dollar, makes us both holler about how awesome it is to be in Eastern Europe again (Go Poland).
We arrived in Wrocław in the afternoon and got settled in our spacious $39Les mer
Another train, another dollar, makes us both holler about how awesome it is to be in Eastern Europe again (Go Poland).
We arrived in Wrocław in the afternoon and got settled in our spacious $39 dollar apartment with full kitchen (you can’t make these prices up). The city is the third largest in Poland and has faced many cultural changes from invasions from the Slavs, Austrians, Russians, and Germans.
Regardless, the city architecture and bridges are still killing it. We walked around old town, got some smoked meats, and kept our eyes open for the little gnomes that litter the city.
Kieran was looking pretty distraught and tired from all the walking/physical exercise. After a bit of obnoxious digging, Kieran finally admitted his Great Aunty Pam passed away this morning (he’s very bad at sharing this type of information). So please pour one out for Great Aunty Pam who made it to 99 years old!
Hotel: BikeUp Wroclaw
Restaurant:
Setka
Food:
PEROGIS!!!
Braised Pork Knuckle
Spots:
Wrocław Market Square
Wroclaw Old Town Hall
Ostrów Tumski
Kamieniczki "Jaś i Małgosia"Les mer
Krakow, the second largest city, is the center of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life. The old town is considered a UNESCO heritage site and the famous Krakow Polish dolls are collected internationally.
Our train arrived in the afternoon and we checked into our adorable little apartment. Made the mistake of almost walking into a school until some Polish nuns stopped us at the door. We spent the remainder of the day walking through Old Town and enjoying a colorful sunset. In the town square, there was a memorial event occurring for Ukraine and it was sobering to remember that Poland is on the northern border where many Ukrainians have fled.
Hotel: R&R Rooms Krakow
Restaurant: Chinkalnia Restauracja Gruzińska
Food:
(We cheated and had Georgian food)
Khinkali
Kubdari
Szeferili Bostuneli
Spots:
Krakow Old Town
Kraków Barbican
Rynek Główny Plaza
Grunwald MonumentLes mer
Tough and triggering post today, but we must cover it and relevant topics.
When traveling, it’s important to learn local history, even when subject matter is disturbing. If you do visit Poland, it’s imperative that you go to the largest German Concentration Camp and Memorial Museum to learn about the 1.3 million Jews, Poles, Hungarians, Czechians, Slovenians, Romanians, and Soviet prisoners who were murdered viscously in Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The Holocaust and Jewish extermination was meticulously planned by Hitler, the SS, and German Wehrmacht and supported by everyday Germans; the prisoners, survivors, and victims were beaten, experimented on, starved, tortured, gassed, and shot in Auschwitz. Most Jewish victims were uprooted from their homes, trained to Auschwitz, and shuffled into gas chambers within 30 minutes of arrival. When the Soviet Army was close to victory on the Eastern Front, the Nazis attempted to hide their war crimes by blowing up the gas chambers, evacuating prisoners, and lighting fire to the lodging. This was a State ran and State executed operation from the top to bottom, and Auschwitz was only three camps of its entire Jewish camp and ghetto extermination system.
To this day in America and Europe, there are Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis who make light of this tragic history and commit hate crimes in person and online; they continue to conduct anti-Semitic rallies and work their way into American political discourse. There are also existing Middle Eastern extremist governments and terror organizations in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Gaza who also would like to see death to Jewish people, as evident in the Hamas October 7 terrorist attack and attempts to underestimate the total number of Jewish Holocaust victims.
But let us be clear on where we stand on current events: the Israeli state government and military is actively committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Through the denial of aid and food; intentional bombings of hospitals, schools, mosques, water sanitation facilities, refugee camps; and the systematic raids, prison torture, settler attacks, and bulldozing of homes in the West Bank, the state of Israel and specific Israeli politicians/commanders are enabling the systematic destruction of a specific group of people. The Geneva Convention, ICC, and ICJ does not factor in who starts wars and tit for tat military actions: each party is solely evaluated on the atrocities they commit in isolation. Hamas will face ramifications for its terrorist attack and constant targeting of Tel Aviv/other cities and Israeli government leaders will face ramifications for the the destruction of the Gaza Strip.
The Biden Administration, due to military strategic importance and the desire to play identify politics with Jewish super PACs and voters, continues to shield the Israeli state government from international criminal courts. We think this is bad for America overall and our nation is losing the trust of international communities to protect democracy and distribute justice equitably. Despite all this, it’s important that right wing leaders and Jewish hating politicians do not enter our US government and political system. We will still vote for Biden because the alternative is so much worse.
TLDR: We continue to hope for a Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders and a free, safe Israeli State where Jewish citizens can live without the fear of missiles, bombings, and attacks.
#FreePalestine #StopGenocide #CeasefireNowLes mer
The train ride to Warsaw was 4 hours so we woke up early and grabbed a 9:45 to arrive by 1pm. We had an opportunity to do a bar crawl in Prague, but decided to rest instead; thus, Warsaw would be our official bar crawl night. We relaxed and prepared our bodies by drinking water, eating perogis and other heavy dishes, and sneaking in a nap (aka an hour of work).
Warsaw Pub Crawls offers tours to meet others while drinking at local bars ($20 per person); you receive a welcome drink and play games at the first bar to break the ice and then receive a welcome shot at each new bar. After four bars, you go to the club!
We sat down at a table with one American from Alabama (Brady) and then were joined by Jonas from Sweden, Wilheim from Netherlands, Lukas from Belgium, and Christian from Germany. Our squad was set for the night. We had so much fun bouncing around to each bar, playing flip cup, and watching the younger kids sing karaoke. Mary was 1 of 4 girls on a 30 person crawl so it was hilarious to watch all the guys try their luck with the other 3 girls (specially Jonas and Wilheim). Christian and Lukas gave up and were content to spend time with us as fourth wheels.
At the final bar, Kieran was feeling pretty saucy and it was time to go home. We tried to say goodbye but Lukas and Christian were distraught. We agreed to meet up with them the next day and walked home 40 minutes. Kieran was actually very drunk so fed him some ramen noodles and water to prepare for damage recovery.
Hostel:
Level Rooms
Restaurant:
Radio Cafe
Food:
More Perogis
Stuffed Cabbage Roles
Polish Wedding Soup (Tripe)Les mer
Following a great night out, we consumed many perogis and ramen packs for breakfast to start our post-hangover healing. Christian and Lucas reached out and asked to meet us in Old Town.
Similar to other European Old Towns, the square looked like a perfect little Christmas market with colorful houses and cobblestone streets. We met in the garden and watched a parade of furries march down the street. Christian and Lucas were also nursing hangovers and didn’t really remember getting home or saying goodbye.
It started pouring rain so we ran to a craft brewery. Lucas was struggling with his single beer so he headed to the hostel for a nap. Christian continued walking with us through the Karolina Park gardens and Barbican Castle until it downpoured again! We ran into a beer garden and had some mulled wine/shot. Lucas re-emerged anew, met us at the beer garden, and we got a text from Jonas and Wilheim for a dinner meet up 😃
The original squad reformed and we enjoyed a lovely 3 hour dinner and more liters of beer. We learned that every person at the table actually worked in software, whether they were true developers, product managers, or technical leads; we all agreed to open an international business together should our jobs not work out 🤣 We closed out the restaurant and talked in the square a bit more before returning home.
The final agreement was to meet up in Belgium or Netherlands for another bar crawl the next weekend.
Restaurants:
Bazyliszek Restaurant
Same Krafty Vis-a-Vis
Kuchnia Warszawska Rynek
Food:
Perogis
Schnitzel
Chicken Liver
Tomato Salad
Spots:
Warsaw Old Town
Karolina Lanckorońska Park
Warsaw BarbicanLes mer
Today we dove into more World War II history and how Warsaw residents rose up to fight off both German oppressors and then Soviet oppressors. This part of Polish history was practically erased from textbooks, museums, and memorials because the Soviet government didn’t want citizens to learn how their people led an insurrection against the Nazis.
The museum detailed the horrors Polish and Jewish citizens faces in Warsaw and the ghettos. The insurgents planned underground and used sewer systems to lay communication cables, move around the city, and avoid air raid bombing. On insurrection day, the Soviet’s fell through on promises to support this group and also didn’t allow allied forces (UK/US) to land aircraft on Soviet bases to supply the insurrection. Overall, the uprising created problems for the Germans and they had some success in the beginning. However, Germany punished Warsaw for the insurrection by carpet bombing it to the ground. After the Soviets eventually removed German occupation forces, they quickly worked to label the Polish insurgents as criminals and put them in Russian labor camps to die. All mentions of the uprising were removed and no memorials could be made to their sacrifice.
It wasn’t until 1989 that more information on this uprising was released and historians worked with members to bring videos, photographs, and text to light. It was an awesome museum.
Restaurants:
GOŚCINIEC
Food:
Placki Ziemniaczane Z Gulaszem Z Szynki Wieprzowej (Potato Pancakes)
Beef Tartar
Nalsníki z Farszami (Crepes with Stuffing)
Spots:
Warsaw Uprising MuseumLes mer