Travel to Krakow

Trip Start Sep 15, 2005

Trip End Mar 20, 2006

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Flag of Poland Krakow, Poland
Monday, November 7, 2005

This morning I stuffed my face with A LOT of food and rehydrated from all the walking I did yesterday. Boy, do I need a shower-haha. I was so lazy this morning. I did a little souvie shopping after b-fast and caught the correct train on time-you all must be so proud! I have a small to do list, including jotting down a list for my landlord with directions for a makeshift studio. I also need to work out my fashion issues, get directions to the hostel tonight, figure out a Krakow schedule, and think of things I want to rework in my life.
**AT THE BORDER** Upon reaching the border, I almost didn't get out of Germany cause Germany never stamped my Passport since they are connected with France and I was using my Eurail pass. But crossing over to Eastern Europe, they had some serious issues. My Passport was confiscated for awhile and they had to break down the rules for me in English cause I couldn't understand what the deal was

. I thought if I needed a stamp, they would stamp it-I can't believe I have to go out of my way to do that if leaving a set of unionized countries! Argh, well, I know for next time I guess.
I also taught myself the basic polish language on the train. Lots of fun. It seems really easy to learn/ speak because it seems to make sense like English as far as pronunciation and hearing the words. It's aggressively spoken like English and German. That's why I don't like French too much, eh? Comprehension isn't an option here cause I am only around for three days, but I think I know enough to get around. I guess we'll see, right?
Totally changing the subject, the polish train lady was so nice and she gave me free coffee and cookies from the cart. I think that's sooooo cool. You usually have to pay a butt load, but she said I looked like I needed a boost, so to help myself. AWWWWWW!
My arrival at Krakow was fairly decent. It was dark, scary, and the station had lots of construction. There were also lots of hostel hounds waiting at the train station to see if you had a reservation already cause if not they wanted you to go with them. However, I was quick to tell them all at once to back off cause I had a place to stay already. I found the Nathan's Villa sign, but the rep was gone, so I had to figure out the trams alone :( also, after trying unsuccessfully, I had to ask for directions and figured out it wasn't tram ten I needed, it was tram 19

. Nice.
I was so impressed with Nathan's Villa. The people were really nice, the place was so clean you could lick off the floor, there was free internet, breakfast, lockers, laundry, and coffee all day. This was my type of place to be. The rooms were even nicer than the reception floor! Unbelievable. The bunks were so strong and clean, there were new wooden floors, and the bathrooms were private in each room with a great shower, flushable toilet, and gorgeous sink. Even though I should have, I didn't even think to take pictures of the place, but just imagine it was like nice hotel-really awesome place to be staying at.
For now I thought that tomorrow I would do Auschwitz-Birkenau and then some window shopping and scouting around the Jewish sector. There are a couple of things I would like to buy, not to mention a fleece of some sort cause I am freezing even with all my layers. POLAND IS COLD!!!

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