Welcome to Poland, where the beer is cheaper than water. Kraków is a quaint pleasant surprise, where you can eat like a queen for five dollars and buy a sweater for 89 cents. The city is painted in bright pastels and is famous for it’s assortment of delicious cakes. It almost feels like a small French town on the outskirts of Eastern Europe.

Kraków was never on my itinerary originally. After conversing with multiple backpackers they all said the same thing: go to Kraków. I meet a fellow solo backpacker in Budapest and she happens to be heading to Kraków. I take this as a cosmic sign and book a bus the next day. Traveling around Europe is extremely easy and I find intense liberation in making last minute travel decisions.

Let’s Rock Hostel is located near the heart of the city in a very old building. The place has charm and I expand my music horizons every time I hang out in the lounge. They have a free activity every night ranging from waffles to mulled wine to beer pong. With the freezing weather, mulled wine has become my new favorite drink of choice, warming from the inside out with delicious spices and orange slices.

My friend and I spend our days walking through the city and thrift shopping. We spend our nights drinking mulled wine and checking out the Jewish quarter. Kraków is insanely cheap and drinking is no exception. We find a bar, Konchanka, where you can buy 20 shots for 5 dollars. Obviously people like to party here, which becomes more evident when we wake up at 5 to catch our next bus and people are still partying in the streets.

Pope John Paul II was from a small town outside of Kraków and had a huge influence in Poland during and after the communist regime. He is credited for helping to end communism not only in his native country, but in the rest of Europe as well. Even though I don’t consider myself a religious person, I admire how much positive influence Pope John Paul II had to help revolutionize his country. He has a few museums in the city dedicated to him and there’s even a “Pope Window” where he lived for a few years while studying at the local university.

Kraków is not just a cheap and vibrant town. It is also close to Auschwitz, where my friend and I will spend a somber and emotionally charged day before heading to Prague.

The city center

Eating like a queen!

Delicious cheap alcohol

Where to next?