Poland: Kool Krakow

Today I have just been wandering around Krakow old town, and I also went up to Wawel Hill where the old castle is. Krakow is a great place, I really love it. It's got a real buzz about it, and the buildings are very nice and historic. The streets are made for wandering, and the whole old town is encircled in an area of public gardens where the old town wall used to be. People watching has been one of my main passtimes today, it's been good, and the weather has cleared up a bit as well.

There was a cultural festival of some description in the main square today with dancers and musicians so I watched a bit of that and just walked around looking at stuff basically. A nice relaxed day. Tomorrow I think I will go to Auschwitz-Birkenau... the former Nazi concentration camps. It won't be fun, it won't be pretty, but I quite frankly couldn't come to Poland and not go. Some people at the hostel were saying "oh, why would you go, it will just be depressing". But the fact is, if you aren't willing to go outside your comfort zone you shouldn't even bother leaving home. And you can't ignore history, and proximity to it is one of the best reminders of our past mistakes.