This has gotta be the most unlucky trip that i've been on so far.. 2 encounters each with train conductors and the police respectively within the span of just 2 days in Warsaw spells out everything.. but before i go into that, i shall touch on the more happening part of my trip at Krakow.
Krakow (18th to 20th Apr)
Krakow was the former capital of Poland before it was moved to Warsaw in 1791. It is one of the oldest and largest city in Poland. We arrived at Krakow after a 3-hour train ride from Warsaw.. but had difficulties navigating to our hostel.. Luckily for us, there was this kind Polish couple who offered to give us a free ride, together with another American whom the wife had met at Warsaw, to our hostel.. absolutely grateful man.. Anyway our hostel was really cheap but excellent in terms of its location, facilities and receptionists.
Right after dumping our stuff, we headed to the Old Town which contains most of the attractions.. On our way there, we were busy hunting down restaurants which served great food.. The prices of the food were stunningly cheap not to mention how huge the portions were.. We had a preview of the Market Square which is a 200 metres square, arguably one of the world's most beautiful plazas. On it stood several attractions such as the Cloth Hall, Town Hall Tower, Church of St. Mary etc. Once again, this city is a major centre of local and international tourism, attracting seven million visitors per year.
Our first dinner at a Georgian Restaurant near the Market Square. The food you get here is superb at affordable prices. It's no wonder that they have several outlets around the Square.
The Cloth Hall, by day and night.. once a major centre of trade, now it houses numerous souvenir shops and is still a popular landmark in Krakow.
Other landmarks include: (clockwise from top left) Remnants of the City Wall, a two-mile-long walls with 39 towers and 8 gates in the medieval times; Church of St. Mary's, famous for its unmatched giant Gothic altarpiece carved by great Veit Stoss between 1477 and 1489; Town Hall Tower, a gothic tower that stands at 70m. 
Knonicza Street, the most scenic street in Krakow, where John Paul II lived as a priest & bishop. (1951 - 1963)
Wawel Royal Castle, home to three dynasties of Poland's monarchs.
Strangely, you do not spot hotdog stands along the streets of Krakow. Instead, they have bagel stands flooding the entire Market Square.
Another Nazi Concentration Campsite.. the Auschwitz.. kinda depressing to learn about the treatment of the prisoners then.. May world peace prevail.
Auschwitz I:
Auschwitz II:
Warsaw (20th to 23rd Apr)
Okie.. on to the jinxed city i was talking about.. on our way to take the metro on the first day, we were checked by conductors and realised that we had bought the wrong 3-day passes by genuine mistake.. we were entitled to only 48% discount instead of 50% for polish students.. but well, the difference was just 20cents zloty (~10cents sgd) so the conductors let us off and told us not to repeat the offence in the future.. then came nightfall, we ran into another conductor.. this time round, he refused to budge and even told us we should be buying a 100% priced tic and had no choice but to pay the fine of 86zlotys (~45sgd).. when we tried to reason out with him and plead for leniency, he directed us to the police instead and threatened to detain us till morning.. After an hour or so of explanation, they refused to let us off so we had no choice but to pay the fine..
Then came the second day, 2 policemen came up to us at a traffic light junction, accusing us of apparently jay-walking on a road that was under construction! C.R.A.P! anyway they checked our ID and just when we thought we were going to kena fined again.. they were activated to report somewhere else.. haha..
So moral of the story? dont bother buying a discounted ticket in poland since things are so cheap and dont ever jay walk here.. you dont know who's watching you!
okie.. now for the post proper.. Basically there's nothing much in Warsaw compared to Krakow.. visited the old town, a humongous flea-market and a couple of museums that's about it.. so if you guys have time to choose just 1 city, take Krakow anytime!
So-called Russian flea-market but all we see are vietnamese vendors. Weird!
Stalls surrounding an abandoned stadium.
Royal Palace.
Warsaw Uprising Museum, built in 2004 to commemorate the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
The museum caretaker teaching us to play a typical prisoners' game.. Boy he's darn good at it!
Warsaw's most hated building.. the Palace of Culture and Science.. a gift from the Soviet Union.
Among the sins, we have: Polish styled soup, Polish dumplings, Pork knuckles, Pork ribs, Pork shoulder steak, Grilled catfish, Apple crumbles, Chocolate cakes, Polish donuts etc etc.
Okie that sums up my "adventures" in Poland.. absolutely enriching experience i must say.. and not to forget meng for his excellent hosting and planning for the past 3 days! Thanks meng!
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