Last month, I went to Kraków for my birthday, and honestly, I did not expect to miss it this much.
This year, I turned 27, and for my birthday, my parents decided to gift me the possibility of going to a European capital. I wasn’t sure exactly where I wanted to go.
Actually, no, that’s a lie.
I really wanted to go back to the country where I did my studies, but unfortunately, it was not possible because I could only travel for about five days. They told me they could send me for only about five days because it was cheaper that way, and they wanted me to have a shorter holiday so I could focus on other personal things.
If I went back to the place where I did my studies, it would have taken me about a day to get there because I would have had to catch a bus after catching a plane. So we decided on another location.
My parents actually went to Kraków last year. In case you don’t know, Kraków is a city in Poland. Unfortunately, my parents messed up a lot on their trip. They ended up traveling at the wrong time. First of all, the weather was not the best. Second of all, it was some sort of bank holiday, so they couldn’t even go to the mall because it was closed. Third of all, they did not go to the bunny café.
So, knowing all of this, I knew that when I went to Poland, I had to go to all of these places.
I was only there for five days, but I wished I could have stayed for at least two more days because it was so good.
On the first day, honestly, the weather surprised me so much. I was so used to the heat in my country that I was completely unprepared for the rain. As soon as I got to my apartment, because I was staying in an apartment, not a hotel room, I literally left right away to catch the tram and try to get to this one free location I wanted to visit. Unfortunately, the rain was horrible, and I could not go.
I was also supposed to go to Oskar Schindler’s Factory on Monday because they open it for free on Mondays, so I missed that as well. But the good thing is that at least I was prepared for the trams in the sense that I had a ticket and everything.
The bad thing was that I was unprepared when it came to their currency, the złoty. I had set up Revolut, but it did not work, so I had to transfer the money back to my bank account. The good thing is that when you pay by card, and your default currency is not the Polish złoty, the machine displays an option asking whether you want to pay in złoty or in your own currency. That was super helpful because it helped me convert everything, especially while I was shopping.
Honestly, all of my days ended up being super mixed there. My first day was supposed to be for sightseeing, and I was supposed to do sightseeing for the first two or so days. Then the third day was supposed to be a mall day, and the fourth day was supposed to be me just walking around town and exploring by myself. But my days ended up being completely mixed.
First of all, I don’t know if you guys have been to Poland, but there is a pretty famous street called Floriańska Street. It was named after some Florian. I don’t remember, sorry. There is a Starbucks there that opens at 6 o’clock in the morning.
If you don’t know me, or if you know me in real life, you know that I am the type of person, or at least I have trained myself to be the type of person, who wakes up super early in the morning. And I mean super, super early in the morning.
So it was amazing for me that there was a Starbucks that opened so early. I don’t know, it just made me so happy. I would wake up every single morning at around 5 o’clock after I found out there was a Starbucks, because I was like, hey, we can do our writing sessions in the morning, right?
When I saw that there was a Starbucks that opened at 6 o’clock, oh my gosh, that was amazing for me. It immediately changed my routine in Poland. I literally developed a routine, even though I could only do it for about four days, since on the fifth day I was flying back home early. And I mean early in the morning.
So I would wake up early, go to Starbucks, do my writing there, and focus on my tasks for the day. I would stay there until about 9:30, then I would go back, leave my laptop to charge, and go explore the town.
I would pretty much grab the tram and head wherever I wanted to go. I actually managed to go to the photography museum, which is called MUFO, and they had a free exhibition about how photography basically came to be.
I was a little disappointed, I’m not going to lie. I honestly thought I would be able to explore more there, see cameras and whatnot, but I could not because that was the paid exhibition, I guess, and I was only trying to do the free one. I was basically trying to do a lot of free things, like walking, exploring, and going to free exhibitions.
It still bothers me that I couldn’t visit Oskar Schindler’s Factory, but the weather didn’t allow it. It was super rainy on my first day, so I couldn’t even go and see it.
But on the second day, or actually in the afternoon, everything changed drastically for the better. The weather changed, I grabbed the tram after drying off, and I went to my favorite drugstore, where I found some amazing Essence products, y’all.
Oh my gosh, I found this super good facial cream that’s almost like a BB cream or a CC cream. I’m not sure. Probably a BB cream. It worked so well. I literally used it the whole time I was in Poland. I am not using it at the moment, but it is a really good product.
I also got the blue primer from TikTok, the blue e.l.f. Cosmetics Grip Primer, and I LOVE IT. I get the hype. I really do. Sometimes products go viral, and you’re like, okay, but is it actually that good? And then you try it, and you’re like, oh. Okay. Yeah. I understand now.
My skin does need a little bit of extra coverage, unfortunately, but I found an amazing, amazing, beyond amazing product by the brand AA, not to be confused with LAAB, which is about two times more expensive than AA. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the product, but it is in a pink tube, and it is a mineral foundation for sensitive skin.
It is so good. It literally covers pretty much all of my imperfections, which is so, so important to me because my skin has some redness, and at the moment, I have a terrible pimple that just won’t go away. So yeah, it is honestly amazing.
Other impressions: I did go to the bunny café, and oh my gosh, it was so good. I only had 25 minutes with the bunnies, unfortunately, but it was the best 25-minute slot that I had. It was so amazing to pet them and feed them. I couldn’t actually cuddle them, but I would have loved to. I pet them, fed them, and took some photos.
They were so cute, honestly. I can’t wait for the day I have a bunny myself because they are so underrated. Other than that, I did not try any of the items on the menu except for water, so I can’t comment on the quality of their drinks. But honestly, I would just go there for the bunnies, not for fancy drinks or anything.
It is an amazing place, and the bunnies were just so cute. Oh my gosh, I literally almost cried when it was time to say goodbye. Just knowing that I won’t be seeing them ever again, or maybe not for a couple of years, breaks my heart. Seriously, they were so cute.
That was on the second day, by the way, and it was important for me to do this.
On my third day, I don’t actually remember what I did, but on my fourth and last full day, I pretty much went to the city center, Floriańska Street, and the area around it. I just walked, explored, and tried hot chocolate.
I actually did that on the third day as well. I tried hot chocolate from two different places. One of them was E. Wedel, and there was another one too. I tried the cherry-flavored hot chocolate, and it was amazing. The consistency was so thick. I mean, it wasn’t super thick, but it was thick.
I don’t think I have ever tried hot chocolate like that, except for one place where I live that has even thicker hot chocolate. It was so good. Oh my gosh, it was amazing, and I love the combination of chocolate and cherries, so it really hit the spot for me. I loved it so much.
Other than that, here are some of my impressions of Poland.
I did not really like the food. I thought there was too much dough. I wasn’t sure what to eat. I tried some regional foods. I did not eat the soups, at least not the traditional ones, because I really wanted to try the street food, but I didn’t really know if I liked it.
I ended up eating a lot at McDonald’s because I love trying fast food in different places just to see what the regional items are. I also went to Popeyes because we do not have it where I live. I tried the lemonade at Pasibus, but I could not try a meal there because I ended up getting Popeyes again since they had newer items.
They literally launched new items on the second day of my arrival. That was epic. Popeyes was amazing, by the way. Or maybe it felt amazing because we don’t have it where I live. Either way, it was so good.
I also tried Pizza Hut, but I did not eat pizza. I had salad and soup because I was getting really bored.
Oh, I totally forgot to mention this, but I also went to Nowa Huta, and I tried a salad there. It was kind of gourmet. It was really good, actually, and I would recommend the restaurant to anyone, if I have to be honest.
Honestly, if you grew up in a post-socialist country, you probably won’t be super impressed by Nowa Huta. But at the same time, to me, it looked really good. It reminded me a lot of where I live, if I have to be honest. I liked the atmosphere. It wasn’t anything super special, but I liked it.
My stomach was too small for me to try a bunch of shit the way people do in vlogs and whatnot. I just could not. My stomach literally grew smaller in Poland. I found myself eating less than I usually do.
Their Starbucks was also amazing. I loved this cheesecake-on-a-stick type of thing. It was so good. I loved it. I wish we had it where I live.
Another thing I really liked, as I already mentioned, was Popeyes. I also tried KFC, and they had a pocket bowl, but I didn’t really like it. It was kind of a waste of money, but hey, at least we tried it. That’s important.
I did try the trdlo/trdelník, but honestly, it was so much dough, and it was too… I don’t know. I didn’t like it. I also tried traditional Polish donuts, and I did not like them either. Too much dough.
I don’t know. I just feel like I honestly didn’t like Polish food, and I think it’s okay to say that. I probably should have tried their salads, maybe, or some Korean street food, but I don’t know. We have similar things where I live, and I really wanted to try more things that we don’t necessarily have where I live.
So that was it, basically. I do regret not trying a proper meal at Pasibus. I only tried a drink, but honestly, as I said, my stomach just grew smaller.
The most amazing thing for me, however, was waking up early, starting my day early, and grabbing the tram. The trams are so amazing there, by the way. They are so smooth.
I have been struggling a lot lately, for almost a month and a half, with getting on the subway because I feel kind of claustrophobic there, even when there are not a lot of people. Honestly, in Poland, I did not feel like that on the tram at all, although I did only take the tram because I loved them.
I also loved their tram system. You use this app called Jakdojade, and I believe you can pay 50 złoty for a 72-hour transport pass. You scan a code when you enter a vehicle, and then you have a validated ticket. It is valid for 72 hours, which is so amazing.
But yeah, I think what I loved most of all was the fact that I was able to write so much. I had just started one of my new stories, and I was able to work so much on it. I think I wrote at least 5,000 words, probably 6,000. Maybe even 7,000, 8,000, or 10,000 words in five days. I am not sure, but I wrote a lot. And I mean a lot of words.
I think I finished at least three chapters, which makes me super proud of myself.
I just adored the fact that there was a place where I could be myself, for real. I could wake up early, go out, grab a drink, work, and just exist in that routine.
I do regret not staying there for longer. I would basically end my days at around 6 p.m. in my room with whatever dinner I had grabbed, fast food or whatever, and then I would curl up in bed and watch The Guardian with Simon Baker, which is a good show, by the way. I recommend it.
But yeah, I totally regret not spending more time at Starbucks writing, because I could have literally written even more. I could have literally done this more. How the hell did I not do this? It’s beyond me.
Other than that, I am really happy that I went to Poland. I am so happy I managed to go and see everything.
I totally forgot to mention this, but the mall close to Floriańska Street, which I think is called Galeria Krakowska, is honestly the best mall I have seen. It is connected to the bus, tram, and train stations. I also got to try the underground tram.
Honestly, dear Polish people, why do you want a subway in Kraków? It’s beyond me. Your trams are amazing. Literally, they are so smooth. For real.
But yeah, honestly, if I could go anywhere again this year, especially in August or September, it would totally be Kraków again, because I miss the bunnies. I miss Starbucks on Floriańska Street. I miss my writing sessions. I miss everything that made this trip amazing.
