There’s a bar in Kraków named after Bill Hickman, the stunt driver from films like Bullitt, The French Connection and The Love Bug. Why this exists is not clear but this post will tell you how we got there.
Up early to get to Gatwick and catch a flight to Kraków in Poland. This is the first time we’ve been East of Salzburg, Austria so it’ll be interesting to see how former Soviet Bloc countries are doing as part of the EU. Taxis in Central and Eastern Europe definitely lean more to the sketchy side so we take advantage of a private transfer arranged via the Airbnb host.
By the way, prices here are significantly lower than the UK, for example, you can get a decent apartment for $60/night. We’re in the process of unpacking and feeling smug about our surroundings and location when I realize I left our IPad in the plane seat pocket. We become experts overnight in what to do to find an item left behind on a plane, with the bottom line being to sign up with First Flight /airlinelostproperty.com right away and don’t expect anything talking to the airline luggage and lost property staff. (The IPad was eventually located and we plan to meet up with it in Italy)..
Feeling down but we got on with seeing the city – The main square, Rynek Glowny, dating back to Mediaeval times, is massive, awe-inspiring and lined with cafes, bars and restaurants. We have a go at traditional Polish cuisine, and are less than overwhelmed, but the decent beer is wonderfully inexpensive. Kraków is right keen on jazz clubs and the Harris Piano Jazz Bar is a classic example of a subterranean bebop dive. Just an open mic night but the, mostly, young cats rip into it with a rocking, almost prog, feel to some of the tunes.
Day 2 the rain continues but we soldier on after an hour or so of chasing the IPad round Europe (Planes here, typically, complete 4 legs a day and, with the Flightradar24 app, you can track where your plane subsequently went). We do a DIY Old Town walking tour courtesy of travel guide Rick Steves – You can knock his fashion sense but his stuff is very handy when you know nothing about a country or city. Interacting with the locals is interesting in that little time is wasted on pleasantries. When you ask a typically dumb question the young ladies in the tourist industries respond “why do you want to (insert stupid tourist idea)” in a beguiling but very brusque tone before giving you the lowdown.
The Old Town is marvelous but there are very many tourists and a significant fraction of those are of the stag/hen party variety, with the nightlife reflecting that, so we head on over to the Jewish Quarter, which is more bohemian, and end up at the atmospheric Singer bar which has old world charm, plus you get your own Singer sewing machine, not to mention $2 local vodka shots.
The next day the Wieliczka Salt Mines are our destination. A salt mine might not sound like a fun idea but this one has produced salt since the 13th Century, generating enormous wealth. Blah, blah but it’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site due to the dozens of statues and four chapels carved out of the rock salt by the miners. Everything is made out of wood or rock salt as metal quickly corrodes in the unique environment. It’s an underground city nearly 300 kilometers long, though much of that is not now accessible, and the tourist route encompasses only 2% of what is down there. You could get lost and never make your way out again, so stay close on the guided tour. St Kinga’s Chapel is amazing, definitely worth a visit if you come to Kraków. Plus you get to ride back up to the surface in the old miners’ lifts which could double up as a rustic amusement park ride.
We end up back in Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter which has been known as such since the 15th Century. During the Nazi period all Jews were “relocated” from the area, and it fell into disrepair during communist times, but after the movie “Schindler’s List” was filmed here in the early 90s, and a Jewish Cultural Festival introduced, Krakovians regained interest in Jewish culture and the place has been mostly reenovated, while retaining a suitable rough edge in places.
Here you can find what used to be called “4/8” bars, 4 zloty a shot of vodka and 8 zloty for a snack (1 zloty = $0.25)! These are not New York prices but, even so, inflation has come to Poland as can be seen by this photo – Doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Wandering around there at night we come across the Bill Hickman bar and our curiousity is piqued. There were a few momentos of Bill but no explanation why, however, small vodka shots are 4 zloty, there are craft beers, a seriously curated funk soundtrack and an amiable bunch of local young bohemians with which to banter.
Things got fuzzy as the vodka shots kept coming and, after stumbling back to the apartment, I started to feel rather strange. Drunk for sure but, perhaps, also the beginning of a malaise brought on by too much everything on the road.
On to another university town, Wroclaw, tomorrow. Can Abby and I survive this totally inadvisable itinerary? Come back and find out.
Leave a Reply