Krak Attack

Spring break began with an early morning flight to Krakow! I set off with my roommates Stephanie, Liz and Anna and another friend named Kyle from SLU. We also had a huge suitcase filled with everyone's clothes and that became our 6th travel companion. When we arrived there was a bit of a temperature shock. We had been used to the hot and sunny Madrid days but Krakow was cooler and a bit gloomy but still a very quaint and beautiful city.

After checking in we were informed that the hostel was having a toga party the following night. So we headed to the second hand store to pick up some toga making materials. Who woulda thunk I would end up at a toga party in Krakow? After stocking up on supplies we went to the market square to meet up with our friends Leah and Paul. The market was awesome and we enjoyed some Polish delicacies - like bratwurst and spicy mustard, pierogis, and smoked cheese. The smoked cheese was the most interesting because it had the texture of meat...but it was cheese! It came in all shapes and sizes and it was one of the stranger things that I have seen.

Easter Market

Market Square

The toga party at the hostel was quite an adventure. We met some great new friends from Australia, Canada, America, and Poland. It was pretty funny and the Polish people probably thought we were crazy parading around in sheets.

On a more solemn note, we took a day trip to Auschwitz to tour the camps. It was about an hour away from Krakow. First we toured Auschwitz and then we walked through Auschwitz II-Birkenau (there were multiple sites to the Auschwitz complex). Auschwitz was the original Nazi work camp outside Krakow where many Polish prisoners were held. It was smaller than Auschwitz II and consisted of rows of brick buildings. The buildings showcased pictures and mementos of many of the prisoners. It was very eerie to see walls covered with the faces of people who had died in the camp. The Nazis kept everything from the prisoners so there were rooms filled with suitcases, shoes, clothing, pots and pans, hairbrushes, and even the hair from the heads of all the prisoners. Next we moved to Auschwitz II-Birkenau which was a death camp for many categories of prisoners. This camp is where the majority of prisoners died. It seemed to go on forever and I cannot even begin to imagine how many people were imprisoned there. I was really glad I had the chance to tour Auschwitz and I learned a lot about Nazi control in Poland.

into the Salt Mine

We ended our trip in Krakow with a tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mines which involved climbing down 52 flights of stairs just to get there (thank God there was an elevator to get back up). We walked for over a mile and didn't even see 1% of the whole mine! It was unbelievable, there were churches and reception halls and statues and lakes and chapels and every sort of thing you could ever imagine. And it was all made out of salt! They told us we could lick all the walls and floors because they tasted like salt. Pretty crazy and a great way to increase your sodium intake!

through the salt tunnels

Krakow was also the city of coincidences for us. In our hostel we had a roommate named Marjie from the US. We hung out with her and her friends and soon discovered that they were all traveling to Prague on the same train as us. And then we discovered we were all staying at the same hostel in Prague. On the train we had a sleeper compartment and we were snuggling into bed when someone knocked. It was Marjie...the train company had double booked one bed on the train and it just so happened to be Liz and Marjie's bed. I guess we were meant to be roommates. I also met some guys from BC and one of them happened to be roommates with my old co-worker. And then things got really weird. As we were checking out of the hostel there was a man in the lobby who looked a lot like a teacher from my high school. As he turned around I did a serious double take because it was Mr. Lally himself in the lobby of a hostel in Krakow. Talk about a small world!

Stay tuned for a post about leg two of the spring break shenanigans in Prague. Hopefully this week I will be able to post all of the stories and pictures. Hope everyone had a good Easter and safe travels!

¡Hasta la próxima!

Tuve mi primera Semana Santa española ayer. Usualmente en mi casa en los EEUU mi familia y yo comemos un desayuno grande, decoramos huevos, y vamos a la misa. Llegué en Madrid en la tarde y mi señora me dijo sobre las tradiciones de Semana Santa en España. No vi una procesión pero ella dijo que ellas son muy impresionantes e importantes en la ciudad. Para cenar, mi compañera de cuarto Dani compró unas torrijas para nostras. Torrijas son una comida muy común durante Semana Santa en España y son tan deliciosas. Aquí escribo una receta para ellas y sugiero que todos pruébenlas.

TORRIJAS INGREDIENTES:

• 1 barra de pan (mejor del día anterior)
• 1 litro de leche
• 1 rama de canela
• 1 corteza de limón
• azúcar al gusto (unas 6 cucharadas soperas)
• 2 huevos para rebozar
• aceite de oliva para freír
  

DIRECCIONES:
Se pone a cocer la leche con la canela y la corteza de limón durante unos 5 o 10 minutos, se añade el azúcar y se disuelve bien. Hay que tener en cuenta que el pan admite bastante dulce. Se corta la barra de pan en rodajas de unos 3 o 4 cm. de grosor y se colocan en una fuente un poco honda. Se cubren con la leche hasta que se empapen bien (esto es importante, porque si no quedan secas). Se rebozan con huevo (con ayuda de una cuchara) y se fríen en aceite bien caliente en una sartén honda. Hay que tener cuidado al darles la vuelta (con ayuda de una espumadera y una cuchara) para que no se desmoronen. Yo prefiero no freír más de dos cada vez. Se sacan cuando estén doradas y se colocan en una fuente. Se pueden espolvorear con azúcar y canela o cubrir con almíbar o miel aclarada.