This post was originally written for my old travel blog Dream Explore Wander on 28 October 2013.
Sometimes when I travel, the egocentric me appears. I want other tourists to just go away and leave the place so I can enjoy the place all to myself, savouring the atmosphere and imagining how the place was like in the past. This was how I felt when I arrived in the old town of Kraków.
This year I explored a Polish city to which I haven’t been before, Kraków. The former capital city is charming with an old city you would find hard to leave, a castle full of interesting stories and a trumpet call from its basilica. It’s no wonder that I wanted to be selfish and have the place all to myself, if only I could. The place is popular with tourists in the summer, but the more I hung around in the old town, the more I loved the place and didn’t mind the crowd, in fact I started loving the visitors passing by the streets – they are like the salt and pepper in a dish.
Whenever I’m in Poland, I feel strangely at home and smugly think myself as a local though my face features says I’m certainly not Polish and the only words I know are basic hello (Cześć or Dzień dobry or Witam – the Polish has so many ways to say hello!) and thank you (Dziękuję) and several swearing words thanks to my wonderful Polish friends! Visiting Poland, I know for sure that I will leave the place with a wide grin and a warm feeling at heart.Read More »