Poland

Days 83-87 – The ‘Death Train’

12:15 on a Saturday afternoon we boarded the Prague to Warsaw train at Olomouc station (to save the labour and expensive of driving there and back). The plan was a simple one; we would take this train across the boarder into Poland, change at a place called Katowice and be in Krakow by 18:00. At this juncture it is necessary to address an issue we dealt with, rather glibly in one of our videos. This particular train has notoriety amongst travellers as being a kind of mobile danger zone. There are stories of carriages being attacked with gas and people being robbed while they sleep. Tales of gangs of railway pirates leaping through windows and relieving you of your Zlotys, digital camera and mobile at the point of a sword, then running off with your women and your dignity, awaited us.

A lot of these stories emanate from that home of truth, The Internet. Now you are perhaps saying ‘there is no gas without railway pirates’ or ‘smoke without a serious engine defect’. Ok, these things may have happened at some point in the history on this major rail route, but they are surely the exceptional and not the rule. However, our experience was a fairly pleasant one. We had a six seat cabin, which we shared with no one, except a headrest that kept leaping to the floor due to the rough ride. We also did sustain third degree burns due to an exceptionally hot brew. When combined with the rough ride, it all turned into a bit of a disaster. Unfortunately there was no lukewarm, Virgin Trains brand, ‘health and safety water’ to suit our English sensibilities.

Journeys like these teach you a few things. Loud bangs and crashes are not always as bad as they sound. When your train splits in two and you do not know which part is going your way, there is a 50% it will be ok. Finally when you have changed you will probably get on at least six wrong trains and ask ten people, who will all give you different answers before you find the right one. So now we do not worry about it, because what is the worst that could happen? Gas, pirates, hot tea…

Arriving in a strange city by train can give you a romantic notion that you are on an adventure. Like most of the adventures we have, this one started with a simple question.
‘How do we get to the hostel?’
‘I don’t know but there is a map and directions on that flyer you’ve got.’
‘I don’t have it; I put it by your bed this morning.’
As driving travellers, our over reliance on the TomTom to take us door to door became very apparent. At this point we did the only thing we could. We followed a gaggle of people out of the station, in the direction we assumed was the city centre. Then lady luck appeared in the shape of a small office, selling guided tours. Its lights were on despite being past closing time and inside resided the nicest woman in Krakow. She gave us a map, showed us where the hostel was and wished us well.

Krakow is a small city that revolves around a large and beautiful square. Before long we had made it to the hostel, in to the reception and ready to check in. There was however another obstacle to overcome. No one was there, no staff and no other guests. We rang the bell, we waited, wandered around and then finally a man appeared. Looking at us quizzically, he spoke.
‘Who are you?’ he said.
‘We have a reservation.’ we said, not answering his question but hoping to appease him.
‘No you don’t!’ He was not appeased. ‘We are closed.’ He explained further. So somewhat disillusioned and not really knowing what to say we stood there, in an empty hostel in Krakow. They had closed that hostel for low season and kept their more central and expensive sister hostel open. In the end it all got sorted out. We had beds awaiting us there at the very cheap rate we had booked them for.

In total our first night in Krakow ended up being an interesting cultural experience. It turned out that the only reason there was anyone at the hostel at all was because the staff, like most people in Krakow were celebrating a popular name day. The guests at the hostel were invited to this party later on. There was drinking, singing, dancing on tables and gifts. The whole city was alive with these festivities and in many ways the celebration was a communal one. It was brilliant to see people come together and enjoy themselves in that way. It seemed like the people really took pleasure in the company of others.
Later that night we were given a slight glimpse of the other side of the coin and a disturbing side of Polish culture. We were taken out for a few drinks by a Congolese man who worked at the hostel while he was studying in Krakow. He described some of the racist attitudes he has faced since being in Poland. He moved from a smaller city where he found the general attitude to be a prejudiced one, to the more cosmopolitan Krakow. With its large university and significant tourist trade it was obviously a more accepting place. That being said he still spoke of clubs and bars that were always ‘closed’ to him, verbal abuse and violence. In other situations he said that people stared and paid him unwanted, but not always malicious, attention.

Whilst we were talking in a bar a man approached us and asked him where he was from.
‘The Congo.’
‘Wow Africa that’s cool, really exotic. You’re unusual man’.
Then the man stood there staring and none of us knew what to do.

These attitudes can never be excused but it is perhaps worth trying to put them into the context of Poland’s own history. The Nazi campaign of extermination and Second World War laid waste to over three million Polish people. This nearly wiped out the Jewish community, along with other ethnic minorities. This, combined with a lack of immigration once Poland was behind The Iron Curtain, has created a uniquely monotone ethnic make up. This of course is quickly changing now Poland is apart of the EU. Hopefully these negative attitudes will also change at the same rate.

The city of Krakow itself is a lively place, with a well preserved historic centre. A lot of was had wandering through the large Christmas market, sampling good, traditional Polish food. We watched glass blowers craft souvenirs and listened to music played on the stage. A walk up to the castle and cathedral give you chance to view Krakow old and new. The view out over the city is a spectacular site of its contemporary splendour. The Cathedral on the other hand tells the story past glories. It gives the history fifteenth and sixteenth century royalty, with a crypt full of very elaborate tombs. Also not forgetting the riveting tour of the Pope John Paul II Museum next door too.

On reflexion our experience of Krakow was relaxing and intense, in equal measure. It turned out to be a time that was enlightening and thought provoking. It was also somewhere we enjoyed a guilty pleasure. One Sunday afternoon spent in an Irish bar watching the Manchester Derby, with a bizarre sense of feeling at home.

Day 85 – Auschwitz

While we were in Krakow we made the decision to visit the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. It is a strange sensation to simultaneously feel like you want and do not want to do something. It is not that you feel obliged to go. It is more like you have the will to go but take no pleasure in the act of going.


Auschwitz is silent, cold and testing. It is the absolute horror of reality; numbers, objects, processes, bricks and mortar. It is the unreality of disbelief, of wishing something out of existence and out of history.

The bus to and from the camp is an everyday public bus. Old ladies get on with shopping, students get off with their satchels, couples chat and tourists sit in silence with nothing to say, not knowing where to look.