A fascinating corner of Kraków is Nowa Huta, an enormous planned workers’ town that offers a glimpse into the stark, grand-scale aesthetics of the communists. It’s a company town, purpose-built from scratch to house the 38,000 workers of the Lenin Steelworks. Today the steelworks is mostly closed, and it’s a bedroom community for Kraków. I find wandering its numbered sectors very evocative.
Eat Cheap at Poland’s Milk Bars
Anywhere in Poland, you can find milk bars. These are leftovers from communist times, when the government would subsidize a cafeteria so workers could have an affordable place to eat out. Despite the misleading name, they don’t sell just milk — they have a long menu of mostly traditional, stick-to-your-ribs Polish dishes.
The idea of a cheap and hearty meal survived communism, and 25 years later, you’ll still find a wide variety of these budget cafeterias — ranging from slick and modern places with excellent food and slightly higher prices, to holdovers from the old days (with a certain Soviet je ne sais quoi) where you can snare a fast and forgettable meal for about $2. If this clip doesn’t get you salivating…anything will.
Visit the Factory Where Schindler Employed Jewish Workers During the Nazi Occupation
One of Europe’s best museums about the Nazi occupation fills the factory building where Oskar Schindler and his Jewish employees worked, in the Kazimierz district of Kraków, Poland.
While the museum tells the story of Schindler and his workers, it also broadens its perspective to take in the full experience of all of Kraków during the painful era of Nazi rule. It’s loaded with in-depth information (all in English), and touchscreens throughout invite you to learn more and watch eyewitness interviews. Scattered randomly between the exhibits are replicas of everyday places from the age — a photographer’s shop, a tram car, a hairdresser’s salon — designed to give you a taste of 1940s Kraków.
When Steven Spielberg made his film Schindler’s List, Kraków’s Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz was an overlooked slum — having become ramshackle under communism. Spielberg chose to film his movie right here, in the place where the real events actually happened, and helped revive a vibrant Jewish culture that had gone dormant. While several other synagogues, cemeteries, cultural centers, and other sights reward those coming to Kazimierz, the Schindler’s Factory Museum is the best.
The Easiest Way to Get the Best Deal Changing Money in Europe
The days of changing money are a distant memory for many travelers — thanks both to ATMs, and to the common euro country shared by much of the Continent. And, while ATMs are every bit as abundant in Eastern Europe as in the West, most of these countries have still retained their traditional currencies. If you wind up with a few Czech koruna or Hungarian forints when you cross into Poland, you may need to track down an exchange booth to turn them into Polish zlotys.
Anytime you need to use an exchange booth, comparison-shop by looking carefully at the various rates. Look for places that do not charge a commission and that show both the buying and selling rate. And confirm that the buying and selling rate are within a few percentage points of each other.
There are about 3 zlotys to a dollar. These two photos (taken on the same day and on the same street) show two different exchange bureaus. One has a decent mark-up (as indicated by the spread in the buying and selling rate — buying and selling for 3.10 or 3.15), while the other is a terrible rip-off (with a huge spread — buying and selling at 2.33 or 3.20).
Exploring a Polish Farmers’ Market in Kraków
Dropping by the farmers’ market in Kraków with my guide, Marta, was like a cultural scavenger hunt — complete with the lovely image of watching TV snuggled up with a big pod of sunflower seeds. Here’s a two-and-a-half-minute slice of Polish life, and a video reminder not to miss the markets wherever you travel.