Krakow, Poland

I had no expectations for Krakow. I knew almost nothing about the city before I visited, other than that the people there were some of the most affected by World War II. This was one of the trips that AIFS planned for us, and I had always considered it to be towards the end, and I cannot believe that it has already come and gone.

One of my favorite monuments was dedicated to man's best friend. While walking in a park, the dog's owner had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital where he died. His dog waited for him in the park for one year, given food and water by the locals, until one of the usual park-goes took him home. I was also very impressed to visit the Medieval University where Copernicus studied, the castle, and of course, many churches. I've seen a lot of churches in the last few months and St. Mary's in Krakow was definitely one of my favorites. Intricately detailed and deeply colored for such a church, I couldn't help just looking around it all. (Unfortunately cameras were not permitted inside).

There was a huge Easter festival where I bought souvenirs and candy. It was here that I tried my first Polish cuisine, Pierogis, and to my surpise, I actually liked the spinach filled boiled dumpling.

I loved learning about the legends of the city. Firstly, there is the legend of the dragon that lived in the river and often ate animals and humans. There are dragon toys and figurines everywhere to remind the locals and visitors to beware. Also, it is believed that one of Shiva's 7 magic stones landed in Krakow, along with Delhi, Delphi, Jerusalem, Mecca, Rome and Velehrad. Z told us to stand as close as we could to the spot to get as much good energy as possible because we would be traveling to hell, also known as Auschwitz, the following day.