Day Six - Jun 3, 2017

Krakow, Poland

High Point: Theresa-Ermine, Brian-Steak vs. Kielbasa

Miles By Foot: 9

Today's Antiquities: Leonardo da Vinci's the Lady with an Ermine

Today's Weather: Sunny, in the low 80's 70's

Tonight's Lodging: The Hotel Europeski

Touristic Events: Old Town Krakow, the National Museum of Krakow

Travel Tip: If the lady says free, let it rest

Daily Didactic

We had originally only scheduled three nights in Krakow, with the idea that we would take a night train from Krakow to Budapest. Turns out that is a really expensive train. Our AirBNB host in Krakow told us she recently traveled to Budapest on something called the Polski Bus. The Polski Bus could get us both there for $38, at least $200 cheaper than the train. It also had an overnight option, but the reviews for the bus made us skeptical of trying to sleep on it. Long story short, we decided to stay an extra night in Krakow. Our apartment was not available, so we booked a night in the relative grandeur of the 1800's Hotel Europeski. This gave us an extra day in Krakow, a nice night in a fancy hotel, and a cheap daytime bus ride to Budapest tomorrow. Done.

We got up and left our AirBNB by 11:00 and walked the 10 minutes to our new digs. Our room wasn't available yet, so we dropped off our bags and headed out. We crossed the street and snuck back into Old Town on some lesser traveled streets. We found a French bakery for a coffee and pastry, making Theresa a super happy. Satisfied, we ambled down the medieval alleys past museums and galleries. Theresa's interest was piqued by pictures of a Leonardo da Vinci painting that seemed to be all over, the Lady with an Ermine. Turns out the real thing was about a mile away at a museum outside the Old Town. So we headed out in search of the squirrel that was the Lady with an Ermine. After another walk through an interestingly Art Nouveau neigborhood, we found the National Museum of Krakow. After about ten minutes of foreigner confusion (it was free for some reason, but we were having trouble accepting this) we were a few feet from the painting. Theresa checked off another bucket list item and Brian felt more cultured. Win win. We returned back around Old Town and eventually into our room in Hotel Europeski. We planned out our afternoon and evening and deciding it should involve eating, sleeping, and then more eating. We nailed this.