Impressions of Krakow

We are leaving Krakow this morning for Zakopane, a resort town in the Tatra Mountains.
Krakow has been fantastic: i love the old buildings, they are being restored but my favorite are the old crumbly rundown ones, the cobblestone streets and the clip-clop of the horses pulling carriages, the trumpet player in the top of the church, every hour on the hour.........tons of restaurants and outdoor cafes, bars and shops, street vendors selling pretzels, amazing Polish chocolate. On the downside, the service industry is pretty blase and somewhat unfriendly. Apparently tourism numbers have fallen way down as things are getting more and more expensive. We see large groups of Irish and British buck's party groups, drunk and obnoxious on the streets at night.
Last night we toured the Jewish part of town: amazingly, there are only around 200 Jews living in the area, but the Polish people keep their traditions alive with festivals and restaurants. We ate at one of the restaurants last night, the food was wonderful, and we listened to a live classical/jazz trio amidst the flickering of candles and the cool breeze blowing lace curtains in through the windows. Our tour leader, Yolanta, grew up here and her passion and love for the city comes through at every opportunity. She wants us to put the word out that Poland is not just Auschwitz, but rich in culture and tradition. And she's right: everyone should visit Poland!