Crazy for Krakow

Let me start by saying this: I spent three nights in Krakow. And I saw four live bands. I freakin' love this city!

There's a great energy here that's hard to explain, but everyone feels it. Perhaps it's the sacred Shakra stone said to have been sent here by the Queen of Sheba ("Indiana Jones", anyone?) but seriously, Krakow is lively, young and, best of all, a little quirky.

It was founded by Prince Krak, who, legend has it, defeated the dragon who once lived here. Below the castle, you can visit the dragon's lair.

In the Main Market Square, there's a big tower. Every hour, a guy gets out of his cot and plays the bugle from all four windows atop it. But the bugle call cuts off abruptly to symbolize when, hundreds of years ago, the bugler was shot in the neck with an arrow while warning the town of an enemy attack.

Isn't that great??

There are about a million bars, so you have to find the good ones. The really cool part is that many of them are in old cellars. Great fun. My favorite was a jazz club I went to last night with one of my roommates, a nice German girl. The band was a bunch of old guys rocking out. Really really fun. And one of the songs they played: "St. Louis Blues"!

So, Krakow is now officially one of my favorite cities. And to think I only came here because of an enthusiastic hostel employee in Interlaken!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.