Pierogi, Vodka & Poland

I really really really liked Krakow. This city was prettier than Budapest. It was a bit cold though, especially on one of the three-hour walking tours we did… that sucked so bad Kristen and I left in the middle of it. We tried a second one the following day that was much much better. (We got to see some places where Schindler’s List was filmed.) A different day was spent doing laundry at a fantastic place that was laundromat/café/bar. Yes, if you wanted, you could order drinks while doing your laundry. That night we hit up a jazz bar.

Our hostel was great. Voted Best Hostel in Europe, it was basically like having our own apartment, furnished by IKEA, with a flat screen tv. It even came with free meals - fantastic.
The food here might have been what made this city. The pierogi were ah-mazing. And we found this restaurant, U Babci Maliny, full of locals, that is competing with our Il Latini meal in Florence as ‘best meal so far.’ We had amazing soup called Zurek: it was a sour rye soup with mashed potatoes and sausage in it; cheese pierogi, Hungarian potato pancakes (Placki po wegiersku), and a fruit boiled water. Everything was soooooo so so good. So good, we went back the next night.

We embarked on a vodka tasting one night that was organized through our hostel. It was a bit of a disappointment, with he highlight being a shot they lit on fire. (sarcastic oooooohhhh, aaaahhhhh) We had our own (better) vodka tasting the next night. There was a bar called Tiffany’s that I begged Kristen to go to. And they had a drink called Drink Tiffany: It was wodka cranbeery (yes, that‘s how it was spelled), Bailey’s, Malibu & pineapple juice. Kristen made fun of it. I typically would have too, but I liked the name. I made her drink it. She loved it.

Zubrowka vodka might be my most favorite vodka, ever… or at least, it’s a tie with the cucumber vodka that they make at Beat Kitchen in Bucktown. You mix the Zubrowka with apple juice and it’s to die for. Kristen emailed Binny‘s to see if they carried it and they do! We tried a honey wodka which was interesting, but I wouldn’t have it again. They also carried a vodka that was 95% alcohol - yes percent.  Not proof.  They apparently put in tea. We didn’t want to die, so we stayed away from it.