It's been said that Krakow, Poland is what Prague was like ten years ago. If so, perhaps I am doing a disservice by disclosing the wonderful reality about this most charming city.

Knowing absolutely nothing before arriving, I was pleasantly surprised by the quaint cobblestone streets, the abundance of coffee shops, the stunning architecture, and the overall generosity of the Polish people. Coming from London, the sheer affordability made the experience even that much richer.

The old city is built around a giant town square, called the Grand Square. At the top of every hour the sound of a trumpet rings out. If you look toward the municipal tower of the Basilica of the Virgin Mary’s you can see the trumpeter who is perched in the spire. For centuries the tune was played to signify the open and closing of the city gates. If you listen carefully to the trumpeter you hear that the song ends abruptly. This is deliberate, and is to pay respect to the trumpeter who had an arrow shot through his throat in 1241, which understandably silenced his tune. Each hour on the hour the trumpeter recreates this piece of history.

The Grand Square is lined with cafes, shops and restaurants. It is the perfect way to spend a morning in the sun, people watching. On one of the evenings we were there a giant film screen was set up for an outdoor film viewing. The atmosphere in the grand square is festive, and fun. Unlike most tourist destinations, it wasn’t only tourists who were out enjoying the evening. The Grand Square was frequented by locals and tourists alike.

Each night we met Polish people who were out enjoying themselves, which brings me to one of my favorite memories of Krakow; our meal at Chlopskie Jadlo; a restaurant just off of the Grand Square that is famous for serving its “Peasant Bowl”. However, I am not sure what the royalty ate after seeing what the peasants were feasting on. Between four of us the peasant bowl, which was a giant trough of different types of mostly meat and some vegetables, was too much for even for us to finish. The bread and butter (which was thick lard and utterly delicious) also filled us up. Teamed up with the bison grass vodka that they serve neet and chilled we were in a festive mood! The restaurant itself is set up like an old tavern/inn. There are big wooden tables that patrons share. Halfway through our meal a table of Hungarians seated beside us broke out into song. When they finished an Irish couple across the room burst into a rendition of ‘Danny Boy’. The Polish couple in the corner then contributed a traditional Polish folk song, which the waiter also chimed in on. What transpired was a Krakow style Eurovision with each table taking their turn to show their very best vocal talent. (Some were obviously better than others. I must say that if it hadn’t been for the Spaniard with us who was able to perform a Flamenco song, our table would have been a massive embarrassment!)

You can never underestimate the power of what an impromptu sing-along with a group of strangers can do for warm and fuzzy feelings of a great travel memory.