Your video brought back a lot of memories from our trip in 2008. From Krakow, we launched our genealogical investigation into our Ukrainian speaking grandparents east of Krakow, in Lukawica, Lesko. Trip of a lifetime!
Thanks for watching, Claudia! How cool that must have been for you. Exploring genealogical roots is a fascinating process. I was looking at some of my adopted mother's family just the other day on Ancestry.com. It's fun to make the connections to family when you're in their ancestral places! It does sound like a trip of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing it! -Judy
I really like your choice of the word 'smitten'. I agree. Meanwhile, Schindler lived a very modest life after the war in Frankfurt. I found his house. Wonderful to see Krakaw from your lens. Thank you so much
Thank you so much for watching and for you sweet comment! Very cool of you to have seen Oskar Schindler's home. There was not enough time to cover everything we wanted, so we hope we covered enough (especially the Medieval elements). -Judy
Wow! Your food video of Krakow peaked my interest on this city that was barely a blip on my radar before. This video along with your video about Auschwitz really let me know that this is a place worth putting on a future itinerary for Poland. Well done!
Thank you, Rebecca! It really is a city worth visiting. We hope you will love it as much as we do! Thank you for watching and for your sweet, encouraging comment! -Judy
@@GreatCityAttractions We thought so, too. We definitely have it on our agenda for a longer stay in the future. Thanks for watching! You might enjoy the rest of our episodes from Poland if you haven't seen them. I'll link them below. -Judy Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
We really enjoyed it. We hadn't really heard much about it Poland overall, but boy did it show up and impress us! We have a few other episodes from there if you haven't caught them yet. I see that you were just there as well. I'll check out your episode! Thank you so much for watching! -Judy Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
@@GreatCityAttractions Thanks, but we haven’t taken a break from our weekly videos. In fact, Kevin was editing two days after his surgery! Is there a chance you aren’t getting all our notifications? -Judy
Thanks for watching! We did really enjoy our time in Kraków. We're glad to see that it shows! Thank you for the compliment; we really appreciate it! -Judy
"Hidden"? Well, probably not so much. One of the most visited, also touristy, towns in former East. Still one of the best. Enjoy your time here, great tourist selfies!
Hi Bo, I definitely think that Kraków is trending. I don't think it's a bucket list place for a lot of people, but only because it doesn't get the press that countries like Italy, Greece, or Scotland get. I think people who are well traveled or who live in the EU probably are aware of the allure of Poland, but I still would consider it under the radar for a majority of people living in the US (and that's Poland in general, not just Kraków). Thank you for watching. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie I agree - context is important. While Krakow is well known in Europe, it's definitely relatively unknown to most people from outside the continent.
@boskee You make an excellent point. We’re currently in Romania, and the feedback from some who know us is similar here. “What the heck is in România,” we’re constantly being asked.
Thank you so much! We had such a lovely time. We have two other videos from our time in Poland, which you can find below. -Judy th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Your video is just spectacular. I enjoyed watching this interesting and informative video. Well gone. Keep it up !!! Poland 🇵🇱 is my favourite destination. I love its diverse landscapes and unique regions.
If you visit 🇵🇱 Poland again, I recommend to visit Wieliczka Salt Mine, Zakopane, Sandomierz, Zamosc, Lublin, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Southern part of Lower Silesia, Gdansk, Masurian Lake District and many more. You will be amazed with all these places. 🇵🇱 Poland offers endless tourist attractions. I just can't wait to go there this summer.
Thank you so much for watching, Les! We are so glad you enjoyed it. Poland is one of our favorite places. It is a place we definitely want to return to and explore more! We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed it too. Are there places you think we should put on our list for next time? -Judy 🎥 Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
How fabulous! There is so much to love there, and we definitely plan to return. We'd love to hear what you think of it when you return. Feel free to ask any questions and we'll do our best to answer. You may want to watch the other videos in our Poland series, so I'll link them below in case you missed them. -Judy Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Looks like I need to visit Poland! Wondering what it's been like getting prescriptions filled while traveling for extended periods. (If you take any) Thanks
Hi Wayne, thanks for watching and for your great comment. We put together an article on our website to specifically answer your question about prescriptions. Thanks for the suggestion and we hope it is useful to you! -Judy findingginamarie.com/articles/dealing-with-prescriptions-as-full-time-travelers
3:54 I'll surprise you: even in small towns, far from capitals and universities, in so-called "retirement towns," there's broadband internet, fiber optic network, etc. When I was in the U.S. it felt like I was in a third world country in this regard. :)
Very true. Internet speeds in Europe surpass US speeds most every time. Unfortunately, we've had a few Airbnbs, like our Cagnes-sur-Mer one, that had horribly slow connectivity. But in Kraków, Vienna, and several cities in Italy, we enjoyed internet speeds that were much faster than the (very) expensive Comcast gigabit service we had in San Francisco. Cheers! - Kevin
I never considered going to Krakow until this video. now I can't wait to go either next or year after. I'll do a Poland and Hungary trip. Is Budapest on your itinerary ?
Thank you for your kind compliment! We've heard lovely things about Budapest and I actually have a few friends there, but we don't have it as a place to visit within the next 12 months. But that always can change! Have you seen our other videos from Poland? I'll link them below. -Judy Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
We absolutely loved Krakow and definitely plan to return. You might want to watch our other episodes from Poland, particularly our food tastings, which brought back warm memories eating Gołąbki while I was growing up.♥️ -Judy Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
I bet you return here one day, what a bummer not seeing the salt mines. It’s such great motivation to return though! You two have inspired me to also return to Poland. Half my family are from Meszna, a village outside Bielska-Biala. My grandfather was the factory manager of the local Auschwicz flour mill, he used to sneakily help feed the prisoners. But when I visited Poland, I only had time to see the family in Meszna, so I also missed out on the salt mines and I never saw Krakow either. You’ve inspired me to go and see the Krakov region properly, and reminded me to visit distant family that I had forgotten about 😂
Hi Dan, the downside of having a TH-cam channel is that wherever we are, we have to plan, script, film, edit, blog, and post videos. We love doing it, but it all takes up a huge chunk of our time. Had we known how much Poland was going to capture our hearts, we would have planned differently to give ourselves more time there. And you know us well; we definitely plan to return to Poland and explore more of its secrets! We are glad to hear that we've inspired you to visit as well. You will have to tell us about it when you return. -Judy P.S. We have a couple of other episodes from Poland if you are interested, which are linked here: Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
@@FindingGinaMarie thanks, I’ll check out your link. I’m hoping to see videos of Czechia, Taiwan and Oz. I get a kick out of seeing places I love again, through the eyes of others 👍
Hi Dan, We may not be visiting those areas in 2024, unfortunately. We had time for Oz and even started with planning, but it's not going to work out. However, we are super excited about the places we will be visiting and we hope you will love them, too! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie looking forward to seeing your adventures mate! Not surprised about your decision to delay visiting Oz. It’s a really long way to travel, for only 2 weeks in Melbourne and 2 weeks in NZ. It goes against some of your teachings in your shows😂 it’s inefficient for slow travellers. I wish you guys a great Xmas and New Years, safe travels in 2024!
@@danbulowski7013 We actually booked a month in Melbourne, and were going to stretch it to three weeks in New Zealand. In the end we decided that the flight costs on top of the extra accommodation costs, etc. all combined to make it a bit out of our budget. We have a few other long-haul flights in 2024, though, so we are quite excited about what we have planned! -Judy
1:44 and ONLINE! I'm always surprised that such an obvious option is so rarely used by tourists. I'm a local and I bought my last paper ticket maybe 10 years ago?
You're correct! Unfortunately I didn't download the app before we arrived at the tram station. It was taking too long to set up while the tram was arriving, so we decided to simply use the ticket machine on the tram. It was a good reminder to be more prepared before we arrived in Vienna. I had that app installed while we were still in Kraków. Thanks for watching and sharing! - Kevin
With so many great places to explore, most of the cities we visit are a 'one and done', but this video is making me think that we need to go back to Kraków to see some of what we missed in 2019. We stayed in an Airbnb in the center of Old Town and agree that it is a great walking city. We also ran into the same problem trying to get the ticket machine for the tram to work at the airport. The salt mine was an excellent day trip and the cafe actually had some rea food.
Thanks for watching, Tim, and for sharing your experience. We love hearing from our viewers about what to see or do in a place, and even though we did not have time to visit the salt mine, we wanted to include it in our episode since it was a highlight of their trip. We definitely want to visit it for ourselves. I don't think you would be bored or disappointed with a trip back to Kraków. I know there are so many other places in the world to explore, but we were impressed with it enough to want to visit again and experience more of it. -Judy
Hi Erin! We didn't either before traveling here. It's a pretty cool place. Thank you so much for watching! The currency app I use is called, "My Currency Converter & Rates." Here's a link (not affiliated in any way!): apps.apple.com/us/app/my-currency-converter-rates/id549019596
Nice video :) i have been following ur itinerary but i am a bit lost now :) You were in South France, then you went to Switzerland, and now Poland, right ? i didn't see any video about Switzerland. i guess the fun part (for me) is also in vicariously following the route that you are taking, and then imagining that one day hopefully soon, i will be doing something equally adventurous 😊
LOL, you are VERY perceptive, Mike! Because of our fast travel over the last several weeks before heading to Vienna, we made the decision to share our Krakow videos out of sequence (so sooner than we normally would share). We don't anticipate doing this again, so you should be able to follow us sequentially beginning this week. This Saturday we share some of our cool activities in the French Riviera, then a few videos from Italy, our Switzerland trip, and then Vienna. We need to figure out whether there's any possibility to release more than one video per week for a while to catch us up. We don't love having our travels be so far ahead of our content. Thank you for letting us know that you prefer to see our travels sequentially. We feel the same way and will do our best not to have to do it this way again! It really was just a matter of leveraging some content that was easier for Kevin to edit more quickly. But we think we have a handle on things now for awhile! -Judy
Thank you so much for the suggestions! We have another video from Kraków you might also enjoy that's a food tasting. Here's a link to our video series. -Judy Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Every driver in Poland must stop if he sees someone approaching the pedestrian lanes and let the pedestrian cross the street. Not stopping costs a painful ticket and penalty points. Introducing that law resulted in much less pedestrians being killed in the car accidents.
It's so impressive! There are laws in the US that prioritize pedestrians, but vehicles are in no way nearly so respectful. It was so inspiring to see this! Also, thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment! -Judy
the law that cars have to stop to let peds go on zebras is so good for people that walk poland did a good job with that. also we are very strict on not walking on red light, i think only poles are so strict about that, even germans dont care as much and they just go on red lmao
We haven't encountered such respect at crosswalks EVER. And I'm even talking about ones without any sort of lights at all. Cars just seem to prioritize pedestrians in an amazing way. In nearly every country that does prioritize pedestrians, vehicles still try to get in before someone starts walking or when they are halfway through the crosswalk. We really have never seen it work this respectfully. Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment! -Judy
Tuition is free in Poland for students, but accomodation and living still has to be paid for, families actually have a peculiar insurance system that they pay into as the child grows up for it.
How interesting; I was not aware of this. Is it more of an education fund versus insurance? And what happens if a child does not go to college? Thanks for watching! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie No idea, I'm not Polish, was just chatting to a local in Krakow once and he mentioned it. The systems quite different than the US as well, not that much focus on what University you went to but more the course and skills taught.
Tourists are surprised that drivers let pedestrians pass, but these are road traffic regulations in Poland - if you stand in front of pedestrian lanes without traffic lights, the driver is obliged to stop and let pedestrians pass, and in built-up areas the maximum vehicle speed is 50 km/h.
It's a wonderful law. We've seen nothing like it at all anywhere we've been in the last 12 months (and even before that). And in our experience in the US, traffic laws sometimes are treated as suggestions and drivers push the limits as much as they can if they don't see a police officer around! -Judy Have you seen our other videos from Poland? I'll link them here: Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Hi Jan, while the same laws exist, it's nowhere close to the same. We lived in San Francisco for 8.5 years. Cars do not clear the streets when they see a pedestrian cross in the same way we saw them behave in Kraków. -Judy
@FindingGinaMarie here in San Diego, especially in Coronado, Del Mar, is definitely pedestrians first. You aren't allowed to enter pedestrias crossing when pedestrian hasn't exited on the other side of the traffic
This is so encouraging to hear, Jan! We'll actually be celebrating my birth mother's birthday in July in San Diego, so I will make a point to try to observe this. San Franciscans aren't horrible about with this; but they aren't at the same level as the Polish.I'm so happy to hear that drivers in other parts of California may do a better job with this. -Judy First contact with my birth mother: th-cam.com/video/71Kj0QZSSmA/w-d-xo.html
Hi Kamil, unfortunately, still no euro. But it's really only slightly inconvenient. Definitely not a deal breaker for us. Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarieNot unfortunately. Very fortunately, for Poland. The euro has only benefited Germany and has ruined our near ruins, the other countries.
@@markg1531 By "unfortunately" I meant that it's one more currency to carry around and have to use up before you leave a country. Having one currency for all of Europe makes things easier for tourists. BUT I was unaware that there are drawbacks for countries where there is either less exporting or the exchange rate changes in a manner that is beneficial to only one or a few countries and puts a hardship on others. Quite honestly, I'm embarrassed that I have not thought about the consequences of one currency in any other way than as a convenience to a tourist or someone traveling between countries on business. You raise a point worthy of consideration. There are benefits to be in the EU, but it may not be the best idea for every country to be on the Euro. Thanks for expanding our world view. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Hi Judy, thank you for your thoughtful reply. Yes, there’s a lot to this subject. The EU benefits are wildly exaggerated, also. It’s a long story. Have a great day and enjoy your trip! Mark
@@markg1531 Thank you so much, Mark. Thank you for watching and for educating us a bit! We'll dig into this more on our own, but I know that the UK is hurting from Brexit. Maybe there are more complexities than I understand, but I think there are some regrets over making that decision to leave the EU. -Judy
Krakow is not nor has it even been " a hidden gem" ..but has existed for thousands of years as has Poland.Its just that people have been learning geography lately and found it on the map, finally! Lol 😆 🤣 😂
Thanks for watching, Teresa. I'd actually say that Poland in general is in need of a PR campaign. It's not that people have been only now learning geography but rather that the cool things about it haven't hit the mainstream. For whatever reason, I don't think people know why they should visit and what is available to see. We are trying to change that in the small way we can. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Westerners may have seen gray and poor Poland during communism and don't see it on the list of places to visit. They often confuse us with Russia and think that our country has severe frosts and white bears are running in the streets. Such thinking is not uncommon, but with your help and the vlog, maybe they will change their minds.😄
@jerzy7118 We hope that people will spend more time in Poland and add it to their bucket list of places to visit. We truly loved it! Thanks for your thoughtful comment! -Judy
Thank you so much for watching! You are right that some of the friendliest people we have met have been from Poland. We definitely want to visit again and spend more time here! -Judy
Thanks for sharing this information with us and for watching! I don't know that I fully understood this, but it sounds like Kevin recalls one of our guides giving us this history. It's been an interesting thing for us to travel and see how different influences give each place its character. I could read about it in books, but until we've actually traveled, we had no idea. Here's a link to our other episodes in Poland if you want to see more from our time there. -Judy Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Zero expectations for a few reasons, but first understand that doesn't mean we didn't expect much. It meant that we didn't quite know what to expect at all. We don't typically do a lot of research before we travel to a country because we are traveling every single month, so we weren't even sure what we were going to do in Kraków beyond Auschwitz. It's embarrassing to admit, but it's the truth. Neither Kraków nor Poland get the press that places like France or Italy or Germany or certain other places. I'm adopted and my adoptive mother was Polish, but she did not really bring a lot of her Polish heritage into our home. My father was German, so she catered to his foods and traditions. But make no mistake, we absolutely loved our time in Kraków and are eager to explore much more of Poland. We were so impressed by the people, the food, the architecture, the history, and its beauty. We have a few other videos from Poland, including one about food, which is special to me because I had the chance to relive the flavors of my mother's kitchen by enjoying the one Polish dish she made for us growing up. If you're interested, here's the link to those episodes. -Judy 🎥 Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
@@FindingGinaMarie Yeah I understand. I`m just different this way. Being traveler myself I usually know very well where I`m going and what I want to see. My husband is very particular what he eats. So I always look in to this too. I`m also half German half Polish. While visiting Poland I haven`t seen big difference in German or Polish cuisine, cold cuts, sour kraut dumplings (knodeln) schabowy (shnitzel) are variations of the same dish in both countries. And of course lots of potato. The flavor of Polish cuisine is quite familiar to German, things taste quite similar preparation might differ a little. And Krakow is beautiful one of the most beautiful places I`ve ever seen.
When we vacationed, we did very in-depth planning. That was part of the fun of traveling! But now as full-time travelers with no home base, between filming and editing TH-cam videos, getting from place to place (we do plan where we'll be for the entire year about a year in advance), planning sightseeing takes a lot of extra work that requires planning when we're someplace else. We don't love missing out on touring in the place where we are in order to plan for the next place we'll go. It feels a little counter productive unless there are things we have specific plans to do that caused us to incorporate that place in our travels. We agree about how beautiful Kraków is. And the people there are extremely kind as well. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie So far I have visited 67 countries lived and worked on 3 continents. For many years my life was traveling. I kind of get way you think, but also it isn`t my way to go around such things, I have to know what I`m getting into or just not go there at all :)
@@magdalenasteplewski3963 We're okay with not having anything all planned out or learning about a country until we're in it. We'd rather do that versus staying longer in places and missing out on some places because we hadn't done significant planning. But we respect that everyone has their own travel preferences, and we think it's always helpful to know what works best for you so that you can set yourself up for success. It seems you are doing that! -Judy
Thanks for watching! Yes, it's a well-known city, but people have not been talking about it as an exciting destination. Maybe we should have said an underrated gem in Europe. I haven't heard many people give Poland the attention that Italy, Germany, Portugal, and many other places get. I'm not sure why, because Poland was amazing and when we initially started telling people we were visiting, they couldn't understand and had no idea what is in Poland to visit. I think it needs a more robust PR campaign so more people are aware of how much there is to love about Poland, and specifically Kraków. -Judy
The term Nazis has been used many times - tp big mistake! There was no nation like the Nazis. Poland was occupied by the Germans, not the Nazis. Please remember this. Blaming the Nazis for World War II is the idea of the Germans to shift responsibility for what. they did. This will cause that in 100 years no one will associate the Germans with what they did, only the Nenets nation that never existed. Wehrmacht, or ordinary German soldiers, was responsible for the destruction of Poland. The SS, Gestapo and Nasisfi units were a small percentage of German murderers. Please see the facts.
Hi Tomasz, Thanks for watching. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were responsible, not all Germans. Yes, many Germans sat back and did nothing or allowed the Nazi party to gain power. However, I'd prefer we focus on the extremists versus continuing to spread hate against all of Germany, because I do think that many Germans had no idea that the Nazis had gone as far as they did. The Nazis created a lot of propaganda that gullible people bought into. Globally, I'd like us all to learn that we have to be wary of extremists or organizations that spread hate and intolerance, regardless of what country they are from. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie 1. The Germans knew perfectly well what Hitler was doing and supported him, they were happy that Poland would belong to Germany again. During the existence of the Third Reich, 90 percent of the German companies benefited from slave and forced labor of prisoners of concentration and extermination camps, prisoners of war. Read on the net what were the companies, now world-famous brands. 2. Why do Americans, when talking about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, say that they were attacked by the Japanese ? Why are you calling their nationality ? Japan was an empire then. Why don't you say the imperialists attacked you ? Double standards or lack of knowledge ?
You are absolutely right. We made so many special memories here that I will never forget. I didn't expect to be struck by so much emotion visiting here, but it was a wonderful surprise! We're glad to hear that we could touch you, too. -Judy
Hi Sonny, I think you misunderstood. By zero expectations, we meant that we were clean slates. We didn't know what to expect from the food or the architecture or the people. Poland, probably as a result of being under Soviet rule for so many years, was not a place that we've heard people travel to or talk about. There is not a public relations campaign to encourage visiting the way there is with France or Italy or some other EU countries. And as full-time travelers, we go from one country to another with no home base, so we don't always have the luxury of learning about a country until we are there. In some ways, it's great because we show up without any preconceived ideas (positive or negative) and form our own opinions. But we were so impressed with Kraków that we know we want to visit again and also explore more of Poland. -Judy
@@sonnysantino7849 Thank you so much, and for giving us a chance to explain ourselves. We had such a lovely time in Kraków and want it to be clear that we meant no disrespect! We have two other videos from Poland if you want to check them out. -Judy Poland Playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
![London Tower Bridge Christmas Market Tour from Borough Market | London Winter Walk 2024 [4K HDR]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NiYGeKQpUjo/mqdefault.jpg)
Your video brought back a lot of memories from our trip in 2008. From Krakow, we launched our genealogical investigation into our Ukrainian speaking grandparents east of Krakow, in Lukawica, Lesko. Trip of a lifetime!
Thanks for watching, Claudia! How cool that must have been for you. Exploring genealogical roots is a fascinating process. I was looking at some of my adopted mother's family just the other day on Ancestry.com. It's fun to make the connections to family when you're in their ancestral places! It does sound like a trip of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing it! -Judy
I really like your choice of the word 'smitten'. I agree. Meanwhile, Schindler lived a very modest life after the war in Frankfurt. I found his house. Wonderful to see Krakaw from your lens. Thank you so much
Thank you so much for watching and for you sweet comment! Very cool of you to have seen Oskar Schindler's home. There was not enough time to cover everything we wanted, so we hope we covered enough (especially the Medieval elements). -Judy
Wow! Your food video of Krakow peaked my interest on this city that was barely a blip on my radar before. This video along with your video about Auschwitz really let me know that this is a place worth putting on a future itinerary for Poland. Well done!
Thank you, Rebecca! It really is a city worth visiting. We hope you will love it as much as we do! Thank you for watching and for your sweet, encouraging comment! -Judy
Some amazing things to see in this city
@@GreatCityAttractions We thought so, too. We definitely have it on our agenda for a longer stay in the future. Thanks for watching! You might enjoy the rest of our episodes from Poland if you haven't seen them. I'll link them below. -Judy
Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Another great video guys - Krakow does look interesting
We really enjoyed it. We hadn't really heard much about it Poland overall, but boy did it show up and impress us! We have a few other episodes from there if you haven't caught them yet. I see that you were just there as well. I'll check out your episode! Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
keep up the nice work. cheers. @@FindingGinaMarie
@@GreatCityAttractions Thanks so much, and you as well. We've subscribed to your channel! -Judy
thank you for your support - I hope your travels are going well .. and your enjoying your time away from creating content to. @@FindingGinaMarie
@@GreatCityAttractions Thanks, but we haven’t taken a break from our weekly videos. In fact, Kevin was editing two days after his surgery! Is there a chance you aren’t getting all our notifications? -Judy
Wow you both have so much energy .and set a great example for others well done .
Thanks for watching! We did really enjoy our time in Kraków. We're glad to see that it shows! Thank you for the compliment; we really appreciate it! -Judy
"Hidden"? Well, probably not so much. One of the most visited, also touristy, towns in former East. Still one of the best.
Enjoy your time here, great tourist selfies!
Hi Bo, I definitely think that Kraków is trending. I don't think it's a bucket list place for a lot of people, but only because it doesn't get the press that countries like Italy, Greece, or Scotland get. I think people who are well traveled or who live in the EU probably are aware of the allure of Poland, but I still would consider it under the radar for a majority of people living in the US (and that's Poland in general, not just Kraków). Thank you for watching. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie I agree - context is important. While Krakow is well known in Europe, it's definitely relatively unknown to most people from outside the continent.
@@boskee Yes, this is how we feel. I'm just not sure why Poland doesn't get more press worldwide. It's such an amazing place! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarieMostly because it spent 45 years behind the Iron Curtain imho
@boskee You make an excellent point. We’re currently in Romania, and the feedback from some who know us is similar here. “What the heck is in România,” we’re constantly being asked.
Welcome in Poland :)
Thank you so much! We had such a lovely time. We have two other videos from our time in Poland, which you can find below. -Judy th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Your video is just spectacular. I enjoyed watching this interesting and informative video. Well gone. Keep it up !!!
Poland 🇵🇱 is my favourite destination. I love its diverse landscapes and unique regions.
* well gone = well done
If you visit 🇵🇱 Poland again, I recommend to visit Wieliczka Salt Mine, Zakopane, Sandomierz, Zamosc, Lublin, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Southern part of Lower Silesia, Gdansk, Masurian Lake District and many more. You will be amazed with all these places. 🇵🇱 Poland offers endless tourist attractions. I just can't wait to go there this summer.
Thank you so much for watching, Les! We are so glad you enjoyed it. Poland is one of our favorite places. It is a place we definitely want to return to and explore more! We are so glad to hear that you enjoyed it too. Are there places you think we should put on our list for next time? -Judy
🎥 Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Ah, never mind. I see that you made recommendations for us. We appreciate them so much! I am adding them to our 2025 travel itineraries. ♥️ -Judy
Thanks for the explanatory video . I am going there on October 3
How fabulous! There is so much to love there, and we definitely plan to return. We'd love to hear what you think of it when you return. Feel free to ask any questions and we'll do our best to answer. You may want to watch the other videos in our Poland series, so I'll link them below in case you missed them. -Judy
Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Looks like I need to visit Poland! Wondering what it's been like getting prescriptions filled while traveling for extended periods. (If you take any) Thanks
Hi Wayne, thanks for watching and for your great comment. We put together an article on our website to specifically answer your question about prescriptions. Thanks for the suggestion and we hope it is useful to you! -Judy
findingginamarie.com/articles/dealing-with-prescriptions-as-full-time-travelers
3:54 I'll surprise you: even in small towns, far from capitals and universities, in so-called "retirement towns," there's broadband internet, fiber optic network, etc.
When I was in the U.S. it felt like I was in a third world country in this regard. :)
Very true. Internet speeds in Europe surpass US speeds most every time. Unfortunately, we've had a few Airbnbs, like our Cagnes-sur-Mer one, that had horribly slow connectivity. But in Kraków, Vienna, and several cities in Italy, we enjoyed internet speeds that were much faster than the (very) expensive Comcast gigabit service we had in San Francisco. Cheers! - Kevin
I never considered going to Krakow until this video. now I can't wait to go either next or year after. I'll do a Poland and Hungary trip. Is Budapest on your itinerary ?
Thank you for your kind compliment! We've heard lovely things about Budapest and I actually have a few friends there, but we don't have it as a place to visit within the next 12 months. But that always can change! Have you seen our other videos from Poland? I'll link them below. -Judy
Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Just a wonderful video.
Thank you so much, Mike! We are glad to see that we were able to capture some of the charm of Kraków! -Judy
Bardzo dziękuję 🙂🇵🇱
We absolutely loved Krakow and definitely plan to return. You might want to watch our other episodes from Poland, particularly our food tastings, which brought back warm memories eating Gołąbki while I was growing up.♥️ -Judy
Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
I bet you return here one day, what a bummer not seeing the salt mines. It’s such great motivation to return though!
You two have inspired me to also return to Poland. Half my family are from Meszna, a village outside Bielska-Biala. My grandfather was the factory manager of the local Auschwicz flour mill, he used to sneakily help feed the prisoners. But when I visited Poland, I only had time to see the family in Meszna, so I also missed out on the salt mines and I never saw Krakow either. You’ve inspired me to go and see the Krakov region properly, and reminded me to visit distant family that I had forgotten about 😂
Hi Dan, the downside of having a TH-cam channel is that wherever we are, we have to plan, script, film, edit, blog, and post videos. We love doing it, but it all takes up a huge chunk of our time. Had we known how much Poland was going to capture our hearts, we would have planned differently to give ourselves more time there. And you know us well; we definitely plan to return to Poland and explore more of its secrets! We are glad to hear that we've inspired you to visit as well. You will have to tell us about it when you return. -Judy
P.S. We have a couple of other episodes from Poland if you are interested, which are linked here: Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
@@FindingGinaMarie thanks, I’ll check out your link.
I’m hoping to see videos of Czechia, Taiwan and Oz. I get a kick out of seeing places I love again, through the eyes of others 👍
Hi Dan, We may not be visiting those areas in 2024, unfortunately. We had time for Oz and even started with planning, but it's not going to work out. However, we are super excited about the places we will be visiting and we hope you will love them, too! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie looking forward to seeing your adventures mate! Not surprised about your decision to delay visiting Oz. It’s a really long way to travel, for only 2 weeks in Melbourne and 2 weeks in NZ. It goes against some of your teachings in your shows😂 it’s inefficient for slow travellers.
I wish you guys a great Xmas and New Years, safe travels in 2024!
@@danbulowski7013 We actually booked a month in Melbourne, and were going to stretch it to three weeks in New Zealand. In the end we decided that the flight costs on top of the extra accommodation costs, etc. all combined to make it a bit out of our budget. We have a few other long-haul flights in 2024, though, so we are quite excited about what we have planned! -Judy
1:44 and ONLINE! I'm always surprised that such an obvious option is so rarely used by tourists. I'm a local and I bought my last paper ticket maybe 10 years ago?
You're correct! Unfortunately I didn't download the app before we arrived at the tram station. It was taking too long to set up while the tram was arriving, so we decided to simply use the ticket machine on the tram. It was a good reminder to be more prepared before we arrived in Vienna. I had that app installed while we were still in Kraków. Thanks for watching and sharing! - Kevin
With so many great places to explore, most of the cities we visit are a 'one and done', but this video is making me think that we need to go back to Kraków to see some of what we missed in 2019. We stayed in an Airbnb in the center of Old Town and agree that it is a great walking city. We also ran into the same problem trying to get the ticket machine for the tram to work at the airport.
The salt mine was an excellent day trip and the cafe actually had some rea food.
Thanks for watching, Tim, and for sharing your experience. We love hearing from our viewers about what to see or do in a place, and even though we did not have time to visit the salt mine, we wanted to include it in our episode since it was a highlight of their trip. We definitely want to visit it for ourselves. I don't think you would be bored or disappointed with a trip back to Kraków. I know there are so many other places in the world to explore, but we were impressed with it enough to want to visit again and experience more of it. -Judy
You had to ask the locals who would be happy to help.
@jerzy7118 You just don't always know who is a local, but you are right! Everyone was very friendly! -Judy
Fascinating! Great info. I had no idea all this is in Krakow. Judy, what currency exchange app do you use?
Hi Erin! We didn't either before traveling here. It's a pretty cool place. Thank you so much for watching! The currency app I use is called, "My Currency Converter & Rates." Here's a link (not affiliated in any way!): apps.apple.com/us/app/my-currency-converter-rates/id549019596
Nice video :) i have been following ur itinerary but i am a bit lost now :) You were in South France, then you went to Switzerland, and now Poland, right ? i didn't see any video about Switzerland. i guess the fun part (for me) is also in vicariously following the route that you are taking, and then imagining that one day hopefully soon, i will be doing something equally adventurous 😊
LOL, you are VERY perceptive, Mike! Because of our fast travel over the last several weeks before heading to Vienna, we made the decision to share our Krakow videos out of sequence (so sooner than we normally would share). We don't anticipate doing this again, so you should be able to follow us sequentially beginning this week. This Saturday we share some of our cool activities in the French Riviera, then a few videos from Italy, our Switzerland trip, and then Vienna. We need to figure out whether there's any possibility to release more than one video per week for a while to catch us up. We don't love having our travels be so far ahead of our content.
Thank you for letting us know that you prefer to see our travels sequentially. We feel the same way and will do our best not to have to do it this way again! It really was just a matter of leveraging some content that was easier for Kevin to edit more quickly. But we think we have a handle on things now for awhile! -Judy
Next time please also visit Gdansk & Wroclaw
Thank you so much for the suggestions! We have another video from Kraków you might also enjoy that's a food tasting. Here's a link to our video series. -Judy
Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Every driver in Poland must stop if he sees someone approaching the pedestrian lanes and let the pedestrian cross the street. Not stopping costs a painful ticket and penalty points. Introducing that law resulted in much less pedestrians being killed in the car accidents.
It's so impressive! There are laws in the US that prioritize pedestrians, but vehicles are in no way nearly so respectful. It was so inspiring to see this! Also, thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment! -Judy
the law that cars have to stop to let peds go on zebras is so good for people that walk poland did a good job with that. also we are very strict on not walking on red light, i think only poles are so strict about that, even germans dont care as much and they just go on red lmao
We haven't encountered such respect at crosswalks EVER. And I'm even talking about ones without any sort of lights at all. Cars just seem to prioritize pedestrians in an amazing way. In nearly every country that does prioritize pedestrians, vehicles still try to get in before someone starts walking or when they are halfway through the crosswalk. We really have never seen it work this respectfully. Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment! -Judy
Tuition is free in Poland for students, but accomodation and living still has to be paid for, families actually have a peculiar insurance system that they pay into as the child grows up for it.
How interesting; I was not aware of this. Is it more of an education fund versus insurance? And what happens if a child does not go to college? Thanks for watching! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie No idea, I'm not Polish, was just chatting to a local in Krakow once and he mentioned it. The systems quite different than the US as well, not that much focus on what University you went to but more the course and skills taught.
Ah, okay. That all makes a lot of sense. Thanks so much for sharing this! -Judy
2:43 C'mon, Italian drivers practically set up pedestrian hunts! :)
You're not wrong!
Ah, but think of the greater eternal prestige of having a headstone that says "Mown down by a Ferrari!" As against "Squished by a Lada!"
😜🤣🤣
@@theoztreecrasher2647 It's always some consolation for the widow. :)
@theoztreecrasher2647 I don't think we'd prefer either!
Tourists are surprised that drivers let pedestrians pass, but these are road traffic regulations in Poland - if you stand in front of pedestrian lanes without traffic lights, the driver is obliged to stop and let pedestrians pass, and in built-up areas the maximum vehicle speed is 50 km/h.
It's a wonderful law. We've seen nothing like it at all anywhere we've been in the last 12 months (and even before that). And in our experience in the US, traffic laws sometimes are treated as suggestions and drivers push the limits as much as they can if they don't see a police officer around! -Judy
Have you seen our other videos from Poland? I'll link them here: Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Try to start from California, the same laws pedestrians are first.
Hi Jan, while the same laws exist, it's nowhere close to the same. We lived in San Francisco for 8.5 years. Cars do not clear the streets when they see a pedestrian cross in the same way we saw them behave in Kraków. -Judy
@FindingGinaMarie here in San Diego, especially in Coronado, Del Mar, is definitely pedestrians first. You aren't allowed to enter pedestrias crossing
when pedestrian hasn't exited on the other side of the traffic
This is so encouraging to hear, Jan! We'll actually be celebrating my birth mother's birthday in July in San Diego, so I will make a point to try to observe this. San Franciscans aren't horrible about with this; but they aren't at the same level as the Polish.I'm so happy to hear that drivers in other parts of California may do a better job with this. -Judy
First contact with my birth mother: th-cam.com/video/71Kj0QZSSmA/w-d-xo.html
Cracow, the city of kings 👍
It was so lovely! Thanks so much for watching! -Judy
03:00 - It not euros yet? There will be no euro in Poland before 2389, so I wouldn't wait for that to happen rather soon.
Hi Kamil, unfortunately, still no euro. But it's really only slightly inconvenient. Definitely not a deal breaker for us. Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarieNot unfortunately. Very fortunately, for Poland. The euro has only benefited Germany and has ruined our near ruins, the other countries.
@@markg1531 By "unfortunately" I meant that it's one more currency to carry around and have to use up before you leave a country. Having one currency for all of Europe makes things easier for tourists. BUT I was unaware that there are drawbacks for countries where there is either less exporting or the exchange rate changes in a manner that is beneficial to only one or a few countries and puts a hardship on others. Quite honestly, I'm embarrassed that I have not thought about the consequences of one currency in any other way than as a convenience to a tourist or someone traveling between countries on business. You raise a point worthy of consideration. There are benefits to be in the EU, but it may not be the best idea for every country to be on the Euro. Thanks for expanding our world view. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Hi Judy, thank you for your thoughtful reply. Yes, there’s a lot to this subject. The EU benefits are wildly exaggerated, also. It’s a long story. Have a great day and enjoy your trip! Mark
@@markg1531 Thank you so much, Mark. Thank you for watching and for educating us a bit! We'll dig into this more on our own, but I know that the UK is hurting from Brexit. Maybe there are more complexities than I understand, but I think there are some regrets over making that decision to leave the EU. -Judy
Krakow is not nor has it even been " a hidden gem" ..but has existed for thousands of years as has Poland.Its just that people have been learning geography lately and found it on the map, finally! Lol 😆 🤣 😂
Thanks for watching, Teresa. I'd actually say that Poland in general is in need of a PR campaign. It's not that people have been only now learning geography but rather that the cool things about it haven't hit the mainstream. For whatever reason, I don't think people know why they should visit and what is available to see. We are trying to change that in the small way we can. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Westerners may have seen gray and poor Poland during communism and don't see it on the list of places to visit. They often confuse us with Russia and think that our country has severe frosts and white bears are running in the streets. Such thinking is not uncommon, but with your help and the vlog, maybe they will change their minds.😄
@jerzy7118 We hope that people will spend more time in Poland and add it to their bucket list of places to visit. We truly loved it! Thanks for your thoughtful comment! -Judy
1000 yahre hiistory beauty and Gotic architecture ::) Frendly ppl made 20 nr country visit tourist if the world Poland
Thank you so much for watching! You are right that some of the friendliest people we have met have been from Poland. We definitely want to visit again and spend more time here! -Judy
Much of Krakow`s ancient architecture is from Austria, Italy, Germany and also Poland.
Thanks for sharing this information with us and for watching! I don't know that I fully understood this, but it sounds like Kevin recalls one of our guides giving us this history. It's been an interesting thing for us to travel and see how different influences give each place its character. I could read about it in books, but until we've actually traveled, we had no idea. Here's a link to our other episodes in Poland if you want to see more from our time there. -Judy
Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
Why zero expectation? It is UNESCO heritage site. City almost more than 1000 years old
Zero expectations for a few reasons, but first understand that doesn't mean we didn't expect much. It meant that we didn't quite know what to expect at all. We don't typically do a lot of research before we travel to a country because we are traveling every single month, so we weren't even sure what we were going to do in Kraków beyond Auschwitz. It's embarrassing to admit, but it's the truth. Neither Kraków nor Poland get the press that places like France or Italy or Germany or certain other places. I'm adopted and my adoptive mother was Polish, but she did not really bring a lot of her Polish heritage into our home. My father was German, so she catered to his foods and traditions.
But make no mistake, we absolutely loved our time in Kraków and are eager to explore much more of Poland. We were so impressed by the people, the food, the architecture, the history, and its beauty. We have a few other videos from Poland, including one about food, which is special to me because I had the chance to relive the flavors of my mother's kitchen by enjoying the one Polish dish she made for us growing up. If you're interested, here's the link to those episodes. -Judy
🎥 Poland video series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html
@@FindingGinaMarie Yeah I understand. I`m just different this way. Being traveler myself I usually know very well where I`m going and what I want to see. My husband is very particular what he eats. So I always look in to this too. I`m also half German half Polish. While visiting Poland I haven`t seen big difference in German or Polish cuisine, cold cuts, sour kraut dumplings (knodeln) schabowy (shnitzel) are variations of the same dish in both countries. And of course lots of potato. The flavor of Polish cuisine is quite familiar to German, things taste quite similar preparation might differ a little. And Krakow is beautiful one of the most beautiful places I`ve ever seen.
When we vacationed, we did very in-depth planning. That was part of the fun of traveling! But now as full-time travelers with no home base, between filming and editing TH-cam videos, getting from place to place (we do plan where we'll be for the entire year about a year in advance), planning sightseeing takes a lot of extra work that requires planning when we're someplace else. We don't love missing out on touring in the place where we are in order to plan for the next place we'll go. It feels a little counter productive unless there are things we have specific plans to do that caused us to incorporate that place in our travels. We agree about how beautiful Kraków is. And the people there are extremely kind as well. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie So far I have visited 67 countries lived and worked on 3 continents. For many years my life was traveling. I kind of get way you think, but also it isn`t my way to go around such things, I have to know what I`m getting into or just not go there at all :)
@@magdalenasteplewski3963 We're okay with not having anything all planned out or learning about a country until we're in it. We'd rather do that versus staying longer in places and missing out on some places because we hadn't done significant planning. But we respect that everyone has their own travel preferences, and we think it's always helpful to know what works best for you so that you can set yourself up for success. It seems you are doing that! -Judy
Hidden gem? It’s a very well known city.
Thanks for watching! Yes, it's a well-known city, but people have not been talking about it as an exciting destination. Maybe we should have said an underrated gem in Europe. I haven't heard many people give Poland the attention that Italy, Germany, Portugal, and many other places get. I'm not sure why, because Poland was amazing and when we initially started telling people we were visiting, they couldn't understand and had no idea what is in Poland to visit. I think it needs a more robust PR campaign so more people are aware of how much there is to love about Poland, and specifically Kraków. -Judy
The term Nazis has been used many times - tp big mistake! There was no nation like the Nazis. Poland was occupied by the Germans, not the Nazis. Please remember this.
Blaming the Nazis for World War II is the idea of the Germans to shift responsibility for what. they did. This will cause that in 100 years no one will associate the Germans with what they did, only the Nenets nation that never existed. Wehrmacht, or ordinary German soldiers, was responsible for the destruction of Poland. The SS, Gestapo and Nasisfi units were a small percentage of German murderers. Please see the facts.
Hi Tomasz, Thanks for watching. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were responsible, not all Germans. Yes, many Germans sat back and did nothing or allowed the Nazi party to gain power. However, I'd prefer we focus on the extremists versus continuing to spread hate against all of Germany, because I do think that many Germans had no idea that the Nazis had gone as far as they did. The Nazis created a lot of propaganda that gullible people bought into. Globally, I'd like us all to learn that we have to be wary of extremists or organizations that spread hate and intolerance, regardless of what country they are from. -Judy
Oho Polish TH-cam History Police 😬
Not all Germans was Nazis. And is rude to Say to someone you you dont know "please remember this".
@@FindingGinaMarie 1. The Germans knew perfectly well what Hitler was doing and supported him, they were happy that Poland would belong to Germany again. During the existence of the Third Reich, 90 percent of the German companies benefited from slave and forced labor of prisoners of concentration and extermination camps, prisoners of war. Read on the net what were the companies, now world-famous brands.
2. Why do Americans, when talking about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, say that they were attacked by the Japanese ? Why are you calling their nationality ? Japan was an empire then. Why don't you say the imperialists attacked you ? Double standards or lack of knowledge ?
@@AdamKrukowski It's not police, it's history and facts...
Dont try stop cry its natural... im crying to and im man
You are absolutely right. We made so many special memories here that I will never forget. I didn't expect to be struck by so much emotion visiting here, but it was a wonderful surprise! We're glad to hear that we could touch you, too. -Judy
"Zero expectations about one of the MOST beautiful cities in Europe "????? Wtf!
Hi Sonny, I think you misunderstood. By zero expectations, we meant that we were clean slates. We didn't know what to expect from the food or the architecture or the people. Poland, probably as a result of being under Soviet rule for so many years, was not a place that we've heard people travel to or talk about. There is not a public relations campaign to encourage visiting the way there is with France or Italy or some other EU countries. And as full-time travelers, we go from one country to another with no home base, so we don't always have the luxury of learning about a country until we are there. In some ways, it's great because we show up without any preconceived ideas (positive or negative) and form our own opinions. But we were so impressed with Kraków that we know we want to visit again and also explore more of Poland. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie
Thank you for explaining! Krakow is indeed very beautiful! Enjoy your travels and all the best!
@@sonnysantino7849 Thank you so much, and for giving us a chance to explain ourselves. We had such a lovely time in Kraków and want it to be clear that we meant no disrespect! We have two other videos from Poland if you want to check them out. -Judy
Poland Playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF25fcJb3dV-DCVUsqOTKTMH.html