I was fairly excited about coming to Poland as this is where my Mum's side of the family comes from. I especially couldn't wait to try all the Polish food that my Nanna cooks and Krakow didn't disappoint me here. I had traditional Polish food including Peirogi (dumplings that can be stuffed with anything from potato to meat and mushroom), golobki (cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice with a mushroom gravy sauce) and borsh (beetroot soup). It was all so yum! But of course not as good as my Nanna's.

Krakow is a pretty small city. The main part of town is a huge medievil style square with a huge 'cloth' hall in the centre which sells traditional Polish things which make for good souveniers. Its surrounded by lovely park land and cute streets with plenty of restaurants. There is also a huge castle on top of Wawel Hill, but it looked a little less impressive than some of the castles I've seen so far so we gave an inside tour a miss.

A highlight of Krakow was Aushwitz, the concentration camp about 3 hours out of the city used in World War Two. This really was facinating. Most parts of the camp were left in their original condition so you could see the buildings and beds where the prisoners slept. We saw some original prison cells too, including a standing cell which was completely surrounded by brick walls and four people had to stand in it for an entire night. It really was so sad. What got to me the most though was seeing original clothing, suitcases and hair that was taken from the Jewish people as they arrived. One of the buildings has become a museum that stores all of this. About 3mins down the road is the Birkenau camp, the bigger 'death' camp where the gas chambers were. Here there was the ruins of the gas chambers, all left in original condition when the Nazis attempted to destroy them to erase evidence of their crimes. The whole experience was unbelievable and I still get so upset when I think that such a terrible thing could take place here.

Aushwitz

Next destination was Budapest in Hungary, which was a beautiful city. The Buda side consists of big hills with a Cittadel on the highest point, a Palace, a church and a Fishermans Bastian surrounding the church, all of which made for great lookout points to the Pest side over the Danube river. Walking along the Danube at night is extraordinary, Everything is lit up and the lights reflecting on the water as you walk across the Chain Bridge is amazing. The Parliament building in particular was awesome. It's a gothic style building and the biggest in Budapest. It's a great city to do some chilling out, as it has a huge park with beautiful surroundings and statues on every corner. My favourite thing though, was the food market in a huge hall. It had so many fresh fruit and vegies, meats and pastries. One of the best strudels I have tasted was made fresh on the spot. Such a great place!

The Palace on the Danube River

Next we arrive back in Western Europe, which I think will be a welcome change. Italy is first on the agenda so you will hear lots about Gelato, Pizza and Pasta!