Kraków has easily the most beautiful olde town we’ve seen yet. It’s a real world-class affair and by that I mean plenty of tourists, pushy al fresco dining and of course, breakdancers. Wandering around town, we stumbled into a bar playing ridiculous mashups from breakcore to Macklemore to 90s to dubstep, along with a smattering of bollywood techno and bhangra. That last part really took me by surprise. I asked the DJ how he knew so many Indian pop songs and he said it was because he had a lot of friends from there. And I’m thinking really?! Where the hell are they? Cause the only other Indian guy I’ve ever seen here was that time I pissed in the sink. So we hung out and danced and talked to people. One guy next to us was like “You’re from the US? It must be nice there, it’s very peaceful.” And I’m like “What?!” and Shefali stopped me. “Didn’t you hear him? He’s from Georgia.” And once again, I learned humility and to think incrementally outside a myopic world view. He bought us a shot – that’s another thing here – Vodka and beer are super cheap. They even mentioned it on the tour, that since you are never supposed to drink vodka alone, you will probably get offered a shot by someone next to you if you hang out at the bar long enough. Anyway, the vodka is like 4 złoty (about 1.33$) and you can sometimes even get 1/2 liter of beer with that too if you go somewhere shitty enough. Anyway, we exchanged beverages and he told me about his work. He works in construction supply and was a part-owner. I respected his entrepreneurship for such a young age. Then we talked more. We talked about business opportunities. He told me we could make some money together if I helped him import motorcycles from the US. It sounded quasi-legal at best. I subsequently avoided him. There was also a girl that was well dressed but alone, never with a drink and everyone seemed to know not to talk to her. You don’t need a lot of situational awareness to realize that’s the shadiest of shady hookers. We bailed but it was still a blast. We had an extra night here and ended up staying right in the center of town for about 15$ each – a downright steal. Techno blared well into the early sunrise and we slept easy.
[1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/97388931@N08/sets/72157634690733965/