Week 3 + 4: Krakow - Zakopane - Oswiecim (Aushwitz) - Istanbul

TL;DR Explored old town and enjoyed stained glass in Kraków. (Almost) cried from fear while mountain climbing in Zakopane and ate our way through Istanbul. 

Week 2 video: https://youtu.be/bScjxex5DXg

Week 3+4 update:

Our friend Ashton from uni joined us in Kraków, Poland. We got oriented with a walking tour and visited a stained glass workshop. It has come in handy to know how things are done when you're surrounded by so much beautiful stained glass. 

We visited a trendy bar mleczny (milk bar) which used to be where you'd go for a cheap meal during communist times. I've been onthe look our for whipped cream, chocolate and strawberry covered gofry (waffles) everywhere we go. They remind me of the year I spent in Poland living with my grandparents when I was 4. We also tried all kinds of pączki (polish doughnuts), ate lots of perogies and stopped into an isreali cafe in the Jewish quarter. We didn't have as much time to explore food here as in Portugal so I'm not really sure where Polish cuisine is at these days. 

We did a sobering day trip to Oswięcim where Aushwitz concentration camp is. This was Sarahs first time and my third visit. The displays of all the beongings that were taken from prisoners entering the camp are always moving, as it really gives a sense of scale of the massacre. 

After Kraków, we took a bus to Zakopane in the Tatry mountains. The only item on the itinerary was rock climbing. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but we ended up doing a multi pitch climb to the top of a spire on a mountain and then traveresed along a ridge on top. The experience had multiple moments I consider amongst the scariest of my life. Climbing is a huge mental challenge for me... There are always moments where I feel like I can't, I'm not good enough, it's not possible, and I want to quit, but I don't want to let others down. I also discovered I have a healthy fear of heights. The whole experience really pushed me through some mental barriers, and with the help of Sarahs (continuous) encouragement and cheerleading, we were able to summit and complete the whole thing. 

The next day was spent relaxing in our cosy cabin hostel tucked away among the mountains. Which I think was very well deserved!

We returned to Kraków and had a chance to go for a Philharmonic concert at Sts Peter and Paul church (https://images.app.goo.gl/HE26hoGmd4TVbYUg7), before we left for Istanbul, Turkey. 

Turkey has felt like a relaxed organized chaos. It's much less intense then big cities in India, but has the same wild vibe in places. 

I definitely had the moment of anxiety before leaving the airport of "how does all of this work". Are the taxis metered? Are they safe? Should I take a bus? Where to I pay? Are people going to try to scam me? Do they use cash or credit card?

We got to our hostel in a 140km/h taxi and things felt much more relaxed the next morning walking around. Everything seems a little less stressed once we are checked in and aren't wearing backpacks...

The food in Turkey has been wonderful. We did an 8 hour food tour with 12 different stops to really get a feel for everything. There is a huge diversity of influences given the Ottoman empire was so large. Surprisingly I am underwhelmed by the shawarma kebaps here... just some meat with tomato's, not a lot of other fillings!

We've explored some mosques, the Grand Bazaar, spice market, ate Turkish delight, Balaklava, Turkish ice cream, enjoyed beautiful sunsets and crawled around some pubs ;-) Istanbul has been a really neat city to visit. 

We are heading to Cappadocia today where we will be doing some hot air balloning and hopefully some more mountain climbing. After that we are going to Kas for some diving and then we are off to Italy!

Cheers!

Adam and Sarah