I took a trip with Vitaly and his brother-in-law David to Krakow to apply for visas back in mid July. We left late on a Sunday night and got there early Monday morning before the embassy opened. We only had to wait about 45 minutes after I accosted some guy that came out telling him that it was past time and they should be open now. He didn’t speak English, but we figured out that there was actually a time change between Ukraine and Poland. We were an hour early. Lesson learned.

Something cool

The Grunwald Monument commemorating the 1410 battle of Grunwald (ironic right?) That's the slain leader of the Teutonic knights on the bottom

The visa process was easier then expected. I walked up to the window, gave the man my documents, he told me to go pay at such-and-such bank and return with a receipt. David and I both did this; we paid at the bank and returned with the receipt stapled to our documents. The man now told us to come back after 2 to pick up our passports. Sweet!

Vitaliy in front of St. Florian's Gate, part of the original city wall

St. Mary's Basilica, which has a really cool history that I won't go into here

We had several hours to kill before 2 so we figured out how to get to the center of the city and hopped on a tram. We explored the old city; saw the old walls, churches, clock tower, and statues. We also discovered a mall, which, once inside, was like being in a mall in America. There was McDonalds, Subway, KFC, and my favorite, Starbucks!

Yum!

At 2 we returned just as it started to rain. The man gave us our passports with out any trouble at all. No questions asked. I like this kind of service. Then it was on the road again. We got back home mid-morning on Tuesday. Praise the Lord for a quick and easy trip! I would love to return to Krakow sometime now, it was a gorgeous city.