A short 13 km (8 mi) walk had us experiencing the Krakow morning rush hour. The two inbound lanes were just inching along. We eventually crossed a bridge over the Vistula River, Poland's longest and arrived at the city center. The game plan was to head to Auschwitz (Oswiecim), with their intercity train. That would give us a chance to prioritize what to see on Krakow.
The walk to the train station took us by the Krakow Galeria, a gigantic mall bustling with people, eateries of all sorts (incl. all the usual American brands), and the train ticket office. The train ride lasted nearly two hours and when we arrived at Auschwitz we had a difficult time getting oriented--the downpour didn't help. It took a cabbie to find us a "pilgrim-priced" hotel across the river from the camp.
