Katowice is known as Poland’s main industrial centre. The city has no ancient historical buildings associated with the countries more ancient past, such as Kraków. I hear you thinking… why go to Katowice? Well, I was there for one day in my previous job (an airhost) and I’ll explain to you why 24 hours in Katowice was so impressive.
++ Auschwitz
Auschwitz is a place that everybody should visit. When I travel I want to understand a country and its history. Going to Auschwitz was something that I wanted to do for quite a while. It takes around 50 minutes to get from Katowice to Auschwitz. Wear warm clothes during September until April as it gets extremely cold. I would recommend taking a guided tour to fully understand the things that happened during World War II. The train track into Birkenau (Auschwitz II) gave me the chills. This is the place where families got separated. Strong and young people were send to the barracks because they could work. The rest went to the gas chambers where around 1,5 million lives ended in five years time.
++ Restaurant Tatiana
After seeing the harrowing history, it’s time to celebrate the freedom of life as it is now. Restaurant Tatiana in Katowice has amazing local food with touches of European cuisine. This is a great place to unwind from the heavy afternoon. I enjoyed the fresh Avocado toast and Salmon fillet as an appetizer and main course. It looks great and it tastes even better!
++ Shots, shots and more shots
Everyone knows that the Polish love vodka. Therefore it’s time to go to the bar and blend in with the locals. Some shots of vodka? Every bar offers shots with different flavours. I loved the cranberry vodka, makes it nice and sweet. And it won’t break the bank, shots are just 1 euro!
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself dancing to Polish music in a night club, vodka does things to people. Oh and if you do go too Spiż, it will be a blast.
