No More Buses

Fountain in the Elephant on the Moon Garden

I am done with public transportation in Poland!  Everything was going so well this morning. Someone helped me take my baggage down three flights of stairs in Zakopane. I got a bus to Krakow right away, with a seat right behind the driver, and plenty of leg room.  I put my purse and two bags on my lap, since I didn't want to put them in the luggage compartment.

I pray my transportation curse is finally broken.  Then we reach Krakow. The bus in front of us stops suddenly.  We stop suddenly, but the truck in back of us doesn't.  He slams into the back of our bus, shattering the back window, and denting the luggage compartment, which causes our bus to slam into the bus in front of us.

Human Statues in the Rynek in Krakow 

Thank heavens, I have my bags on my lap to buffer my knees from the jolt.  Everyone seems to be okay, except for a poor old man in the back, whose mouth is bleeding.  Piling off the bus, we wait for an ambulance and the police to arrive.  Our driver manages to pry out the luggage, one by one, telling us to wait for another bus. 

No way!  Playing the ugly American, I demand a taxi.  Seeing I'm adamant, he gets out his cell phone and calls for a taxi.  Handing the taxi driver a business card with the address for my hostel, which I've learned is the best way to handle my lack of Polish and their lack of English, we speed away. 

Feeding the Pigeons in the Rynek in Krakow

It isn't very far away.  Aga, the friendly manager of the Elephant on Moon hostel, has my favorite room ready.  It has a Beatles theme and is on the first floor next to the bathroom.  Seeing I'm still a bit shaken, she orders food for us from a nearby Japanese restaurant, while I sit out in their sunny garden, listening to the soothing sound of flowing water in the fountain.  No more buses for me!