Kraków Zoo, the Polish Maldives – Zakrzówek quarry and another unexpected adventure

The next day in Kraków we decided to check out somewhere completely different, further away from the local sights: the Zakrzówek lido.

The car was still at the garage, so we relied on Bolt, which we’d grown quite fond of during our stay. Mainly because of the price, which was really low, and also for the comfort. You don’t have to worry about buses or timing at all. 🚖

Zakrzówek – a lido in a former quarry

When you hear the word “lido”, you probably picture a classic pool. Zakrzówek is something completely different, though.

Thanks to its turquoise water and pale limestone cliffs, Zakrzówek is often nicknamed the Polish Maldives. And once you see the place for yourself, you can see why. It’s a former limestone quarry that was flooded after mining ended and gradually turned into one of Kraków’s favourite spots to relax. Today it’s part of a large recreational park covering more than 50 hectares.

Wooden floating walkways have been built on the water, with five pools of varying depth in between. There are shallow sections suitable even for children, but also pools 3.5 metres deep for more experienced swimmers. I have to say it’s a really interesting place. The water, the rocks and the wooden walkways feel completely different from a classic city lido. 🌊

Zakrzówek — a lido in a flooded limestone quarry, known as the Polish Maldives

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Goodbyes and another night in Kraków

That day we also had to say goodbye to my best friend and my uncle. They both needed to get home, and a very long bus journey all the way to Jihlava awaited them. I really didn’t envy them that. 🫤

According to the garage, there was hope our car might finally be fixed the following day.

So we had to find accommodation for one more night. The apartment where we’d spent two nights no longer had a free room for the next one. This time we chose a hotel with breakfast. After our previous accommodation experience, we naturally paid a bit more attention to its location and reviews too. We really didn’t need another night with trams rattling under our window. 🙂

The hotel had luggage storage, so we left all our things there and started thinking about what to do with the rest of the day. And then it occurred to us to go and check out Kraków Zoo.

Kraków Zoo in the middle of a forest

Kraków Zoo is located on the western edge of the city in a forest called Las Wolski, so we had Bolt take us there again. It’s quite far from the centre, about nine kilometres. But its location is, in my opinion, exactly what makes this zoo so pleasant. It’s really tucked away among the trees, and the whole grounds feel very green and natural. At times, walking through it, you get the feeling you’re not even in a big city.

Entering Kraków Zoo and our first walk among the aviaries and trees

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The zoo first opened back in 1929. Today it covers an area of about 20 hectares and is home to around 1,500 animals. More than a hundred of the species kept here are endangered or declining. We quite liked this zoo. We saw lots of animals, and I was really excited about the penguins, which I love. My husband was thrilled with the red pandas. 🙂

Giraffes, camels, tigers, hippos — and my penguins with my husband's red panda

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We were also lucky enough to catch the elephant feeding. We really enjoyed that. During feeding, the elephants cooperated with their keeper and performed various trained movements on command. They lifted their feet, positioned themselves as instructed, and always got a treat for it. 🙂

At the end, we also walked through the terrariums and the sea aquarium, where we saw iguanas, tortoises, snakes and colourful fish among the corals. 🙂

Elephant feeding and the end of our walk through the terrariums and sea aquarium

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And now, somehow getting out of here

It took us several hours to see everything at the zoo and walk through it all. After our walk, we wanted to head back to the city. But we ran into a small problem. We had no mobile signal. I don’t know if we were just unlucky with our carrier, but even the internet simply wasn’t working for us. And without internet, we obviously couldn’t order a Bolt.

There was a small souvenir shop on the grounds, so we went to ask the staff if they could maybe tell us the Wi-Fi password or help us order a taxi. Unfortunately, this time we ran into a man who didn’t want to help. I have to add, though, that this was really an exception during our stay in Kraków. Everywhere else we met really lovely people who tried to help us – whether in shops, at accommodation, or with our car troubles.

So there we stood outside the zoo with no internet, wondering what to do now.

A bus to who-knows-where

A short distance from the zoo, we noticed a bus stop. Several people were waiting there, so it was clear some bus would probably come soon. The only problem was that without internet we had absolutely no idea where it actually went. We told ourselves it didn’t really matter, though. As long as it took us somewhere we’d catch a signal on our phones again. 🙂

The bus arrived and we got on. We wanted to buy a ticket and pay by card at the machine inside the bus. We tapped our card, tried everything possible, but nothing happened at all. The contactless payment symbol was there on the machine, so as far as we could tell it was the right symbol for card payment, but paying by card just wouldn’t work. So my husband went up to the driver and asked for help. The driver first told him that paying by card should normally work. When it still didn’t work for us, though, he got up from his seat and went to look at the machine himself. And then he discovered that this particular bus had a machine that didn’t accept cards at all. And apparently he didn’t even know that himself. 🙂

The machine only accepted coins. At that moment, the passengers around us immediately wanted to help and offered us their coins. Luckily, though, I found some small Polish złoty coins in my wallet, so we were able to buy time-limited tickets. And then we just kept an eye on the time so we’d know when to get off.

After a while we got off at a stop where we finally had mobile signal again. And the first thing to do was, of course, clear: order a Bolt. It took us straight to the hotel. Right next to it we had a grocery shop, so we bought something for dinner and then looked forward to finally resting after the whole day.

The car will be ready tomorrow… maybe

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and waited for news from the garage. We found out, though, that the car still wouldn’t be ready. So another whole day in Kraków awaited us.

And what did we do in Kraków? You’ll find out in the next article. 🙂

Which animal is your favourite at the zoo? 🙂