More than halfway through my trip, I have finally landed in my Polish motherland. I am writing from the lobby of The Stranger, a week-old hostel in Krakow, just a few minutes from Old Town Square. More about this in a minute, but first a summary of my last few days in Prague.

Only in Prague — loose undies in the city center

Sunday and Monday, I spent most of the day walking around Prague. The Czechs won their first-round Euro Cup playoff game against Denmark, so the streets were brimming with crazies. In a brief lapse of judgment, I checked out the tacky Spider and Scorpion Museum. Later, my host Taylor and I strolled through some of the hairier parts of Prague. I think it’s great that the Czechs have responded to the fall of communism with a tongue-in-cheek spirit. Case in point: turning broadcast towers — former scrambling antennae — into an art project by attaching black baby sculptures with large coin slots cut into their faces, supposedly representing communist greed.

The Chicagoans out there might appreciate that Prague is currently displaying their version of “Cows on Parade,” with fiberglass cows all over the place. The most amusing is painted black, featuring an especially large reproductive appendage covered by “Censored!” plaques.

Kutna Hora ossuary

Tuesday, I took a daytrip to the nearby city of Kutna Hora, which once was home to Europe’s largest silver mine. According to legend, because of its good fortune, many Czechs wanted to be buried there. Before long, bodies were piling up faster than they could be buried. A local artist went nuts with the remains and what came out is a Czech relic: a church featuring massive sculptures, ornaments, chandeliers and pyramids made from 40,000 skeletons. A bit creepy — but really cool.

Wednesday was a shopping day. I headed over to Tesco, a UK-based department store chain, where I procured some supplies for our camping trip. Starting next Monday, four of us (my friends Taylor, Daniela, Serge and I) will be renting a car and camping for three weeks, driving from the High Tatra Mountains in southern Poland down to Dubrovnik on the southern tip of Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast. My gear purchases: trekking poles ($30), tent ($8!), sleeping bag ($12!) and sleeping pad ($2.50). I wonder if trash bags and a few twigs would provide sturdier shelter than a $8 tent.

Market Square, Krakow, Poland

Now I’m in Krakow, and for the first time in my life, I can practice my Polish with people outside my immediate family. Growing up, Polish was a secret code my mom and I used to make fun of people behind their back; here, it’s the word of the land. My grammar is way off but people have complimented my accent. I wish I were able to spend more time here, but I guess that’s the whole point of the whirlwind-type trip: discovering where to return and which places to avoid.

It seems the Poles take great pride in their signage. Each store features as many signs as its facade can fit, and many shop owners don’t stop until the windows are half-covered, too. I think I saw a cell-phone store sporting a Tyskie Pivo On Tap sign just for the hell of it. It rained last night, but I put on my Nedved jersey anyway and found a bar where I could watch the Czech Republic vs. Greece Euro Cup playoff match. My Czechs lost in the last minute of overtime. So it goes.

I spent this morning wandering around the Old Town and the Wawel castle area. Tomorrow I am planning on visiting a huge nearby salt mine, and then Sunday I’m off to Zakopane in the High Tatras for some mountain relaxation and some serious hiking before the road trip. Until then, czesc!