But before the night could end...

A stay in a hostel would not be complete without having made some international friends. These guys were visiting for the weekend from Ireland (though they are French and Belgium natives) and had no idea that A. The Pope was visiting and B. Prohibition was in effect!

A last shot of our Hostel in downtown Krakow.

We had to say goodbye to Magda. Bartosz was taking us to the airport on Sunday. :(

As we made our way back to the hostel, the night was crisp and the downtown empty. Bartosz was worried about traffic to the airport since the Pope was to depart around the same time our flight was scheduled. When we arrived at the hostel, we had to tell Magda goodbye. She was such a wonderful host to us and we were sad to say good-bye! As she and Bartosz left, we sat down in the common area to catch our breath and plan for our packing up portion. Ugh. The room at the hostel, shared with 4 other people, was very small and difficult to move around in and pack and repack, etc. This is why I wasn't buying souvenirs! I had one small carry-on size suitcase and a carry-on bag!

As many of you know from receiving my e-mail during this time - Prohibition was in effect. Prohibition? WHAT? Yes, out of respect for the Pope's visit, all purchase and consumption of alcohol was strictly forbidden. All bars and liquor stores were closed. Although I did read in the Newark Advocate (of all things!) that during this time the Pope had wine with his dinner!!! I sent that link to all my new Polish buddies for a good laugh.

So, in the meantime while we were deciding how to pack and spend our last day in Poland, there were several guys sitting in the common area of our hostel as well. Most were French, one was from Belgium, but the French guys were living in Ireland, working. They happened to come to Poland on holiday, unaware of the Pope's visit or that the purchase and consumption of alcohol would be forbidden! Needless to say, they were the adventurous type and somehow bargained their way into some form of imbibing material. Since they had just arrived that day, we shared some stories with them, photos, places to visit, maps. Then, two more girls joined us that were staying in our room. Turns out they were from Pennsylvania, two sisters that were on vacation as one had just graduated from college. Somehow it was decided among them that to keep the noise down (other residents were sleeping), the party should be taken outside and to some local bar or dance club - did anyone pay any attention to the facts about Prohibition??

From here - the sketchy details - someone or two or three, departed the hostel with open containers...didn't even get to the corner near the plaza and the entire group was taken into custody by the 8 million police officers manning the area...(didn't anyone notice that, either??)

Fortunately for them, they were just held for a while and questioned. Pretty tough to answer Polish police officers that don't speak English, I would imagine!!!