Krakow Study Trip

Posted on: 8 July 2024 by Immie Khan in Blog

In early June 2024, I had the incredible opportunity to join 17 fellow students on a five-day study trip to Krakow, Poland. Our group was made up of first, second and third-year Criminology and Sociology students, all eager to explore the city.

Day 1 and 2 - Arrival and Jagiellonian University

Upon arrival at our hotel, we broke off into different groups – some choosing to explore night-time Krakow through pubs, bars and eateries, while others had some much-needed sleep after tiresome travels.

Day 2 was the first scheduled day of our itinerary, in which we paid a visit to Jagiellonian University. Here, we attended a day-long seminar run by Dr Leon Moosavi and Jagiellonian professors, giving us the opportunity to meet and experience the teachings of senior lecturers at Jagiellonian University. We were tasked with integrating with their university students, one of whom we found a friend in – Patrycja! We were provided with refreshments and lunch as well, which helped fuel the immersive session. It prompted questions from both Jagiellonian and Liverpool students and addressed the seminal workings of Dr Leon Moosavi on religion, race, borders and social identity.

After spending the day at Jagiellonian, we had the rest of our day to explore and do things out of the itinerary. My friends and I decided to go to the Bunny Cafe, while others opted for the Wax Museum!

Day 3 - Auschwitz-Birkenau

Day three in Krakow welcomed us with beautiful warm weather! We visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum with our knowledgeable guide, Marius. It was a very harrowing and sombre visit, one on which we all deeply reflected while we were there.

We were then given some free time, which we used to explore various eateries in the city. My group and I decided to go and try pierogi for the first time, a delicacy we had been told to try incessantly. We met up with the rest of the students in the city centre and decided to visit a pub in the square together. The weather was beautiful, and the prices for food and drinks were very affordable – everyone had an amazing time!

Day 4 - Walking Tour and Wieliczka Salt Mine

We started the day with a walking tour of Krakow led by a local guide. This was a highly enjoyable experience for all of us, as our guide took us to some beautiful, historic locations we hadn't yet seen, blending humour and knowledge throughout the tour. We took our time to explore Krakow’s city centre eateries and made our way to the Salt Mine on the train shortly after.

After our morning tour concluded, we highly anticipated the Wieliczka Salt Mine experience, and I can confidently say that everyone enjoyed this. We licked walls made from salt, which was a weird thing to experience (it was antiseptic, it tasted great!), we saw a beautiful church inside, a chandelier made of pure salt and returned from being hundreds of feet underground in a very speedy elevator that felt like we were being teleported!

After the Salt Mine, we were allowed to go and explore once again. As it was our last night in the city of Krakow and we realised our trip was coming to an end, my group and I decided to meet up with Patrycja, a student from Jagiellonian University that we made friends with. We ate pasta at a fancy restaurant and then we departed. We are sure to keep in contact though, as the memories made on this trip were some you could only make once in a lifetime.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend that every School of Law and Social Justice student apply for future study trips. It feels amazing to make new friends abroad, as well as meeting people from your course and university that you haven’t met before. It was my first time flying abroad, and I had such an unforgettable experience. This will most certainly aid my career prospects for journalism in the future, as this trip has introduced me to how incredible travelling can be in your enlightenment. We were able to see a multitude of sites, partake in various activities and try things we haven’t tried before!

This trip was so well managed and thought out, and Siobhan Regan and Winnie Monaghan from the School of Law and Social Justice Internationalisation Team did a brilliant job maintaining enjoyment, student safety and planning a fantastic itinerary. I would also like to thank Dr Leon Moosavi for the immersive intellect he displayed at Jagiellonian University’s seminar and for bringing together such an amazing group of students. It was a pleasure to be around every student and staff member, and I have left the experience not only more social but with a group of friends that I can bond with over memories of Krakow and hopefully more travelling memories in future!

About the author

Immie Khan is a third-year Criminology student from the University of Liverpool's Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology.