I went to Krakow 3 years ago and absolutely loved it. We spent 2.5 days there; I would have liked to have stayed a bit longer to get in some more day trips. We did go to Auschwitz, which I found incredibly sad and moving and important to have seen.

For some reason, I ran into a lot of people who did not speak English, but German worked most of the time. My brother went to Krakow last spring and had no problems speaking English.

Regarding the food - it's all a matter of taste. I grew up eating Polish food and was in heaven in Krakow! And the beer isn't too bad either.