Culture & Entertainment
My favourite new travel hack: It's all about the book!
![Canadian Living](/assets/img/default.jpg?v=1721954110)
Culture & Entertainment
My favourite new travel hack: It's all about the book!
How to find fiction that's set in a place you're planning to visit
And that's how I landed on this book titled "Even the Crows Say Krakow" by James Hopkin.
Ticket? Check. Hotel booking? Check. Travel guide? Check. Fiction to read on the plane? Check. Guess who's a happy traveller now?
![Mark-tollerman-krakow](https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/cl_prod/canadian_living-_-4b223183-c2b7-4594-9100-3c38f3d29984-_-Mark-tollerman-krakow-600x401.jpg)
Tradition and modernity roll side by side in the middle of Krakow (Courtesy FlickrCC/Mark Tollerman)
I've just discovered an amazing tool to help me when I'm planning a trip: tripfiction.com. I'm leaving next week on a short trip to Krakow, Poland, a city I've longed wanted to visit ever since I watched (so many years ago!) the emotional, Oscar-winning movie "Schindler's List." In fact, I plan to visit Oskar Schindler's factory, which played a huge role in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster movie. It's in that building that Schindler employed – and then ultimately saved – hundreds of Jews from the Nazi death machine. The factory is now an artist-run studio space and gallery. Christmas markets will be on my list, Polish castles, a tour down into the salt mines, and perhaps a visit to Auschwitz concentration camp on a day trip outside Krakow. I'll also be checking out the food scene, galleries devoted to contemporary Polish art – and I've even booked a visit to a monastery where the monks serve up their own local brew.![Wawel Castle](https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/cl_prod/canadian_living-_-6212d0eb-a0a4-478c-8887-03e8697b9d33-_-Wawel_castle-600x364.jpg)
Wawel Castle with the Wawel Cathedral, Krakow (Courtesy FlickrCC/J.Boyer)
So it's obviously I've done a fair bit of information-gathering which is part of my craft as a frequent travel writer. But it's also been a longtime habit of mine to read fiction set in the destination I'm planning to visit. Reading dramas, mysteries or even romances set in a specific locale helps me get the flavour of a place, possibly extra insight into the personality and character of a place that is new to me. So I did a shout-out on Twitter and Facebook asking people to recommend fiction set in Krakow. That's how I found about tripfiction.com. It's simple: you type in the city or country you're planning to visit, even an author's name should you desire, and hit 'submit.'![tripfiction](https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/cl_prod/canadian_living-_-13f530cd-e83c-44d9-9b7d-9144b9a39f21-_-trip-fiction-600x531.png)
![Even the Crows Say Krakow](https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/cl_prod/canadian_living-_-1239f4a3-a378-4b61-896c-81bb453006df-_-even_thecover.jpg)
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