Just back from Krakow

And who the hell need trash pissing on the streets ? Sad we don't have a law, which would let us crush skull of such "tourists".

that include the poles that do it too yea? id hate to think you'd discriminate one drunk from another

POLES, IRISH, ENGLISH, there are p1ss heads in every country doing this and i think they should be fined! (ie take the drinking money off them) which id prefer to skull crushing to be honest - better revenue to spend on social care etc

In Poland ? No.

with such a long stay, you should have had a day by the Czorsztyn lake and Niedzica castle zzw-niedzica.com.pl/zamkia.htm, climb the Three crowns in the Pieniny mountains pieninypn.pl , do the rafting down the Dunajec river flisacy.pl, and what about Zakopane krakow-info/1tatry.htm!

And even more!
alku.blox.pl

I just got back from Krakow (was there Apr. 5-8). Granted it was a poor time to visit, what with the Easter holiday and all as well as Poland being a devoutly Catholic country, I still had an excellent time.

The food was amazing. I stuck with eating in as many Polish restaurants as possible. I refrained from eating at the Indian or Chinese places because I figured the pleasure of immersing oneself in another country's culture would be lost if I had not eaten its food. Plus Polish food is so tasty. I remember my first experience at a particular restaurant and they served bread with cottage cheese and lard (Yes lard!) as the bread spreads, rather than the butter that I am used to.

I did get to experience a good amount of the night scene. Polish people are so friendly. I really did not expect everyone to be smiling for no apparent reason. Krakow is a large city after all so it did have its "large city vibes". What I thought was very cool was when people realized that I was American (mostly when I began to speak), it seemed that everyone instantly warmed up to me.

"You are an American? What are you doing in Poland?" was a typical question I would get. I even ran across a few British stag groups doing their thing in Krakow. They seemed like very nice guys but they were, admittedly, a bit rowdy. But it is a bachelor party, after all. I will readily admit to being rowdy whenever I am participating in such affairs.

All in all, Krakow was great. I would definitely go back and the next time will not be a religious holiday. Poland's people and cuisine alone are enough to make me come back. Plus the city is just so clean. The Polish people definitely take pride in Krakow. Not a speck of debris on the streets.

Thanks Krakow for a great time!

P.S.

Polish women are amazingly gorgeous! They are just... Wow. And they're excellent lovers to boot! I wouldn't mind settling down with one. :)

oh yes mate... it wasn't the one which has bed as chairs...? :)

I don't think so, friend. I've read about a particular spot over in Poland that uses beds as chairs, but did not get a chance to visit it.

Would you know the name of this place, BubbaWoo?

the place i am talking about is next to nathens hostel in Krakow... not sure of the name and i despite walking past it many times i would never have guessed it was a restaurant unless a friend took me in... which seems to be the case for a number of polish eateries...

It's "Chlopskie jadlo", sw.Jana street.

Got to laugh at some of the comments, I have been to Krakow and the Polish people are very friendly, it is true that some of the English visitors are badly behaved, but guess what?, so are many of the local Polish people.

as for only going to Krakow for a long weekend, I suggest that people go and explore the area surrounding Krakow, you will be amazed at some of the historical sites you can see.

For me the best time to visit Krakow is during the Jewish festival, it is absolutely superb.

And if all else fails take a trip to Warsaw, the City might not be as beautiful as Krakow
but the nightlife is brilliant.

one big problem in Krakow, smoking.
you try to eat or drink and people smoke,when will they ban it like the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain etc.
i hate coming home and having to shower and wash my clothes.

I've just got back from Krakow too. It's my second trip out there.

I was introduced to "The Bull" by an English friend who lived out there, which made me smile, although I had to point out to the bar staff that although it was a good attempt at an English Pub, there was one small mistake. We don't have European Buffalo in the UK, so having 2 of their heads mounted on the wall was a bit odd!

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't find the Polish grumpy or sad at all. Most of them smiled when I spoke to them. Or maybe they were laughing at my attempts at Polish!

I was concerned that there seems to be an England Football bar in Krakow now. I popped in there for one beer, and left very quickly after necking it. It really does have the distilled essence of why I can't stand football!

I didn't have any problems with the public transport. I even got myself down to Zakopane via coach, although going on a Sunday was a mistake... I was hoping to hire a snowboard and bounce down the mountain. Oh well... Next time I'll know the hire shops are shut on a Sunday! Or maybe I'll just take my own snowboard with me and pay the baggage fee. :-)

My only concern is that Krakow might be in danger of loosing some of it's identity. Last year when I went, I was horrified to find a McDonalds in the old town. Now there is a KFC and a Pizza Hut. Although it's hard to complain when KFC do deliveries (yum), I really think these businesses should be kept as far away from the main square as possible. After all, there are enough restaurant in the old town to keep you happy for years... Some of the best being hidden away below the court yards :-) Can't remember the name of it, but traditional Polish food is yum... What's the name of the soup that comes in a big round hollowed out loaf of bread? It has eggs and sausage in it. Very good on a cold day.

Now if only I could get to grips with the language a bit more...

Dwa Żywiec prosze :o)

yeah that place is a complete dump!! most ex-pats avoid it like the plague. shame, because if you would have turned right at the corner, you would have found one off the most chilled bars in Krakow, RE

the bull is nice, not my place though, i tend to go to nic nowego or pauza. cool, chilled, hang out places.

you are right in saying that Krakow is starting to loose its charm, but don't feel down, come during the winter, when the tourists go and the town really comes alive:D

I visited Krakow at the end of Jan 06,. and found the place to be fantastic,.. yes I was part of a group of grown men (5) and as far as I could see the only group of blokes that weekend,well, didn't bump into anyone else. we are all mature and responsible professional adults and yes we did go out on the sauce at nights and visited a few bars and clubs didn't have a problem in any of the clubs apart from one when as soon as we walked in we were wrapped up by the door staff ( surrounded at a discrete distance ) we downed and left,.... and found another great place.

The people was great never had a problem at all, it does help to learn the basics of a language hello, goodbye, thank you, excuse me, etc etc

we got to know a taxi driver who was our transport for the weekend, he was very proud of his city and used to play for one of the football teams and was a font of knowledge,..

Yes some would look at you funny when you walked into a bar or restaurant but if you smiled and joked when you asked for something they soon warmed to you.

As for feeling threatened, well I can say that there are a lot of locals here in England that feel threatened and thats from their own neighbours so to speak, and this weekend culture here in England spills over to the European cities, sadly

I do hope that Krakow does not turn into a Prague but with easy jet now flying from Gatwick, you may well get some of my fellow Londoners, coming for this summer that will try.

Would I return to Krakow,.. yes most definitely but again in the winter as I don't to see the idiots in the Summer time.

Lion

Believe me, neither Prozac nor Frantic nor any other krakowian club needs stag parties to prosper ;)


Maybe you mean Babci Maliny?

- Right on, man. We need Yanks like yourself in Poland, we really do.
:)

I am not a yank, this nickname is only a relict from a long time ago ;)

Cheers, I'll mention that to my ex-pat friend and see if he knows of the place.


The Bull was quite a giggle, but I did leave at about 8pm. From what I heard from a couple I'd got friendly with, it got a bit pissed uk brits doing the pushy shovey later, which is a pity.


I've never actually been there in the summer. Last year it was the beginning of December, and weirdly warm. This year it was the middle of November and 8 inches deep in snow!

I also got out of the town and out into the country to stay with a Polish friend of mine and her family. That was quite interesting, staying in a little Polish mining town where I was the only non-Pole. Actually I think I was the only non-villager! No complains though, I think I might be addicted to Polish cheesecake now. :-D

I made it down to Zakopane on the coach, and enjoyed the scenery, the pierogi (my Polish spelling sucks!), and the hot beer with fruit juice. I'm going to go back for a Long weekend in January and this time I'm bringing my snowboard. Look out below! :o)

I was in Krakow last July and discovered that exposure of westerners through massive tourism has seriously damaged foreigners' reputation among polish girls.Girls who in the past were friendly and pretty accessible,now they seem to be frustrated,angry with foreigners and they sometimes say bad words to them.

I saw men trying to pick up women with ridiculous ways anyway possible.The availability of polish girls in Krakow will soon become zero if massive tourism continues this way.

The only girls who smiled and exposed cleavage were the ones in supermarkets and other shops,another disappointing discovery.They lean to expose their breast only to sell you a toothpaste.This is the result of market economy on polish soul.

Californians look like they are always smiling because of all of the cosmetic surgery they have had :)

Yes, Krakow is nice and worth a visit for a long week end but no more. Unfortunately all the Poles are like that and never smile. One day to see the Old Square and another to see the old castle is enough to see everything. The poles call Krakow 'their Prague' but for my liking, Krakow and Prague are similar only in the fact that both cities share the same Latin alphabet in their spellings!

It's not Poles. It's foreigners.

Why would Poles call Krakow their Prague if Krakow is lately more popular than Prague. It would be like having driving a truck and bragging about being able to ride a bicycle.

The most popular destinations for EU travellers:
Florence
Rome
Venice
Istambul
Krakow
Paris
Prague
Siena
Sevilla
Barcelona.

Krakow is more popular than Prague-hard to believe. It is true to say that Prague is full of 'wall-to-wall' tourists but there is simply no comparison between Prague and Krakow.

Michal, wake up!
You have been in Poland an epoch ago! Life went on and left you behind.

No, I was in Krakow very recently and do know what is like. I even visited Bochnia by train at the same time. It was 1985 or 1986.

It was 1985...:-)))

"Recently" Some members of this forum weren't even born then.
As you have been told before, many times, the Poland of today is very different.

ha ha that made me laugh. that is so recently! its like 5 minutes ago. oh gawd its amazing, did you type that with a straight face? if you haven't been to Poland since then, you really have no idea what its like anymore.

I wonder if Jaruzelski has fulfilled your expectations in government or the party is going to dismiss him.

I feel bad for you. You missed the real Krakow. I have been there now for increasingly longer visits the last three years, and intend to return as often as possible. I have not even come close to seeing all the "Must see" tourist venues, but the Polish people have been fantastic. I have been invited to homes, for meals and for several days as a guest by several families who I met in places like milk bars. I have never experienced such warm hospitality any other place and I am nearly 70 years old. My suggestion, learn a few phrases of Polish and show some respect, I think you will have different interactions. By the way, I am not Polish by blood, my forbears are Brits, but I am now Polish in my heart. Great country, Krakow truly magic city, Polish people and culture, unique and admirable.