Spartanmouse

  Part 5 of my diaries from my trip to Kraków. Read them in order!   After dinner at Avacado and amber ale at Szynk, I wasn’t quite ready for bed, so I decided to explore Kraków’s nightlife a bit further; it was a Friday night afterall. Back at the hostel I changed into a shirt before taking the very familiar route up Godzka to Rynek Głowny. From there I found the well known club Frantic with ease.   Frantic’s “sniffy door policy”, as described in one of my guide books, didn’t give me any problems, though once inside I noticed that it wasn’t that full for a Friday. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the guide book might have been a bit out of date. I was happy anyhow, as I was able to find a seat at the bar and the DJ obviously knew what he was doing; a refreshing change from the Colly and other establishments of a similar calibre to which one becomes accustomed when living in Coventry!   Going to a club on your own doesn’t always make for the most exciting night, bu...

  Part 4 of my diaries from my trip to Kraków. Read them in order!   Back at the hostel, I met my first dorm mate properly. The chap who’d been in the bunk above me introduced himself as John. The owner of a couple of record shops in Philadelphia, he was having problems dealing with a break in at one of his stores from the other side of the world, thanks to an obstreperous landlord. A most amiable individual, John invited me to join him and his two friends for dinner. I accepted gratefully and he showed me on a map where we would be eating. Despite being only a few minutes walk from the hostel, over the road in Kazimierz, I turned up at the restaurant five minutes late. Not a problem, I’m sure, but I was annoyed with myself as I’d had ample time to get ready and lately had been making an effort to improve my awareness of time and my punctuality.   As I took a seat at the table outside Avacado, John’s friends introduced themselves as Chris and Justin. I thought I heard ‘Ch...

  Part 3 of my diaries from my trip to Kraków. Read them in order!   After what had felt like about 4.5 minutes of sleep, I was the first up in my dorm. Annoyingly, someone else awoke as I was getting my things together for a shower and jumped in the bathroom before me. After my shower, I went downstairs for my complimentary breakfast. This consisted of some rather cardboardy bread with some cheap margarine and equally cheap jam.   Despite being very unimpressed with the bread, I didn’t feel at all let down. The hostel seemed to cater for its guests extremely well, and for a meal included in the cost of the room, which was £10 a night, I wouldn't have expected them to put on a Full English with the option of freshly baked bread rolls with cream cheese and smoked salmon! I did, however, resolve not to take advantage of the free breakfast again.   Striding out onto the sunny streets of Kraków, I observed contentedly that whilst there were a few folk around, the city ha...

  Part 2 of my diaries from my trip to Kraków. Read them in order!   Check in at Nathan's Villa hostel was straightforward, enjoyable even, with the assistance of the friendly receptionist who spoke perfectly fluent English, albeit with a noticeable accent. I settled into my room, repacked my bag to take out with me that evening, locked up my stuff and headed out into the centre. I got some złoty at a "Kantor" (Bureau de change) and flicked through my pre-read Lonely Planet guide to Kraków to find a place to eat.   It was past 10pm by the time I got to the restaurant. I'd decided on "Kawaleria", as establishment with an equestrian theme. Perusing the menu outside, I observed that the prices were a little higher than those indicated in my guide. They were still acceptable to my budget, however, so I made my way inside. I requested a table for one in Polish, but once more, I was unable to understand the reply that came. Stock phrase no. 1 was wheeled out again...

  Part 1 of my diaries from my trip to Kraków. Read them in order!   My flight from Coventry to Katowice with Wizz Air was uneventful and the seats on the airbus A320 surprisingly comfortable, at least in comparison to those on the planes of other budget airlines I've flown with recently.   Upon arrival at the airport, I translated the Polish email confirming my booking for the coach from the airport to Kraków, with the aid of my not-so-pocket-sized dictionary, and found the location of my bus stop. Walking out of the airport it was about 15 yards directly ahead.   With 15 minutes to spare and a gentle rumble in my stomach, I wandered back into the airport building and found a small café. The selection of very fine looking and reasonably prices cakes drew me in and I eventually selected a jabłecznik (apple cake).   I knew everyone would speak English at the airport, but I wanted to practise speaking Polish as soon as I had the chance, so after rehearsing the sen...