Karkow - Poland : Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:43 pm  

Heading over to Krakow for the weekend and wondered if anyone can recommend any nice places to eat and good bars?

Also any relaxing activities during the day?

Thanks

[Bullseye]

Re: Karkow - Poland : Tue Sep 24, 2013 5:44 pm  

There's quite a few bars and restaurants around the main square. There's also a nice square in the old Jewish Quarter too with a few bars and restaurants. Try some perogi while you're there. We went on a trip to the local salt mine which was pretty cool. It's a nice city.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:51 pm  

Kazimierz district which is the old jewish quarter before the Nazi's had their way, has some very nice quirky and bohemian bars

Propaganda is a must if only to try to navigate its spiral staircase when drunk, and marval at all the soviet era ephemera.

Alchemia is nice to chill out in and have a chat.

Just off the large square, I think off Florianska street there was/is an underground bar whose name I cant remember that had a nice vibe that served a cracking selection of vodkas including some that are quite frankly ridiculously strong to the point of being able to kill you. Basically they are 80%+ alcohol

The bars round the old town square are naturally more expensive than those just a little off the beaten track so its often best to look around rather than getting ripped off by drinking outside the large square.

Outside the old town
CK Browar serves beer via drinking towers, and its their own micro brewery beer distilled onsite.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:31 pm  

Krakow is awesome. Just beware bar scams:

Before ordering any drinks confirm the price of what you are ordering upfront. Typically what happens in these scams is as follows:

You will be transiting between bars or clubs late at night. A couple of pretty girls will approach you and strike up conversation.

After a few minutes they will suggest going to bar that they know. You agree and go with them. The bar will look legit but probably have no-one in it. You order drinks and shortly thereafter the girls vanish.

You come to leave and are presented with a bill for several hundred pounds (Polish equivalent) for what amounts to little more than a normal round of drinks. If you kick up a fuss the bouncers will put the pressure on.

The bar staff will then show you their drinks menu, which has the ludicrous prices listed and until now has been hidden behind the bar. They tell you that if you don't pay they will call the police and say you are refusing payment.

This happened to me a few years ago in a place called Hard Kandi (Google it). I had been to Hard Kandi the previous year and had no problems, so I was all the more surprised. I called their bluff and told them to ring the police. Against my advice, my mate then decided to pay £200 for six beers.

A lot of bars in Krakow are underground so you probably won't have mobile phone signal if you run into trouble and need to call someone.

Krakow is a great place and you will have an amazing time. I suggest spending a few minutes on Google looking at Krakow scams to avoid having your time their ruined.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:25 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

.............. cracking selection of vodkas including some that are quite frankly ridiculously strong to the point of being able to kill you. Basically they are 80%+ alcohol

Had a few plum vodkas there (I think they are about 70%) a few years ago and finished off with a 95% alcohol one (rectified spirit I think). I was already tipsy and said yes to the offer of the 95% one. My wife questioned my wisdom but I assured her they must mean 95 degrees proof as 95% must be close to pure ethanol and poisonous. When I got up to leave and the waiter (who now looked blurred!) said "good luck sir" with a big grin, I realised it was 95%. Had an awful night in the bathroom and a headache that lasted a couple of weeks.

Before you get macho be careful. I read on the internet after my experience that Polish vodka can be dangerous. Apparently, it can be contaminated by methanol and can cause blindness or death.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:14 pm  

Propaganda looks brilliant, reminds me of some of the quirky places we visited in Ukraine and C.K. Browar also looks worth a visit - got those two down on the list.

Yeah heard about the scams so thanks for mentioning that - seems popular in a lot of European cities now unfortunately.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:31 am  

One place to eat at least once is Chlopskie Jadlo, which is just off the Old Market square, on the road towards the Jewish Quarter - about 20 yards on your right. It is themed like eating at an old style Polish farmhouse, and the portionsa re for people who have been harvesting for 18 hours. You get a free starter comprising a basket of bread and dripping to spread on it. However the service can be shiit. Pierogi are the national dish, and they can come in sweet as well as savoury (though personally I don't like the fruit ones much. Get a mix of ruskie (cheese and potato), and meat ones. If there's one tip you accept, get fed at Przystanek Pierogarnia. 5 mins walk from the main square, (14 Bonerowska St.) you leave the square in a direction behind the old church. This is one place you won't regret. Kopytka are nice but filling - its basically a simple Polish dumpling. Bigos is a hunter's stew, based on sauerkraut and cabbage, with an assortment of meats thrown in, plus mushrooms, onion etc. This can be anything from good to superb. To be accompanied by rye bread. We've been on all the usual Krakow tours and found the best cheap and cheerful tour operator to be Krakow Shuttle. You can book online before you go. The one tour I would recommend you don't miss is the Auschwitz tour. Really grim, but it should be compulsory for people to bring home the reality of what happened. Being inside an actual gas chamber is surreal. NB You can do the Wieliczka salt mine and Auschwitz in one tour but don't, Auschwitz deserves a tour on its own. The full monty Auschwitz-Birkenau tour is the one you need. Krakow Shuttle also do reasonable airport transfers. A tour of Wawel castle is a must, though you can just walk up the hill and wander about in the grounds. From the river below Wawel castle you can go on boat trips up and down the river, pick a boat with a bar and enjoy. She will love you if you take her on a horse drawn carriage trip around the city. You just hail one from the rank in the Old Town square. Another winner would be the little known roof-cafe in the Music Academy at no. 43 Sw. Tomasza street. One thing that was recommended to me - but which I've yet to do - was a "Krakow Communism Tour" in a genuine Trabant! A good walk around the Jewish quarter is a must, and whilst you can get a guide, you can do it yourself if you read up. Eg here. I think my favourite drinking place (but there are more bars and cafes than you can shake a stick at) was probably Omerta, on Kupa St in Kazimierz. Beer paradise.

One place to eat at least once is Chlopskie Jadlo, which is just off the Old Market square, on the road towards the Jewish Quarter - about 20 yards on your right. It is themed like eating at an old style Polish farmhouse, and the portionsa re for people who have been harvesting for 18 hours. You get a free starter comprising a basket of bread and dripping to spread on it. However the service can be shiit. Pierogi are the national dish, and they can come in sweet as well as savoury (though personally I don't like the fruit ones much. Get a mix of ruskie (cheese and potato), and meat ones. If there's one tip you accept, get fed at Przystanek Pierogarnia. 5 mins walk from the main square, (14 Bonerowska St.) you leave the square in a direction behind the old church. This is one place you won't regret. Kopytka are nice but filling - its basically a simple Polish dumpling. Bigos is a hunter's stew, based on sauerkraut and cabbage, with an assortment of meats thrown in, plus mushrooms, onion etc. This can be anything from good to superb. To be accompanied by rye bread. We've been on all the usual Krakow tours and found the best cheap and cheerful tour operator to be Krakow Shuttle. You can book online before you go. The one tour I would recommend you don't miss is the Auschwitz tour. Really grim, but it should be compulsory for people to bring home the reality of what happened. Being inside an actual gas chamber is surreal. NB You can do the Wieliczka salt mine and Auschwitz in one tour but don't, Auschwitz deserves a tour on its own. The full monty Auschwitz-Birkenau tour is the one you need. Krakow Shuttle also do reasonable airport transfers. A tour of Wawel castle is a must, though you can just walk up the hill and wander about in the grounds. From the river below Wawel castle you can go on boat trips up and down the river, pick a boat with a bar and enjoy. She will love you if you take her on a horse drawn carriage trip around the city. You just hail one from the rank in the Old Town square. Another winner would be the little known roof-cafe in the Music Academy at no. 43 Sw. Tomasza street. One thing that was recommended to me - but which I've yet to do - was a "Krakow Communism Tour" in a genuine Trabant! A good walk around the Jewish quarter is a must, and whilst you can get a guide, you can do it yourself if you read up. Eg here. I think my favourite drinking place (but there are more bars and cafes than you can shake a stick at) was probably Omerta, on Kupa St in Kazimierz. Beer paradise.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Wed Sep 25, 2013 6:35 pm  

Been to the Salt Mine, reture train ticket is really cheap but It's about a 10 minute walk from the station. When you get off the place looks deserted and abandoned but it's alright, may be a couple of teenagers drinking cans there.

The Salt Mine is great, just for the lift back up to the top, (and he fantastic carvings).

We stayed in the hotel Unicas. The food in the restraunt is great and less than half the price of the same quality back home (I had Venison), although there was only two other diners in when we were there so there wasn't much atmosphere.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:51 pm  

The polish have something called spiritus. It's probably illegal in the UK so your own risk if you try and bring some back.

It's about 96%.

This stuff is dangerous, do not get macho and try and drink it like normal vodka.

I once turned up with a bottle of it at a party in Derby. The host decided he could neck it like normal vodka. As a result, and having had no more than about 4 single measures, he went to bed at 11:00. People were performing half-hourly checks on him and spent most of the next day being violently ill.

Re: Karkow - Poland : Fri Sep 27, 2013 2:23 pm  

I will avoid Spiritus then!

All good advice by the sounds of it and will be checking out the bars listed above and may try the Salt mine too.

Just need to decide if to pack some shorts now!?