Winter Clothes

When the time came to go to Poland for my Erasmus year, another doubt entered my mind: where would I get all the winter clothes I would need? Should I take clothes with me from Spain or buy stuff over there?... I'm going to tell you what I did since, obviously, I think it's the best option (if not I wouldn't have done it).

I took some waterproofs with me from Spain and in terms of warmer clothes I brought jackets, a waterproof, welly boots, jumpers... It rains a lot in the first few months so it's good to come prepared with a good waterproof jacket and wellies (it was pouring rain during my first week flat hunting in Krakow). However, a raincoat and boots might fall short since the temperatures will continue to plummet throughout the month. I won't say anything here if you decide to do the customary trip to Zakopane at the beginning of the semester but I'll leave a link: https://erasmusu.com/es/erasmus-cracovia/que-ver/zakopane-8226#p489091.

There are a few options for buying winter clothes here in Krakow:

• Galeria Krakowska. I've spoken previously about this place. It's a huge shopping centre with every kind of shop and just 10 minutes from Krakow's main square, it's a convenient place to go buy anything you need, from food to clothes to electronics. They have everything.
• Factory. A shopping centre about 30 minutes from Krakow. You can get there on the urban transport system using Jakdojade. However, since it's outside of Krakow buy a non-urban ticket unless you want to risk facing a fine. The great thing about Factory is that the shops are all branded outlets: Nike, Adidas, Levi... all at discount prices, if you're going with something specific in mind you can find a lot of good deals.
• Decathlon. Where I bought everything in the end. It's the same as in Spain, but with the exchange rate you can save some money and you'll save space in your suitcase which will probably be quite full anyway. It's the most specialised shop, if you going to the hiking section you'll find everything you need for a good price. I bought a ski jacket, snow boots, gloves, thermals... all for under €200.

You can also check out the individual shops in the centre, but I think it's best to go to one of the places mentioned here, spend the morning there and leave with everything you need rather than going round Krakow centre a hundred times.

An important point to remember is that if you're only going for the second semester you don’t really need any snow gear, there will be cold days but now at the end of March it's already 20ºC.

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