My Erasmus Experience in Katowice, Poland - by Alicia

Why did you choose to go to Katowice, Poland?

Mainly because they teach classes in English there and the cost of living was cheap (much more affordable than it would have been in Germany or in England, which were the other options I had).

How long did your scholarship last? How much were you paid?

My exchange was supposed to only last for the first semester, so from September to February. When I got there though, I was offered the opportunity of extending my exchange and in the end, I spend 9 months there. I received a total of 2, 270 euros divided into five installments. The first was paid to me in December (700 euros), the second and third in January (500 and 300 euros), and the final two in October (a total of 470 euros) the autumn after I had returned home from my exchange.

What’s the student life like in Katowice?

The student atmosphere is on fire here. I went to a private university (Gallus, the University of Economics and Languages) and there weren’t that many students there. Your main contact with native and other Erasmus students was in clubs. There are parties every night in Katowice. I’ll tell you more about the nightlife later.

Would you recommend the city and University of Katowice to other students?

Yes! Though the city doesn’t seem that attractive at first, you’ll end up growing very fond of it.

What’s the food like in Katowice?

The food isn’t very good in my opinion: there’s a lot of kebab and pizza places (you can get huge pizzas delivered to your door for just seven euros: take a look at the flyers that they give you in the streets), pierogi (very traditional), thousands of different kinds of sausages, ‘dekas’ (buffet chains which serve Polish food - you pay by weight, and you usually pay 3zl or 75 cents per 100g of food). The food here in general is quite specialised…and you’ll end up really missing Spanish food, if I’m honest. It’s cheaper than in Spain however.

Did you find it hard to find somewhere to live in Katowice?

We lived in a student hall of residence (the rent was 120 euros a month, everything included) which the university chose for us, so we had no problems with this. For the second semester, we moved into a flat on Aleja Korfantego (which cost us 135 euros a month, everything included), but normally flats cost around 200 euros per person.

How expensive is everyday life in Katowice?

In an average month, I spent around 130 euros on rent, 200 euros on food and 30 euros on my gym membership. Being a student, public transport costs you around 50 cents per journey on the bus or tram. For going out, a one-litre bottle of vodka (Zubrowka Blanco is the best I tried, and good for hangovers) won’t cost you more than 10 euros, and drinks in clubs are around 3 euros. Beer is cheaper than this, but tequila is more expensive.

How are you finding the language? Have you signed up to a language class at the university?

The truth is that if you’re quite good at English, then you’ll be fine here. I went to some Polish classes, but like with everything…if you don’t really need it, then…! Polish is also a really hard language to learn!

What’s the cheapest way of getting to Katowice from your home city?

By plane, with Ryanair.

What are the best places for partying in Katowice?

There are parties everyday in the clubs, and you’ll meet everyone you know there. I recommend adding all the clubs as friends on Facebook, because then you’ll find out about all the upcoming parties and promotions.

• Mondays: Club Carpe Diem. They sell half litre drinks here for under one euro, I think for something like 3zl, and have free table football, a dance floor and a lot of rooms with sofas where you can chill while having some drinks.
• Tuesdays: Karaoke in Carpe Diem and drinks in a bar.
• Wednesdays: Pomarancza. The cheapest drink here is vodka and orange juice for 12l.
• Thursdays: Kuadratic, an underground club in one of the university residences.
• Fridays: Kuadratic.
• Saturdays: Ul Mariacka, several pubs such as Limonade…there are also clubs like Pomarancza and Energy (an enormous club which plays electro music and has several floors and rooms, even serves food and is the only club I know of here which you have to pay to enter: 25zl, so 6 euros).
• Sundays: Any bars you see are open.

Always take your student card with you: you can get one from the university. It’s free to get into most clubs with this, and in some places, the drinks are even cheaper.

If you’re looking for a casino, you’ll find one on the top floor of the Hotel Qubus building on Aleja Korfantego. It’s easy to find, since it’s the tallest building in Katowice. You can also find some of the gyms with best value for money in the building (mine was here).

What about eating out in Katowice? What are your favourite places?

For sushi lovers, I recommend a place next to the shopping centre ‘Silesian City Centre’ called Hana Sushi. For 15 euros, they serve you personalised dishes, and you can eat delicious sushi until you burst with drinks included (you don’t find this kind of value for money anywhere else).

What does Katowice have to offer in terms of culture?

Culture…well, to be honest, Katowice doesn’t have much of it. The Spotek, the Ul. Maroacka, the cathedral (on the outskirts), the shopping centre…and the clubs. If you want to do some real sight-seeing, visit Krakow or Warsaw and enjoy the nightlife there.;)

To get to Krakow from Katowice, I recommend getting the minibus. Tickets cost 3 euros and the journey takes an hour. You can catch the minibus from the bus station, or from Aleja Korfantego (just in front of Hotel Katowice). A good idea is to get the last bus to Krakow to go partying, and then come home on the first one that runs early in the morning. If not, there are really cheap hostels you can stay in: Hostel Dragon for example is twelve minutes’ walk away from the market place, and only costs 6 euros a night with a kitchen.

To get to Auschwitz from Katowice, I recommend getting the train. A ticket costs 5zl, so 1. 25 euros. You can also get the bus there, but it’ll cost you double as much as it would to get the train, and the train is much more comfortable. Set off early in the morning. You can eat there cheaply.

To watch the football, there’s a bar on one of the Ul porches. Maja where lots of the Liga Española games are shown (above all Madrid vs. Barcelona games).

Do you have any advice for future students coming to Katowice?

Pfft…just enjoy yourself! Take care with how much you eat and drink, because I came home weighing eight kilos more. Travel as much as you can.

I recommend you use a site where you can find free accommodation for this, in every city and country - and through it, you also get to know lots of people who’ll show you around the place you’re visiting and tell you how to get to places. I’ve used it in Germany, Austria, Sweden and Hungary, and intend to carry on using it! It’s called Couchsurfing.

You can also car share to save costs on travelling. There are car sharing sites for every country…in Spain, I use Blablacar.