Experience in Krakow, Poland by Ivana

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What is it like to live in Krakow? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

It was an amazing experience, I lived in a multicultural environment - a student dormitory with many international students as well as Polish ones. The dormitory (Piast) was a great place to meet new interesting people and the Polish students were always willing to help and give a piece of advice.

There is always something to do in the city, in case one is not interested only in the ESN parties and events, or going to pubs in the Old Town and Kazimierz (the best part of Krakow), there are many art galleries (Mocak, Bunkier Sztuki, AG Galeria and even National Museum has a considerably huge offer of paintings) with free opening exhibitions (and free welcome drinks).

Museums like the Czartoryjski Museum display a collection of ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian artefacts, or there is the famous Schindler's Factory - a holocaust memorial, probably one of the top of its kind in the world, presenting the daily lives of the Polish Jewish citizens in Poland before the WWII and their suffering and monstrous acts committed by people all over Europe collaborating with the Nazi and Fascist regimes during the WWII.

In case one is more interested in visual art, there are cinemas in the very city centre (Kino Pod Baranami, Kino Ars) or big multiplexes all selling cheap student tickets (e. g. cinema in Galeria Kazimierz or Galeria Bonarka).

Moreover, there are several theatres also relatively near the main square with good prices and always something promising in their repertoire (usually in Polish language) - dramas/ comedies in Teatr Bagatela or Teatr Stary, or opera and ballet in Opera Krakowska.

I definitely recommend Krakow as a city to live in, for it has a wonderful atmosphere owing to its architecture and people always hanging around and having fun. It is one of the safest cities in Europe and immediately makes you feel like home.

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How much does it cost to live in Krakow?

If one doesn't do clubbing, the minimum is between 90 to 100 euro monthly for the rent in the dormitory plus money spent on food, cca 150 euro if one cooks for himself/ herself, so altogether around 250 euro/ month. If one does do the cultural activities, from time to time eating in the average price restaurants and clubbing, it could be 350 and more per month.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Krakow? Is there any advice you can give?

The best option and most economic one is to live in the dormitory. There are websites advertising apartments/ rooms for rent. Usually, when these are on Polish websites written in English, the rent is higher, more expensive. The ads on Facebook websites are usually lower, but in any case I do recommend to ask a Polish speaking person to read your contract if it's in Polish, before actually signing the contract cos' the conditions might be dubious, even misleading.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

The food is good, it satisfies to the full, if you don't mind western Slavic cuisine consisting a lot of flour and potatoes. In the traditional Polish cuisine, there are not too many fresh vegetables to be found, but in Krakow one may find tons of ethnic restaurants for reasonable prices, bistros for vegetarians or vegans, and really cheap dinners where you can choose from a wide range of dishes. I especially liked the chocolate zucchini cake or the carrot cake in Green Way as well as their vegetarian burrito, or the chocolate banana/ orange/ strawberry brownie in Barfly in Kazimierz. In fact, I loved the pasta and almost all the dishes on the menu in Barfly and all their cakes were amazing!

Is it good to eat out in Krakow? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

• Barfly
• Streat Slow Foodand their burger called Le Ser,
• The Duck in Klezmer Hois,
• the Szalom Falafel,
• BLT bagel in Bagelmama.
• A street food truck with Belgian Fries at Sw. Wawrzynca 16- at the same address you can also find a truck with delicious French pancakes.
• In Coca in Kazimierz you get one of the two best ice creams in the city;
• the second one is Lodziarnia on Starowislna 83.

In the Old town there are several dinners with menus for good prices, like:

• Gospoda Koko on Golebia Street, or a diner right next to the Faculty of Law and Administration,
• the Cafe Botanica on Bracka Street.

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