Erasmus Experience in Wroclaw, Poland by Karla

Why did you choose to go to Wroclaw, Poland?

It's a cheap country, and it looked pretty surrounded by rivers.

Source

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I'm from Spain, and I got a total of 2100 euros for the whole year. To be honest, the housing here is more expensive than I expected: a student dorm (shared room) is around 500zl, while a single room goes up to 950zl. If you want to live in a private place, the price keeps going up. So unfortunately, my grant wasn't enough to cover everything.

What is the student lifestyle like in Wroclaw?

It's great. There are parties every week, the parties at the dorms are great. There are also loads of things to do as a student, the university organizes things and there's people from all over the world, which makes it really interesting to mingle and socialize.

There's also lots of cultural things to do, like expositions or food festivals, so it's not only party 24/7.

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

Yes.

What is the food like?

Polish food is so nice. I've learned to love soup, they have so many different types. And it's so cheap to eat out, for 2 euros you can have a massive plate and you'll be so full that you won't eat for the rest of the day.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Wroclaw?

Yes, it was hard so I finally gave up and signed up for the dorms. Only Olowek and Kredka are worth it, the rest are really bad because you have to share a kitchen and a bathroom with an entire floor.

How much does it cost to live in Wroclaw?

From 450zl to 550zl for a shared room, and a private room goes from 700zl.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

Polish is imposible, but you can move around with a few words. Yes, and I recommend it fully! I met lots of nice people, and the classes are really dynamic.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Wroclaw from your city?

By plane.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Wroclaw?

Depends on the day of the week, on Mondays there is Akademia, on Tuesdays Melanz, on Thursdays Xdemon and so on. Theres really nice bars too, but they close early.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Wroclaw?

Anywhere really, they make amazing food anywhere. If you want traditional polish food go to Kurna Chata and order the soup in bread, they're amazing and so cheap.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

There's not much to be honest, the churches, and not much more, but it has a lot of history and it has a great feeling to it. The city center is just really nice to go around, and in christmas it's beautiful.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Wroclaw in the future?

It's in a great location if you want to go on trips to Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Krakow, Warsaw... you can get to all of them in 3-5 hours by bus and it's super cheap. And also you can get to cities like Paris and Brussels for under 10 euros, and other crazy places like Iceland or Israel, it's really cheap compared if you go from other cities.

There's loads of students, and it's just the right size: not too big, not too small. You end up loving this time.