Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • Krakow – Train to Wieliczka Salt Mine

    There are a lot of companies offering tours to the salt mines at Wieliczka and some of them appear to be rather expensive. I opted to go by train and the ticket cost the grand total of 3.50zl (which is about 75p) to get there, which puts into perspective how much more expensive the tour companies are.

    The train takes forty minutes and it’s the service which comes from (and to) Krakow airport. It’s nice and shiny both internally and externally.

    The train was modern inside and there were power points available at the seats. I bought my ticket at the ticket office at Krakow’s main railway station, although you can buy the ticket at machines at both Krakow and Wieliczka. There’s also a ticket machine inside the train carriage, making this one of the smoothest ticket purchasing options possible, with cards and cash both accepted. It certainly puts some cities, not least Turin, to shame.

    There are also numerous bus services which go to the mines, but for sheer convenience and low fares, I personally think that the train is the most efficient and comfortable way to go.

  • Krakow – Ghetto Wall

    There are, to my knowledge, two intact sections of ghetto wall left in Krakow, and this is the longest section which is located at ulica Limanowskiego. Looking at this remnant now, it is a sobering juxtaposition having a children’s playground located next to the wall.

    The wall was deliberately built to look like Jewish tombstones, and effectively the ghetto was established as a holding area to use people as free labour before their transportation to concentration camps. The ghetto was deliberately packed, so that there were four families placed in every apartment, with some not even fortunate enough to be able to live inside.

  • Krakow – Cytat Cafe

    This cafe is located in the Jewish area of Krakow and I was attracted by the tempting signage offering coffee in an environment full of books. It sounded rather lovely.

    Internally the cafe looked welcoming, the book arch was an interesting feature, although I fear that at some point someone will take a book away from a key structural position.

    So many books…. There are also inspirational messages of various sorts which have been placed on walls around the cafe.

    The cafe was relatively large in size and there were numerous different areas. I opted for the seat by the window which looked out onto a border collie, my most favourite breed of dog.

    The latte and cake, all of a perfectly good quality. The service in the cafe was polite, although at times it seemed slightly confused, although I normally add to the chaos on such occasions. Cleanliness wasn’t great, the cafe’s toilet probably needed cleaning a matter of hours before my visit rather than minutes, and the staff didn’t seem particularly pro-active in cleaning away empty plates on tables.

    However, the environment was comfortable and welcoming, with the interior perhaps bigger than it looks from the outside. There was a decent choice of cakes for customers and the coffees were clearly written up on a large board behind the counter area. The prices weren’t unreasonable and there were also some cooked food options available for those who wanted that.

  • Priority Pass – Review

    Since I haven’t written directly about my Priority Pass card, now seems an opportune time to do it. This is primarily because they appear to be getting some really negative reviews on-line in places such as Trustpilot, which to me at least seem undeserved.

    I hadn’t really intended to get a Priority Pass card last year, but Accor were doing a special offer which meant that it was just over £210 a year for an unlimited pass. That gets me into lounges at most airports for free and I can take a guest in for £20 (was £15) although I haven’t bothered with that option as I’m happy to abandon travelling companions.

    One defining reason that I wanted one of the cards last July was that I was flying out of Luxembourg and that’s one of my favourite lounges, so Accor messaging me whilst I was in that city was just destiny as far as I was concerned…. Incidentally, that’s been the only lounge where something went wrong, as the Priority Pass system was down and they wrote down my card number and clearly never invoiced them since it never appeared on my account.

    Accessing the lounge can usually be done by downloading an App on a smartphone and showing that, although I carry my physical card as well. When someone joins the scheme they also get sent a book of where the lounges are, which is quite a substantial little tome as there are over 1,000 lounges around the world where access is possible.

    Anyway, I’ve written about several of the lounges, and there have been some really good examples, such as in Katowice, Luxembourg, Malta and Vilnius to name just a few. There’s also the Grain Lounge at Gatwick Airport, which is a restaurant where lounge card holders can go.

    One common complaint raised against Priority Pass is that some of the lounges, and these seem predominantly to be in the UK, are often full and have to turn away card holders. I’ve never been turned away, although I do try and visit at quieter times if I can which might have helped. My flights are usually at strange times of the day though, which helps me since sensible people prefer not to fly at 6am.

    There is a way round this, and that’s to pre-book a lounge by paying a sum of £5. I’m not engaged with this at all, as although it guarantees access I don’t see that this feels like a fair way of charging customers who have already paid for the pass. Some people get a lounge pass courtesy of their bank or financial provider, and they might be willing to pay £5, but it seems expensive to me to ask people to buy a pass and then charge them another £5 every time they want to visit the lounge.

    The best way of resolving this problem has been trialled in numerous US airports, and at Gatwick as I mentioned, which is to encourage restaurants to join the scheme. This works by giving the customer £15, or a broadly similar amount in a different currency, to spend at the restaurant, which takes some pressure off the lounges. I’d very much like Priority Pass to focus on expanding this part of their offering, as it would enable people feel that they are at least able to get a meal and drinks if nothing else.

    My renewal comes up in around two months, and I’m not entirely sure how much it will be, as this information isn’t in my account yet. I’m on balance not going to renew, but this isn’t because I’m disappointed with the service, but solely because I’ve now got Oneworld status again and so I get lounge access this way for many of my flights.

    But, back to whether the pass is a good idea or not…. There are a variety of passes available, some give a fixed number of lounge accesses for those who travel slightly less frequently, through the unlimited accesses card that I have. For anyone making even more than a handful of flights a year, I’d recommend the card, as airports can be a bit of a nightmare, and it is nice to get a little calm before the flight. Or indeed after it, as there are a few arrivals lounges which are part of the scheme.

    So, I’d say that Priority Pass is actually quite a decent scheme, and that it is far better than some reviews might suggest it is. If they can give me a reasonable annual fee offer for another year, then I’d certainly be keen to sign up again. For the time I’ve had the pass though, I’m very happy with it and have certainly benefited from the peace and quiet in numerous lounges during that time.

  • Katowice – Katowice Airport Business Lounge (Terminal A)

    I arrived several hours before my flight (this isn’t unusual) and was unsure what to expect from the airport’s lounge in Katowice. I used my Priority Pass card and I was allowed in straight away as there doesn’t seem to be a minimum length of stay.

    It’s a pleasant lounge area as it’s clean and tidy, with views over the runway. The welcome was friendly and the staff didn’t need to see my boarding card as they do in some lounges. When I entered I was the only person in the lounge, and at its peak there were four of us in there.

    That’s a much better drinks selection than in many other lounges around the world. A range of beers, sodas, fruit juices, non-alcoholic beers and all well presented. There’s more choices of drinks alone than in BA Galleries lounges or any UK pay per visit lounge that I’ve been to.

    A fine array of chocolates and sweets, and the selection on the right were really tasty. This is the best sweets selection that I’ve seen since the popcorn and sweets counter at the American Airlines Lounge at Heathrow T3.

    Wine on tap.

    There was a selection of teas on the right, in addition to the already mentioned sweets.

    Sausage roll, shrimp pasta and salmon open sandwiches. All very lovely.

    One of the food fridges, with chicken salads, cakes, cold sandwiches and the like.

    The hot food selection, which had dumplings, the aforementioned sausage rolls (they were excellent) and there was also a wide range of spirits available at the top as well.

    There’s only one toilet in the lounge and the lock is broken, so that probably needs fixing. If the lounge was busier then this would likely be an irritation, but being so quiet, it didn’t really present any obstacle to my lounge enjoyment. There were plenty of power points around the lounge and there were sufficient display screen to show when flights were departing.

    Overall, I’d say this is one of the best lounges that I’ve visited where passengers can pay to access it. It felt quiet and peaceful, so a real improvement on the hustle and bustle of the airport terminal. If I were to visit Katowice again, I’d certainly look forwards to coming here again before my flight.

  • Krakow – Space Craft Beer Bar

    Craft beer bars are becoming more common across Poland, and this in my view is a wonderful step in the right direction. This craft beer bar has a modern feel to it, and a slightly confused space theme which I never quite understood, although they use the line “in a galaxy of bars of pubs, Space is in a world of its own”.

    This is the Stoutyskaf from Browar Wehikul, a small operation located towards the south-west of Warsaw. The drink is an Irish dry stout, at 4.6%, and it had a decent taste and a depth of flavour including some notes of coffee and caramel.

    There was a sign saying that fish and chips was available for 20zl, which is around £4, so I accidentally ordered it. And this was much better than I expected, the fish itself tasted fresh and had a pleasant flavour to it. The batter also had a richness of taste, although was perhaps slightly over-cooked. The peas were a little cold, but were proper mushy peas and the tartare sauce also added nicely to the whole arrangement. The chips were also just as I like them, French fries with an element of crispiness.

    The service was warm and engaging, the surroundings were comfortable and this was the sort of bar that I could happily linger in. One slight downside was that a British stag group came marching in half-way through my visit, demanding (and I think that’s a fair word) lager. The barman was professional, but one of the stag group proudly announced “they don’t serve proper beer here lads, let’s go”. Look at the list of beers at the top of this post, there are some fantastic sounding choices there, but since there’s no Stella it clearly wasn’t suitable for that group…..

    Reasonably priced, welcoming environment, excellent choice of beers, proper chalked up selection, just what I like.

  • Krakow – Polish Legions Statue

    The Polish Legions Statue, or the Four Legionnaires statue.

    Józef Piłsudski founded the Polish Legions in 1914 and they were established as he believed that Polish independence would only be secured by military action. The first assembly of men to fight met at Blonie Park in the city and were formed on 3 August 1914, being seen as the base of the future Polish army.

    The base of the sculpture. Piłsudski incidentally has become something of a national hero, he’s seen as one of the founders of modern Poland and he went on to be Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland twice, from 1926 until 1928 and again for a brief period in 1930.

  • Krakow – Ibis Centrum

    I got to spend one more day than anticipated in Krakow, so I moved after three days in the Ibis Stare Miasto to the Ibis Centrum. They’re about 30 minutes walk apart, but they’re on opposite sides of the city, so neither are more than a 15-minute walk from the city centre.

    A clean and comfortable room, one of the more modern Ibis designs. There are a decent number of plug sockets, the lighting is sufficient and it feels a welcoming room environment.

    Talking of a welcoming room environment, this made it much more inviting. This is the acknowledgement of my Accor status, and it’s the perfect way of acknowledging it as far as I’m concerned. Four cakes and also a pack of apple flavoured and sugar coated biscuits. Very lovely. I’ll stick with Accor because they give me free cake, it’s not the most sophisticated of concepts but it works for me.

    Collecting my free drink of white wine at the bar, I was also given these biscuits, which were much appreciated. What a most lovely welcome to a hotel, all this free food and drink. The only slight downside was that there was an enormous party of school children in the downstairs restaurant, although I confined myself to just sitting at the bar out of their way. I noticed a couple of other diners weren’t impressed, but I suppose that there’s not much that the hotel can do about it without turning large groups away. They were also pretty well behaved, albeit a little loud.

    Conscious that the school party might take up most of the breakfast room and get in my way of selecting what food I wanted to eat too much of, I went down to breakfast early. One complaint I have is that I had no idea what time breakfast started, it was never mentioned at reception and there was no room information folder or similar to help me ascertain how early I could go down. 06:30 seems to be the standard time for Ibis, so I went down at 06:45 hoping it was open, and it was and there were already quite a few guests there. But no school children, so breakfast was peaceful.

    Some of the breakfast selection, which mainly revolved around hot dogs, cold meats, cheeses, salad items and there were also pastries, cakes and cereals available. In addition to the food, there was tea, coffee, juices and the like to choose from as well. It was a perfectly acceptable breakfast and it was all well presented.

    Despite seemingly having half of a school staying at the hotel, I didn’t notice any noise disturbance internally, so my sleep was uninterrupted. The staff at the hotel were all helpful (although it’s rare in Poland for them not to be) and everything was clean and well maintained. I think on balance that I prefer this hotel to the Ibis Stare Miasto though…

  • Katowice – Subtle Signage

    This sign is even bigger than it appears in the photo, it’s no wonder that I spent the day craving chicken nuggets…. Bargain price though, that’s about £1 for ten. Dylan and Leon would be in their element….

  • Katowice – Ibis Budget

    This was my third stay at the Ibis Budget in Katowice, and although I’ve visited many Accor hotels, this is one of my favourites. Firstly, the prices are cheap, my most recent stay has been around £16 per night, but there’s something about this hotel with the friendly staff, the clean rooms and the relaxed atmosphere that I really like.

    My Gold Accor status offers no real benefits with Ibis Budget as they’re not part of the scheme. However, there was an effort made by the staff to put in some local books and maps into my room, which were very much appreciated. I admit that a hand-written note is perhaps not a touch of luxury, but it is a nice thing to do and makes the room feel slightly less anonymous.

    Breakfast is only a few pounds and so there’s a limit to what can be expected for that price. There is orange juice, apple juice, cereals and also some hot options, which are primarily hot dogs and beans. They have gherkins, tomatoes, cucumber and also some cold meats, although the quality of these meats isn’t great and they do feel slightly plasticky. There are also coffees, teas and also some fruit for anyone who feels the need to eat an apple in the morning.

    The room is basic, but at the price point that Ibis Budget are charging, it represents fantastic value for money. There’s a Novotel over the road for those who want a more luxurious environment, but I’m content at the price point which Ibis Budget are going for. It’s clean and the window opens a little to let some fresh air in, as I quite like a room to be cold and airy (I always think of the Basil Fawlty comment of “well there’s air in it” when asked if a room was airy).

    To perhaps find some fault, the staff probably should be checking whether a customer has paid for breakfast (unless they’re just remembering) in case they’re doing themselves out of money and my other complaint is that the rooms have just one power point which really isn’t sufficient. But the staff are warm, friendly and engaging, the hotel is clean and it’s just a short walk to the city centre.

    Hotels like this are why I like Accor so much….