Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Krakow

Katowice Trip – Katowice to Krakow and Coming Home

I have something of a backlog of posts, once again, and I still haven’t excited and delighted my two loyal blog readers about my trip to Belfast, let alone the group trip to Tallinn last week. So, I’ll speed things up somewhat. And, not wishing to panic my collection of readers, but there will be a lot of posts about Tallinn.

I left the hotel early to get the train from Katowice railway station. I’ve written about this many times before, so I needn’t dwell.

Mine was the 09:38 service to Krakow.

A beautiful train, marking 20 years since Poland joined the European Union. It wasn’t though the train that I’d be going on.

A view of the railway station, something I had time to do as my train was running ten minutes late. I didn’t understand the station announcement, but I knew the train must have been delayed as there were some sighs and annoyed faces when the Polish announcement was being made.

Here we go, the arrival of the train!

I’ve edited out the passenger, but I loved the cat who was very well behaved and kept poking her head out to see what was happening. I had a reserved seat, something which works on Polish trains in a way that it completely fails on British trains.

Safely into Krakow.

The main square. I’ve explored Krakow many times before and I only had an hour here so I decided not to do anything too fancy. I was flying back from Krakow rather than Katowice as it was much cheaper.

Back at the railway station after my perambulation around the city centre. It was a little early for a beer (beers early in the day are only allowed on trains and in airports, that’s the rule I’ve set myself), so I thought a nice walk around Krakow would be in order.

And safely at Krakow Airport after a short train journey. I had bought a train ticket on-line, one elderly English couple were cut some slack by the ticket inspectors and they sold them a ticket even though they could have fined the pair.

There we go, a short and sweet post. “Brevity is the soul of wit” as Shakespeare said…..

October 14, 2024
Thursday – Tuesday : Krakow Visit (Random Photos)

For anyone who wants to see some photos of Krakow in the searing heat, here’s a heap of them…. If they don’t auto-display above, visit https://flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720300343973. A few random comments below as well, what a treat for everyone concerned!

I was intrigued by this building, which looked like it had an interesting heritage frontage. It’s now the Sheraton Hotel and there’s some serious allegations made about this, as it was constructed on the site of the Royal Brewery which was demolished in 2002. The brewery was a listed monument, but it was quickly pulled down and no archaeological investigations took place before the Sheraton was shoved up. The facade is also fake, designed to look like the previous brewery building, it’s an architectural disaster and it won the Archi-Szopa for the worst building design in Krakow.

Did I mention that it was too hot in Krakow? They had a lot of these set up to help visitors and locals, as well as having an entire water truck in the main market square. Poland is very forward thinking, Norwich doesn’t have these.

Love locks and that one in the centre makes quite a statement.

Krakow doesn’t have as many war memorials as cities such as Warsaw, not least because it wasn’t destroyed and flattened in the way that the country’s capital was. This one is in honour to Józefa Piłsudskiego and his infantrymen.

July 6, 2022
Tuesday : Nearly Missing the Bloody Train in Krakow, Finn Air to Heathrow and Ibis Budget

After a few days in Krakow eating pizza and complaining about the heat to anyone who would listen, whilst calming my overheated nerves with the large hotel breakfast every day, it was time to return to the UK. The old railway station is visible in the photo above, but they’ve built a new station building which is linked it to the Galeria Krakowska shopping mall. It was also surprisingly busy for a Tuesday morning at just before 09:00.

The new platforms are in this photo, the old railway station is behind me. Like nearly everywhere in Poland, it’s all very clean and organised.

There were no ticket machines to be seen on the platform which seemed odd. I discovered on the way out that passengers could buy tickets on the train, but I wanted to get this sorted in advance and so I bought mine from the PKP web-site. It’s a ticket that doesn’t need validation and is for a specific train, which is the one that should be leaving from the platform I was standing by after the 09:01 to Gdynia got out of the way. Anyway, the train didn’t move and I heard part of an announcement which was only in Polish, stating that my train to the airport was switching to another platform. I was moderately annoyed as that meant I had to rush, but obviously I didn’t want to run in the Krakow heat. Or indeed run at all, it’s exhausting.

I caught the damn train with thirty seconds to go, but I noted some others didn’t and were still on the wrong platform. They didn’t even check the ticket (I mean the ticket inspectors on the train, not the people on the wrong platform). Anyway, I arrived into the airport as expected, but could have done without the rushing about the place. Clean train and on-time, so I can’t really complain.

I was through airport security in under two minutes and so next was the non-Schengen airport lounge at Krakow Airport, which was small, although luckily I had given myself three hours to sit in it. It reached near capacity by the time that I was about to leave the lounge, and it does feel a little under-sized. Very friendly staff and there are toilets and showers within the lounge complex.

Lard and bits of pepper sliced up, it’s not exactly Greggs is it?

Now we’re talking though.

My starter.

The amuse-bouche. They had a couple of different beers, nothing exceptional, but sufficient for me.

In fairness the chicken salad was very lovely, so that proved to be a useful main course. I never had the lard.

There was a ten minute delay, but nothing too bad, for the return flight to Heathrow.

This was as clear as mud, with a Ryanair and British Airways flight departing at the same time, as well as separate queues for Groups 1-3 and Groups 4 and 5. I guessed the queue correctly when the Groups 1-3 were called, but numerous other customers didn’t, finding themselves in the wrong place. Anyone who tried to access the Groups 1-3 queue without having the correct number on their ticket was sent packing, albeit politely.

As with my outward journey, this was a British Airways flight that they’ve wet leased to be operated by Finn Air. It’s the Airbus A321 with registration code OH-LZN, which Finn Air have operated since the aircraft was new in 2017.

This annoyed me, it started to pour with rain just as I boarded. All week I waited for rain and the moment I get on board to come back what happens?

I’ve blurred this (again) by mistake as I was trying to rush, but I was the first to board. The person in the photo is flight crew and they were all exceptional during the journey, again Finn Air should be proud of their professionalism. Someone in my row seemed quite seedy in the way he was talking to the crew member, but she professionally batted him and his attempt to take her for an Indian meal away.

Got my seat with lots of leg room again. The flight was near full, but the boarding was efficient and well managed. At this point we sat there for around 45 minutes, as the rain that I craved all week was now flooding the airport and so they had to temporarily shut down operations.

The chatty and friendly crew came around with the snack before take-off to ensure everyone remained happy. The water was served after we had taken off.

Safely back at Heathrow T3, ready to spend ten minutes walking around their slalom course. You could practice for an LDWA 100 walking around this.

I’m starting to feel that I know Heathrow T3 far too well.

The Central Bus Station, ready for me to pay for a bus to get me to the Ibis Budget on Bath Road since Heathrow have removed the Free Travel Zone. Yes, I will complain about that in every post for some months, there’s nothing like repetition to cheer the soul.

I had pre-paid for this room at a much cheaper rate, but this is a sign of the ridiculous prices in London. For an Ibis Budget which isn’t that well located to be charging £100 is far from ideal.

I stayed here a few weeks ago, it’s the former Travelodge they’ve converted into Ibis Budget. The windows here don’t open and I asked for a fan, which they said they’d bring to the room, but they didn’t bother. However, I decided the air conditioning worked sufficiently well for me to not traipse down again to ask where the fan was. The hotel though is still receiving deluges of negative reviews about the air conditioning not working, but it appears they should have it all fixed soon enough.

Not that I’m one for complaining, but just I got in the room it started to rain again. That weather is just ideal for me, cloudy and rainy, perfect for exploring a city.

July 6, 2022
Thursday – Tuesday : Krakow Visit (Zeera Indian Restaurant)

It was another hot day in Krakow and I decided the best thing to help me cool down would be a spicy Indian meal. Zeera is located near to the main market square and has some excellent reviews. It’s hidden away a little down a passage, but look out for the signage on the street and just keep walking to the end of the alley. The menu is quite extensive and not unreasonably priced.

It’s not a particularly big venue, there was a couple on a seat near me and there’s some external seating, but otherwise this is pretty much it. Clean and functional, without the need to be all kitschy about the design as some Indian restaurants are, albeit mostly in the UK.

I visit quite a lot of Indian restaurants and am always excited to visit more, especially when I discover that they have mango lassi. Any Indian without it makes me just slightly pre-disappointed about the meal. This one was smooth, cool and very mangoey, a delight.

I was pleased to see Methi chicken as an option, a creamy curry which has the flavour of Fenugreek. The helpful staff member asked if I would like the spice level increased or decreased, but I like lots of spice and so went for that option and I wasn’t disappointed. The curry was served as a generous portion, although used thigh meat which I accept is authentic, although I tend to opt for chicken breast. However, the meat was tender and rich in flavour, with no annoying chewy bits, so this was a good choice from the restaurant. The lemon rice was also suitably packed with the taste of lemon, which is quite important with, well, lemon rice. It all proved to be sufficiently filling.

The service was attentive without being annoying, as I’m not keen on over-attentive service, although accept it’s much better than not having a staff member around. It felt a welcoming venue and the food was as authentic as I’d reasonably expect to get in Poland. Everything was efficient and they didn’t rush me out, although to be fair, I was by that time their only customer so they hardly needed the table. The prices were moderate for Poland, but given their location in Krakow, that seemed reasonable and so this is another venue I’d merrily recommend.

July 4, 2022
Thursday – Tuesday : Krakow Visit (Old Synagogue)

One advantage in a repeat visit to a city is that I’ve likely gone to nearly all the museums there already, so coming back lets me be more selective about the things that I want to see again. This is the city’s old synagogue, originally constructed in the later fifteenth century by Czech Jews who had been forced out as part of the Prague pogrom. The stone memorial in the foreground remembers the 30 Poles who were executed in front of the synagogue on 28 October 1943.

Like many of these buildings, they were altered and changed over the centuries, which was true of this synagogue which was destroyed by fire on numerous occasions. It had fallen into a state of some disrepair by the beginning of the twentieth century, but it was repaired in the 1920s.

The interior and the Jewish bimah, the raised stage where the Torah is read and prayers are made. The Nazis trashed the building during the Second World War, leaving it effectively as a giant toilet with nearly everything inside destroyed or pinched by Hans Frank, who was executed following the Nuremberg Trials. Incidentally, Niklas Frank, the son of Hans, is still alive, although has condemned and tried to understand the evil that his father was involved with.

The interior of the synagogue was repaired in 1956 and the project was funded by the Polish Government, although it was intended to be used as a museum rather than for worship. It remains as a museum to this day and it seems to attracts a large number of visitors who want to see the building and find out more about the Jewish traditions.

A remnant of the stone dating from 1621.

This is one of two areas where the original polychrome decoration has survived.

Outside is a memorial dedicated to the 65,000 Jews from Krakow who were killed during the Second World War. This synagogue is in Kazimierz, the suburb of Krakow where the Jewish community lived, although they weren’t in isolation, they lived alongside the ethnic Poles before 1939. The area is something of a tourist destination now and has a vibrant atmosphere, although the connection with the past feels like it’s becoming fainter. That’s not through a lack of effort from the synagogue or the Jewish community, but it all feels modern and so different from what it must have been like 100 years ago. Although, perhaps that’s the ideal given what has happened, a part of the city that is moving forwards but also remembers its past. But it’s hard to get away from the knowledge that the Jewish community in Krakow is today just 1,000 strong, whereas it was nearly 60,000 in 1931.

July 4, 2022
Thursday : Heathrow T3 to Krakow with British Airways (operated by Finn Air)

After the excitement of being at Heathrow T3 through the night started to become marginally less exciting, I decided to walk through the bright lights of the walkways to get to the main terminal. It’s surprising how quiet Heathrow is at 03:00…..

I was ready. I was ready around 835 minutes before the flight to be fair.

They could probably do with some more seats on the first floor, but it was starting to get a little busier before the security lines opened at 04:30. I was confused why around 40 people were standing in what I thought was an odd place for the security line, at an overflow area. I decided these savvy travellers must know what they were doing, but I was hardly in a rush, so I stood in the normal place. Fortunately, I managed to find myself at the front of the queue and so was the second person (or second non-staff member to be more accurate) to enter airside.

Peace and quiet at duty free.

I’ve never really understood who buys all this stuff, it’s a huge retail area and nothing seems particularly good value to me. I don’t know whether it’s a mix of people buying presents and those who just get excited when they see alcohol for sale. Now, if they had a decent craft beer selection then I might be interested.

Slightly blurry, but there’s no shortage of seating if you go to the airport early. Who needs a hotel? An unnecessary decadence.

I have no idea how I’ve managed to take such blurry photos, but there’s the very quiet oyster and champagne bar or whatever it is. It’s not somewhere I’ve felt the need to spend much time. Actually, as an aside, I don’t really understand it, it’s expensive and I’d have thought if you can afford to go there, you’d likely have airline status to go to a lounge. And it’s a very open place to sit. But there we go, perhaps people like being seen when they’re being decadent.

I’d arrived before any of the shops had opened as well.

The BA lounge opened at 05:00. Well, it’s meant to, the bouncy and happy staff member went to open the First Class section at 05:00 and then she realised there was no-one at the main entrance. At 05:05 an harassed member of staff turns up and the lounge whirs into action. Fair play to her, what a time to get to the airport and the staff have to go through security every day, it must be tiring. Anyway, the First entrance is to the left and the Club entrance is to the right. Two of the customers in front of me were entirely the wrong place, they were going to the Aspire Lounge or whatever it was, and seemed annoyed at BA that they hadn’t made clear it was the BA lounge. The signage on the wall is a clue.

I must have been tired, these photos are dreadful. Anyway, the BA lounge main seating area.

Looking towards the rear, the little business section is to the right. No beer again in the lounge, just Heineken.

The BA order to the table app seems to have been removed, everything is on display again and it’s fair to say that’s it’s beautifully presented when no customer has mauled it all about.

The sausage and bacon rolls, which seem to be a waste of food if I’m being honest. A fair number of people ditch the rolls, including myself, to eat the bacon and sausage. The muffins were soggy and the rolls were hard and inedible, it just seems a waste of BA’s money. They must be able to deliver something better than this. I’m not specifically complaining, well no more than usual, for me, just that they’re spending all this money and delivering a product which is evidently inferior to the lounges around them (although I’d add the First section of the lounge is better, but I haven’t had access to that for years).

I asked a couple of times when the showers would be opening with no-one being sure, and the lovely lady on the First desk (not that I had access to that lounge, it’s just next to where the showers are) was confused why they were shut. She went off to find out and came back very apologetic to say the showers were closed for the week, but she hadn’t been told. I appreciated her help and assistance, but fortunately, there was a solution to this, the Cathay Pacific lounge which opened at 05:30. The staff try so hard in the BA lounge, but the airline doesn’t always seem to want to help them.

Cathay Pacific had showers which were immaculate, so that was that solved. The staff try so hard in the Cathay Pacific lounge and the airline does seem to want to help them. It wasn’t busy, and indeed I was the only person in the lounge for a few minutes, this is the part of the self-service breakfast selection. Spotless as ever.

And the other bit. There’s a selection of sausages, bacon and the like for those who want hot items.

But, yet again, I decided I wanted to order from the chefs at the Asian food counter and got my standard order of Thai coconut and vegetable soup, the Mix Dim sum basket, Fanta and beer. What a time to be alive…. And compare and contrast to the BA lounge. The flight time meant I didn’t really enough time to visit the Qantas lounge for some calamari as it opens a little later, but I was refreshed and ready for the new day after leaving the Cathay Pacific lounge. I’m disappointed to say I won’t be back in T3 for a while, as the flights I had departing from the terminal have been moved to T5.

It was unclear whether there was a priority line at the gate, but I wasn’t going to go hunting for it. The man behind me didn’t have the same restraint, I heard a series of “I will go and look”, “no, we’re entitled to use it” and the like, as his what I assume was wife tried to calm him. He stomped over in the end and asked where the priority line was, before shouting back to wife “we can enter the priority line here”. I admire his determination to sit in the gate slightly quicker than the others, although I have to confess to them following him. I tried to look as embarrassed as the guy’s wife.

The flight was booked with British Airways, but they’ve run out of aircraft, so they’re using Finn Air on a wet lease arrangement. So the pilots and cabin crew are all from Finn Air, whilst the service standard is British Airways. This has the advantage of this seat with lots of leg room, which as far as I’m concerned is the best in the economy part of the aircraft. I think I dozed off for a chunk of the flight and there was no-one sitting next to me, so this felt very spacious.

The mid-flight snack, a smaller bottle of water and a Nutrigrain bar. There was a man in the aisle seat, and we must have both dozed off, as the crew had just left them on the seat for us. The crew were excellent, friendly, personable and engaging, Finn Air should be very proud. Apparently they spend five days in London being put up at hotels, which must be costing BA a fortune, before returning to Helsinki for a few days.

Oh good, a bus to the terminal. Not that it matters, I’m hardly ever in a rush. I noticed that it was too hot.

Although getting a bus did give me time to take a photo of the aircraft, which is OH-LZU, an A321 which Finn Air have operated since it was manufactured in 2018.

It didn’t take long to get through border control, and I decided to use my limited Polish to the border guard. He replied, in Polish, asking if I was Polish as I would have then been in the wrong queue. He soon realised from my garbled answer that I wasn’t. Here’s the front of the terminal and it was evident to me that it was already too hot. I may have mentioned that.

The train from the airport to the city centre, which is over twice the price of the one from Warsaw. That’s the problem with these tourist cities.

I bought a ticket from the machine and then waited excitedly to board. The train was quite busy and unusually, you can buy tickets on board despite there being ticket facilities on the platform. One person showed their bus ticket, but the train guard was having none of it, they had to buy a rail ticket.

I’ve visited Krakow numerous times before, but here’s a quick photo from the city centre as I walked to the hotel in the searing heat. Krakow is a beautiful city, but it is very touristy, so I prefer visiting other cities in Poland, but it’s nonetheless a delight to be back.

Grrrrr, I didn’t entirely like the room, it’s one of these damn Ibis changes to make it feel like a nursing home. I’ve stayed at Ibis Krakow Centrum before, and they had better rooms with a desk and chair. I did query with reception if they had any of the older rooms, but they said they didn’t. Their answer was “we don’t put chairs in rooms any more”. I’m not entirely sure how that is seen as a good idea, as although I understand not everyone has the same requirements as me, a chair isn’t beyond Ibis Budget, let alone Ibis. This is, I think, an upgraded room, as there’s a coffee machine. I didn’t understand the point of that as they gave me two coffees for a five night stay, but those two were delicious I suppose. There’s also water provided, which I appreciated as it’s too hot. The window opened so that was positive, but the air conditioning in the room sort of worked, not to make the room as freezing as I’d like, but sufficient to be comfortable.

I appreciated the note though, that was kind. I’m not really into red wine, but it was a gift and that was very nice of them, so I did drink it as I didn’t want to be rude. I’m selfless like that.

Wwith that, I was back in Poland, although I had some sleep to catch up on.

July 4, 2022
Thursday – Tuesday : Krakow Visit (Craft Beer and Pizza)

I’ve visited a good number of the craft beer bars in Krakow before, but to my surprise and delight there have been some new openings, or just venues that I haven’t noticed on previous visits. It felt only appropriate to visit some of them during the week that I was in Krakow, to help me cope with the extreme heat. I’d stress that this was across the week, I didn’t go through all this beer and pizza on one day as I can be very responsible when I want to be.

This is Tea Time, a brewpub which specialises in producing cask beer, which is a rare situation in Poland. There’s a lot of British influence here, other than the fighting, so it felt like something different for Krakow.

Friendly service, with the ordering process being clear of what they had. I have to confess to preferring keg over cask, but I’m happy with both, and variety is the spice of life and all of that. Beer isn’t meant to be staid and dull, that’s why I don’t drink Heineken other than under extreme duress (by duress I mean it’s free).

Note the real ale trail on the wall which starts from Burnley, going through Halifax, Huddersfield and London.

I went for the beer flight thing to try four of the beers, with the peanuts being a free gift from the bar, which was much appreciated. All of the beers were clean tasting, well-kept and at the appropriate temperature. I had gone for the Platinum Blonde, the Helmut, the Anaconda and the Black Prince, with the Anaconda being my favourite, a hazy IPA with a depth of flavour and I thought it was a little unusual as the style felt more like a keg beer. But, delicious. Definitely a recommended venue for the laid-back atmosphere and friendly team members. Oh, it was lovely and cool as well, as I may have mentioned, but it was too hot outside.

Next was Beer Street, a modern and on-trend feeling venue. The service here was polite, although I was unfortunate their Ontap account was just slightly out of date, and so I ended up confusing everyone from that, but they were helpful and fixed everything.

I love this whole arrangement. I’m a loss to the pub industry as if I had a chain of pubs, I’d want some set-ups like this. Obviously I couldn’t build these platforms myself as they’d fall down, but my friend Liam is a civil engineer and is no doubt trained in putting bits of wood together. I’m not sure he’d be very delicate though and he might use a pile driver to get things into place rather than smaller and more subtle tools.

I liked the window view from my perch at the top of the wooden construction and the beer is the Smooth Operator from the ever wonderful Funky Fluid.

I had wanted the Risfactor Blueberry and Vanilla beer as it was on draft on Ontap, but they said they’d just run out. They had the same beer in a bottle, so that sufficed me, and I accidentally ordered a pizza to go with it. All very delicious. The Risfactor is part of a series of beers from PINTA brewery, who I’ve mentioned on this blog numerous times before as they’re another of my favourites.

I really liked this little bar, Spoko, which had a lovely relaxed feel to it. Some decent options on that board that seemed tempting and exciting. I had just eaten (although that doesn’t always stop me) but I noted the bagels they served sounded quite tempting. I’d go back here if I return to Krakow, it had a nice vibe to it.

And a selection in the fridges to widen their offerings.

The beer at the front is the Far Away Galaxy, again from PINTA, which is a sour IPA which had no shortage of fruit flavour to it, suitably tart in taste. The other beer is the Treasure from Browar Nepomucen and I’ve had a few of theirs, including some from the excellent Crazy Lines series. This was a good smoked beer, not perhaps quite as powerful as I’d have liked, but still refreshing and delicious.

It was busier when I arrived, but I waited for people to go before taking a photo. They were much busier outside, but it was too hot for me to sit in the sun, since I had found a nice cool area inside.

This is Nowy Kraftowy, which is a little more central than the other bars and this was perhaps my favourite of the venues I visited, primarily because of the beer selection. Now, let’s dwell on this for a little while 🙂

That beer selection is, if I’m being honest, still exciting to me now when writing this. An excellent range of beer styles, different breweries and some innovative options going on there. Poland can do beer, indeed, Poland can do beer very well.

The pub’s garden area, which was quiet and I was able to sit under a fan as it was too hot.

The beer in the photo is the Rakieta from Browar Kazimierz, a perfectly good IPA. But I also had at the same time the Pretty – Peach, Passionfruit, Mango and Creme Brulee from Magic Road, a bloody lovely beer in every sense I can imagine. Every one of the ingredients could be identified by taste, it was refreshing, smooth and quite beautiful.

I moved inside at this point as I felt the beer menu needed more investigation and I went for the Triple Gelato PB&J which was another exceptional beer. Flavours of blackberry, peanuts and blackcurrants, smooth with a touch of sourness and no artifical edge. Fruit and peanuts are an odd combination perhaps, although that’s the essence of the peanut butter and jelly it’s named after, but it worked in my opinion. It complemented the pizza which I had again accidentally ordered, as all decent beers do, and this was one of the best meal combinations that I’ve ordered myself in a long time. Thank God for Poland.

Wezza Krafta is in the Jewish quarter, and is next to a Jewish museum, hence the vibrant wall painting on the side of the building.

I was far too hot when I arrived and I tried to cool down inside, which took me some time. I went for the Bilberry Giveaway from Magic Road and the Saturator from Ziemia Obiecena, both sours which I enjoyed, although I didn’t feel were exceptional.

And yet again I accidentally ordered a pizza. It’s important to order these key Polish dishes though to keep them alive.

AntyCafe, which is just a short walk from the main market square, which had some interesting options on their board.

It’s a bit of a music venue, but it was quiet on the evening when I was there, which was fortunate as I’m not one for loud music and raucousness. I couldn’t resist the Milk Me from Browar Wrężel, a 6% milk stout which had the appropriate amount of sweetness for me. The venue was relaxed and calm as well, it had looked quite busy from the outside, but only had a handful of customers when I entered.

Krakow is a decent city for craft beer, there are some new openings on a regular basis and some classics bars which offer a reliable service. Prices are reasonable, often a beer and pizza comes to around £7, not bad for a tourist city. And, yes, I know there’s more to a city’s cuisine than beer and pizza. Although, actually, maybe I don’t….

July 4, 2022
Krakow – Gallery of Contemporary Art

This is a quirky little modern art museum which has two temporary exhibits which regularly change. The layout wasn’t entirely obvious to me and the guide they gave me didn’t immediately make sense, although things became a little clearer later on.

The first exhibition was surprisingly interesting, including the above video of a woman covered in balloons trying to crawl through a barbed wire fence. There was something quite mesmerising about watching the balloons slowly burst. The exhibition was created by Rebecca Moss and it was entitled ‘From Sublimity to Ridicule’.

A large image of a fire.

And standing in front of the image achieved this.

I didn’t find the other exhibition (in which I didn’t take any photos) by Irena Kalicka particularly engaging, as it didn’t seem to tell a story or have much relevance to anything. I read the notes about the exhibition and the logic behind it, and it was too abstract for me to be able to grasp.

However, the first exhibition was interesting, the staff were friendly and I liked the general quirkiness of the arrangement.

April 3, 2019
Krakow – Bunkier Cafe

Cafe Bunkier is located in an interesting glass building situated outside of the modern art gallery which it is attached to.

There were a variety of cakes on display, but they didn’t seem quite exciting enough to order, perhaps looking a little too processed. Although I’m sure they tasted lovely.

The cafe was busy inside, with a separate smoking half further down which is segregated off. The atmosphere was quite relaxed in the cafe, despite it being busy, and the temperature was also appropriate and I imagine that’s difficult to control in a building such as this.

A decorative element above the counter. It was slightly confusing knowing how to order given that some customers were ordering at the table and some at the counter, but I came to the conclusion that either were entirely acceptable.

I did ponder ordering a hot meal and instead just went for fries, although what came were chips and they weren’t particularly exciting. The garlic sauce that came with them wasn’t ideal and I had a slightly excessive wait to try and get some salt from the counter. I also went for a soft drink as I didn’t feel that there was a particularly interesting range of beers, although some reviews seem delighted at what choice there was. I just have quirky tastes I think.

The prices were reasonable and the staff were polite, although not overly attentive. I think much of the attraction of this restaurant is the location, it’s housed in a quirky building and it’s worth visiting to experience that element. I did notice someone else ordered a fish and chips, which I looked at quite jealously as a waitress walked past the table with it. All in all, worth visiting although it’s not a destination I’d probably return to.

April 2, 2019
Krakow – Ed Red

I kept thinking about Ed Miliband when I visited this steak and burger restaurant in the centre of Krakow (just because of the restaurant name, as Ed Miliband isn’t usually a politician that I have much reason to think of), although they are apparently moving location soon.

The restaurant claims that they were the first in Poland to offer dry aged beef. This is meant to increase the taste of the meat, but it’s an expensive process which takes some time to complete.

The waiter was knowledgeable and keen to engage about the menu and I was pleased that there was a dark beer available. Having said that (written that), I couldn’t see it on the menu, so I’m not entirely sure what it was.

I’m not really one for steak, but the dry aged beef burger sounded very tempting, so I went for that. I added chips and coleslaw to the meal and it was all well presented. The burger had a depth of flavour to it, although not so much that I would have noticed it was more expensive dry aged meat. The chips were fluffy on the interior and firm on the exterior, and had a decent taste to them. The coleslaw was quite chunky and although everything was perfectly acceptable, the whole combination seemed just a little dry. I’d have liked the burger to have been more tender, it was lacking in moistness.

Also, I was surprised that the staff didn’t ask how I wanted the burger cooked. I prefer burgers to be cooked medium, but no-one asked me, although I was pleased to note that the burger came served medium anyway. However, some people do prefer a well done burger, so asking customers seems more sensible.

The dessert of creme brulee, and this was excellent, with a decent amount of surface area. A firm crust belied the soft and custardy interior. The cookie ice cream was smooth and free from ice crystals, although a plainer ice cream would have worked just as well.

All in all, this was a well managed restaurant and I was comfortable throughout. The interior was modern and the restaurant was sizeable, although it was relatively empty when I visited. It’s not the cheapest option in the city centre, but it’s well reviewed and the staff were professional and helpful throughout.

April 2, 2019