Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Poland

  • 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….

  • Katowice – Bus to Katowice Airport

    It was a choice between getting the Flixbus service from Katowice to the city’s airport, or getting the local bus service. I debated getting the Flixbus service for comedy value, but instead went for the city’s bus company, primarily because Flixbus was over 50% more expensive.

    I arrived at the bus station, which is conveniently by the city’s railway station and Flixbus would have been appalled. The signage was clear, the bus was shown to be going from bus stop 10 and it actually departed from bus stop 10.

    The bus turned up, as expected, and there was a ticket machine near to the bus stop so that I didn’t need to buy on-board. The driver was friendly and the journey took 40 minutes, costing a total of 14zl.

    On the way to the airport, I could see the Flixbus service in front of us. It’s only a couple more months until my next Flixbus expedition, booked solely to see how they handle a longer journey. I may be entirely pleasantly surprised…..

  • Krakow – Krakus Mound

    Krakus Mound is said to be the burial place of Krakus, the founder of Krakow, although no actual evidence of human remains have been found during archaeological digs. The current best guess appears to be that this was part of an ancient grave complex, although much has been destroyed, and it dates to the eighth to tenth centuries.

    There are extensive views over the city from the top of the mound. I say top, but I didn’t actually walk to the top of it, just to the base.

    The area has numerous trees, and is located next to Liban Quarry, but apparently there was once an oak tree which grew on top of the mound.

  • Katowice – Silesian Zoological Garden

    These photos are from my previous visit to Katowice, which was in November 2017. I spent several hours at the zoo and I remember that it wasn’t particularly busy, and the number of photos that I took was in the hundreds, so I clearly got a little enthusiastic…

    The zoo is large and was clearly signed, with the enclosures all looking in reasonable condition. I don’t remember any agitated looking animals, so everything appeared to be well-looked after.

         

  • Katowice – Masala House

    It’s my final full day in Poland of this trip and I’m not due to come back to the country for a good few months. Unfortunately…. So, today’s lunch was at an Indian restaurant as I haven’t had an Indian meal in Poland for quite some time now.

    Masala House is part of a small local chain and is well reviewed, and they also had some very reasonably priced lunch options. The staff were friendly, although service was a bit slow at times, and there was an English menu available. The lunch menu had also been translated into English, which it usually isn’t in many restaurants.

    I went for the chicken green curry and when it arrived it was certainly very green. Given that this was the lunch deal, the portion size seemed much more generous that I had expected. The sauce of the curry had a depth of taste to it, and there was plenty of spinach in it, which was rather evident not just by the taste, but also by the colour. The sauce had a taste of onions and ginger, with fresh cream decorating the top of the curry. The chicken itself was tender and served in large boneless cubes, and it had absorbed the taste (and colour) of the curry even though it was probably added late on during the process.

    I also ordered a bottle of Pepsi and this was suitably chilled, and was served with a slice of lemon. Very lovely.

    And one Gulab Jamun, my standard dessert of choice in Indian restaurants, although that’s primarily as there’s usually not much other choice. I admit that ordering one piece, which was the standard on the menu, probably was hardly overdoing it, but I was more interested in how it was served. It was served warm, which I personally think is correct, and the sauce was sugary and I liked the addition of sesame seeds to give the dessert extra texture. As these desserts go, this is one of the better examples that I’ve had.

    The entire meal cost just under £6, which I thought was very reasonable for the curry, rice, dessert and drink. The prices for the usual curries are more expensive in the evening, but the atmosphere was relaxing and comfortable, and I imagine that it’s quite a popular location at weekends.

    As an aside, as I’m good at those, the restaurant has managed to pick up very few negative reviews. But there are a few across review sites, although perhaps from the same party, about failure to accept Groupon vouchers. I personally would rather restaurants didn’t use Groupon, they always seem to end up with customers having problems with it, and it seems such a tacky way to do business. Anyway, just my view…