KRAKOW 13-22 SEPTEMBER
Table of contents
1.General Information 1.1 About Poland 1.2 About Krakow 1.3 About AGH University of Technology 2. Arrival 2.1 By plane 2.2 By train 2.3 By bus 2.4 By cab or Uber 3.Useful Information 3.1 What to bring? 3.2 Prices 3.3 Basic phrases in Polish 3.4 Phone numbers
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1. General information 1.1 poland Poland is located in the central Europe. In case of doubt and lack of Google, here it is:
We’re literally in the centre of Europe. You can find here more or less everything: alpine mountains, wide beaches, clean lakes, deep forests and world-class historic monuments. People are warm and hospitable (if you don’t piss them off too much). Poland is divided into 16 voivodeships and has also an eventful history behind, what can be seen not only in highly developed cities but also in small charming villages where time passes slower. CLIMATE: Temperature in September is a big unknown. Generally polish weather is pretty unpredictable. We can have 30 degrees or 10. It is hard to say. We recommend checking weather forecast before coming. Even if it is going to be hot you should take something warm. Just in case.
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1. 2 Krakow Did you know that Krakow is more than one thousand years old? It also used to be a capital of Poland. Now it’s the second biggest city with almost 1 million inhabitants, including around 200.000 students. Krakow is also noted for being a prominent scientific, academic and artistic spot in Europe, not to mention its cultural background. You just can’t avoid museums, churches or galleries here, because they are EVERYWHERE. What is more, Krakow is now the most popular tourist spot in Poland with more than 10 million visitors every year. In 2016 Krakow was the host city of the World Youth Day. 3 million pilgrims came to see Pope Francis and had fun with people from around the globe. The Old Town of Krakow is on UNESCO World Heritage List. Not convinced yet? Check out these websites: http://Krakow.travel/en/ http://www.Krakow.pl/english/
1. 3 AGH University of Science and Technology The AGH University of Science and Technology has been established in 1919, until 1949 known as the Academy of Mining. At the beginning of 1945, the Mining Academy was the only technical university in Poland which was able to operate. It became a support centre for other technical universities in Poland. AGH UST educates 35.000 students in total.
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2. Arrival 2.1. by plane You’ll probably arrive to Krakow (wow!), Katowice (Pyrzowice Airport) or Warsaw (Chopin or Modlin Airport). Krakow There are regular flights to Krakow international airport “Airport Krakow Balice”. Airport is located around 10 km west from the city centre. To get from Airport to city centre you can take a bus or a train. Bus takes you to Central bus station, ticket costs around 4 złoty (1 euro). Numbers of bus lines are: 252, 208 and the directions are Os.Podwawelskie and Dworzec Główny Wschód. Trip takes around 45 minutes.Train takes you to the Central train station, ticket costs 9 złoty (2 euro). Trip takes around 17 minutes and it is the best solution. Train leaves directly from Airport terminal. Tickets can be bought in ticket machines or inside the train. Katowice A lot of bus carriers (e.g. Wizz Air Bus, Car Polonia, Matuszek) run directly from airport to the Krakow’s main bus station. It takes about 1,5-2h. You can also go through Katowice city center, then take a train to Krakow. The cost of travel is approximately 40 złoty (10 euro). Warsaw You can get to Krakow with polish flight company LOT. There are more or less 5 flights during the day taking you directly to Krakow. It costs approximately 260 złotys (60 euro). However, you are probably taking a train. Premium train (aka Pendolino) gets to Krakow in 2,5 h for 160 złoty (40 euro) regular goes in 3,5 h for 80 złoty (20 euro)
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2.2 by train The main rail station in Krakow is Kraków Główny. As for the main travelling hub of the second biggest city in Poland it is connected pretty well to other cities. For traveling we strongly recommend using https://en.e-podroznik.pl/ online website or mobile app. It has really great database of bus and train routes. Generally, you can divide trains into four categories: ● PKP Intercity (IC)– connects larger cities and operates on long routes. The most expensive but quickest. Especially when you choose Express Intercity Premium (EIC) which is sort of a fast train. ● TLK – it means “cheap railways” so you probably start to understand what to expect from them. They operate on long routes as well. ● Przewozy Regionalne (REGIO) – Regional routes. The cheapest, usually with really old trains but there are some exceptions. ● Other – ex. Koleje Małopolskie operate on route from Airport. They are pretty cool. Foreigners are not allowed to use reduced fares.
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2,.3 by bus When searching for buses we suggest using ePodróżnik again https://en.e-podroznik.pl/ Most buses depart from “Dworzec autobusowy MDA”. This bus terminal is in the same place as train station “Dworzec Główny”. It is basically the same building. The most popular carrier is now Polski Bus. It connects larger cities. Tickets for most buses can be bought online or at the station.. Smaller carriers often sell tickets while boarding the bus.
2.4 by cab or uber Average prices of Taxi rides in Krakow are 1.80-2.40/km (0.5 euro). You need to pay an additional start fee, around 5 zloty (1 euro). Taxi drivers may try to cheat you so remember to check if taximeter is on when you start. I’ll give you two companies numbers you can call: iCar tel. +48 12 653 55 55 Barbakan tel. +48 501 139 661 What about Uber? Well, it works pretty well. The start fee is 4 złoty (1 euro). Fare is 1.30/km + 0.25/minute. I haven’t heard of anyone who got killed or lost a kidney while riding Uber so it is cool.
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3. Useful information 3.1 what to bring • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Passport/ID Card + Visa (if required), Travel insurance or European Health Insurance Card Sleeping bag (for the Weekend Trip), Fee (depending which country you’re from, max 40 euro), ISIC or Euro26 Card if you have one (for discounts), Money Medicine (if you need anything in particular) Things you need for International Evening (food, alcohol, your country flag) Warm jacket/sweater/hoodie for colder days Fancy clothes for Opening/Closing Ceremony or parties in clubs, Camera, Some clothes that may get dirty Towel + cosmetics (but you should know it)
TRAVEL INSURANCE AND HEALTH CARE
Health care system in Poland is divided into two sectors: national and the private one. Health services are free for those who are covered by general health insurance. They are provided by regional branch of National Health Found (Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia). Free emergency treatment is available to visitors from the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland and several countries with which Poland has signed international agreements. Please check if your country is on that list. EEA nationals are required to make a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Remember to take it! If you are not a national of any of the countries above you had better obtain a private medical insurance for the period of being abroad. Keep in mind that BEST will not cover your medical expenses. This includes hospitalization ,doctor visits and medicines. That is why it’s extremely important for you to take insurance proof.
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3.2 Prices Poland is one of the cheapest countries in EU. Especially when it comes to food prices. You can check prices here Numbeo.com Here is a table with prices from other website. An exchange rate is 4.3 pln/eur
Name Bun Bread Butter Cheese Eggs Ham Rice Pasta Chicken Breast Water Beer Vodka Wine Cigarettes Condoms
price in PLN
0,45 2,5 4 20 4,5 25 2,6 2,6 15 1,6 2,5 21 15 14 10
price in EUR 0,10 0,58 0,93 4,65 1,05 5,81 0,60 0,60 3,49 0,37 0,58 4,88 3,49 3,02 2,32
Having a dinner out should cost you around 15-20 złoty (4-5 euro) Beer at a pub should be 6-7 złoty (1,5 euro) Bus tickets 3,80 złoty (0,9 euro) The easiest way to estimate price in euro is just to divide PLN price by 4.
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3.3 Basic Phrases in Polish English
Polish
Pronunciation
Hello!
Cześć!
Cheshch!
Good morning!
Dzień dobry!
Jean Dough-bree
Good night!
Dobranoc!
dohBRAH-nots
Good bye!
Do widzenia!
d-ohveedzenia
Please
Proszę
prosheh
Thanks you
Dziękuję
JenKOOyeh
Yes
Tak
Tack
No
Nie
Nye
Cheers!
Na zdrowie!
nah zdrohvee-eh
Pass me the beer
Podaj mi piwo
I am not drinking anymore
Polej
Poh-day me peeVoh poh-ley
I like you
Lubię Cię
Loo-byeh chyeh
Go home! You are drunk
Najebany to do domu
Na-yeh-baa-ney toh doh doh-moo
Where is a shop?
Gdzie jest sklep?
Kh-ge-ae ee-ea-ss-t ss-kh-lae-pf
Money Exchange
Kantor
cunt-or
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3.4 Phone numbers You should know If the situation is really severe call 112 (common emergency number in all Europe). From land line dial: 999 – ambulance 998 – fire service 997 – police It is faster to use those 99… numbers. Main Organisers +48 519 451 622 - Paweł Miciński +48 602 677 106 - Krzysztof Mróz BEST AGH Krakow has its own telephone number: +48 12 617 42 49 and the address: I DS “Alfa” Blok 1 Ul. Reymonta 17/E14
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