Law / Banking in Poland, as a foreigner. [26]

Sorry, I only just checked back on this one.

I've been doing a bit of research to find the best bank for overseas ATM,VISA and EFT transactions.
BTW these are all Australian Banks.

Savings and Loans
ATM Transaction - $4
EFT Transaction - FREE
Conversion Fee - 2% on all transactions

Bank West
ATM Transaction - $5
EFT Transaction - FREE
Conversion Fee - 2.5% on all transactions

HSBC
ATM Transaction - $4.50
EFT Transaction - $1
Conversion Fee - 1% on ATM and 1.1% on EFT and 0% on HSBC ATMs

Anyone got any better offers?

Excluding the HSBC option, this information does not include any fees which may be charged by the Local ATM branch. Does anyone have any information on what sort of ATM charges you can expect in poland and ways of possibly avoiding them?

Travel / The best way to travel from Krakow To Budapest - early July? [4]

I did this trip coming from budapest to krakow a bit over a year ago by train. From memory it was 50 euro for two of us one way and it took most of the day. The train stations for both budapest and krakow are fairly central.

rozklad-pkp.pl/?q=en/node/143

Life / Price of beer in Poland [90]


I don't even think out of curiosity. Although the only time i have ever drunk fosters is in london. Only because it seems to be hard to avoid as it is on tap everywhere. If someone buys you a round of drinks then the odds are it could very well be fosters.

I was in brussels recently.. and i get the feeling that stella artois is more or less considered the same for belgians as fosters is for australians. It's an export brand.

However i wouldn't go comparing Australian beer to belgian beer. The varieties and quality of beligian beer are extraodinary.. Australian beers (mainstream at least) are very poor.

Polish beers are nice.. but seem to be very sameish.

Peroni is still my fav.

On the subject of polish beer and prices. For a half litre i paid 10zl at one of those places on the market square, which i thought was quite expensive and wondered at the time if i was being taken for a ride. Not sure if it is worth 3zl or so extra for the added aroma of horse ****

Travel / 2 or 3 day Trip to Lvow from Krakow [5]

Wow the Kosmonaut is Australian owned!! Bloody Aussies are everywhere!
That place actually looks like it might be the best option for me i think.

Thanks heaps Nathan for the tips and the links. I will certainly check out this restaurant... Although I'm concerned at how similar the name is to Pizza Hut (Puzata hata)!! ha.

Food / Asian Grocers - Krakow [10]

Hmm.. yeah i don't think there is anything like that here in Krakow. Maybe i'll have a look when i'm around in Warsaw next week.

Had a quick look at Kuchnie Swiata online. Doesn't look like they have much and their prices seem pretty steep. In australia the Asian Grocers are dirt cheap. You can normally find things cheaper in them than in the supermarket. Oh and I'm looking for Raw ingredients more than a jar of something. Stuff like galangal, chinese brocolli, lemon grass etc..

I'm missing home :( no vegiemite and no decent asian food!
I'll have to stick to smalec on toast i guess.

Food / Asian Grocers - Krakow [10]

Thanks for the tips rkb. I'll keep my eyes open and if i find anywhere useful i will post back.

News / 100zl note should be phased out. [20]

I forgot about the 200!

I got it the other day with a 20zl note! and the bill was 14zl!
Yes.. that look of horror! It seems like at the very least you get a roll of the eyes.

Life / Weekly Food costs - Krakow [16]


This isn't completely true if you pick the right places to eat. Krakow has a massive student population, therefore there are a heap of eateries that cater for student budgets. If you know where to go you can have a filling meal for 10-15 zl easily, or even less. I went to a place the other night which served a big bowl of soup (a meal in itself) for 3zl.

Life / Weekly Food costs - Krakow [16]


Theres an ok market called Stary Kleparz (sp??) It's just the other side of the planty not too far from the big galeria near the train station.

It still doesn't compare to the markets I had at home but thats the best one i've seen so far here in krak.

Life / Do I need a special adaptor for my laptop in Poland or will hotels provide this? [23]

poland just has regular european electricity plugs.. so i guess get yourself an adaptor for the round pins. Not sure what the US has.
A tip too.. if you have a few things you need to power, like laptop, phone charge, electric toothbrush.. bring a small power board.. then you only need one adaptor.

Travel / Solo female traveller in Poland (safety, what to watch out for) [5]

Hey! I'm from melbourne too and currently living in Krakow. Also know a few other australians living here.
I think Krakow is a pretty safe city. I haven't really heard of anything nasty happening to anyone. Have noticed some signs here and there saying to beware of pick pockets. Being filipino though, you will probably get more attention from strangers simply because there aren't many asian people here. So in this way you will stand out as a foreigner.

I was lucky to find a place within days of arriving here. Although I'm renting an apartment to myself. I'm assuming you are looking for share accomodation, which I don't think you will have a problem with. Krakow has a large student population, most of which will probably be on holidays when you arrive in august, so it may be a good time to find yourself somewhere. Best thing to do would be to check into some cheap backpackers guesthouse and give yourself a week to look around at share accomodation.

Love / Girl just interested, or a hooker? [30]


This is a bit harsh don't you think?

Love / Girl just interested, or a hooker? [30]

I think it's kind of odd.. at the train station in Krakow there is a huge billboard advertising the price of sex with a prossie. 50zl to be exact. It also mentions that you can get HIV included at no extra cost! Bargain!

Or at least thats what I thought it said with my poor understanding of polish.

Love / Girl just interested, or a hooker? [30]


No I think you just took out some kind of bad mood you are in on some random poster because they used the word hooker in a post and that somehow offends you. And rather than realise this and apologise you just made up some crap to justify it.

It makes no sense that you reacted so harshly to this guys post. Maybe you can give us an insight into what the real problem is. Why are you so offended?

I've travelled a bit and I've encountered situations similar to the one which polishmeknob posted. Girls selling their bodies often use casual pickup techniques (if you can call it that) to attract customers. Its a valid question to ask.

Love / Girl just interested, or a hooker? [30]


He said hooker... not slut. This probably explains your reaction a bit.. Hooker isn't necessarily derogatory, slut definitely is.


hmmm.. it think we need to work on that one.. perhaps lickmypolishki?
so are you saying you don't like the post because of his user name? or because he referred to a woman as a slut.. or hooker.


Ok.. if you're letting young children hang out on forums and interact with adults you don't know then that's a bit scary.

This forum is moderated, So what you see is essentially what is deemed by the people running the site as acceptable content for its users. I'm guessing that the intended user base is adults.

Love / Do Polish guys think getting physically violent with a woman is OK? [40]


I disagree..

A friend of mine in london once told me a story of how he and his girlfriend got into an argument with two female prostitutes over a taxi. The prostitutes ended up getting violent and attacked both him and his girlfriend with their high heeled shoes, and they both ended up in hospital.

He's actually quite a big guy and could have easily controlled the situation, but because of this "never hit a woman" mentality he ended up putting himself and his girlfriend in danger by not using appropriate measures to defend himself.

Life / Tram to Ikea - Krakow [4]

ahh cool.. thanks for that!!