Review: Krakow, Poland

dude25

Hi guys, I'm just wondering if anyone else had the same experience I did in Krakow. I was genuinely shocked by how poorly tourists are treated there.

4 times in 3 days I had strangers walk up up to me and say '****ing English', when I explained that I was Irish, all I got were blank expressions, one guy didn't know what Ireland was.
In a night club a guy walked up to me and shoved me in to a wall with absolutely no provocation or explanation.
I was refused service in several places while the waiter took an order from people right in front of me.
A restaurant told me that the menu needed to be updated and that the price of drinks was in fact double what was advertised.
Taxis would charge up to treble the amount that was clearly shown on their meters, and after arguing down the price to what it actually was the guys would try to keep the change!
Despite my best efforts to be polite and friendly I felt mistreated in every place I visited, even the newsagents!

I'm wondering if anyone else had a similar experience or was I just really unlucky, because as it is now I won't be visiting Poland ever again and I'll recommend to anyone not to visit!

P. Breathnach

Krakow is on my list of places that I hope to visit in the short term, so this is of interest to me. The small number of people that I know who have been there reported no problems -- rather the converse, that they were well treated.

I suppose (because you mention going to a night club) that you are young. Has Krakow got on to the stag party destination list, and might you have been hit by backlash?

Herself and I might resort to speaking Irish there.

b_beep

went to Krakow for a long weekend, had an exceptionally good time. Felt very warmly welcomed including having drinks bought for us by local students because we were Irish. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Speaking Irish might be a good idea though as we did notice that ALOT of the tourists were English..maybe the English aren't as welcome....?

c - 13

Wow, that sounds dreadful to be honest man !

I was there last Autumn myself and loved the place.

Admittedly I found that some people were a little hostile towards you when they heard you speaking English, automatically assuming you were English your self.

We counteracted this by making it obvious we were from Ireland, and the attitudes changed completely.

Case in point -
I was in one of their nightclubs and one of the guys there, a big huge guy, football hooligan lookalike was starting at me. I had to walk past him to get to the bar. As I passed he asked me was I English, I replied in the negative. When he found out i was Irish he thought it was the best thing ever, actually hugged me and came over to my group for a chat ?

With regards to restraunts I found that there were some that had separate sections for the English speaking customers but I assumed that was to have staff with better English serve those tables ? I could be wrong there.

Didn't take a taxi, walked everywhere so I cant comment on that one.

I'd go back there tomorrow if I was asked to be honest.

One other thing I can think of is that most people can be a bit hostile towards stag parties over there, due to some parties coming over and causing havoc. You weren't a big group of lads by any chance ?

I hope that you just ran into the wrong people there to be honest, i'd hate to think that the city has changed.

gordon_gekko

why would the poles dislike the english , the english beat the germans in ww2 which greatly helped poland , more importantly , like ireland , england is home to a huge number of polish workers

eastern europeans are perhaps just not that friendly

P. Breathnach

Poles in their twenties did not experience WW2; their parents did not experience it; their grandparents probably did. A lot of other muddy water has flowed under the bridge since.

dude25

Yes we were a bunch of lads and yes there definetly was a backlash from other stags causing havoc (we saw 2 seperate groups carrying on)
BUT we were always well behaved and we were only asked once to quiet down (which we then did). I didn't mention that fact before becasue all of my experiences were in situations when i wasnt part of a group.
tbh I wondered if theres some anti-irish feeling aswell because of the Nice treaty fiasco, most people either didn't know what Ireland was or didn't become any less aggresive when I told them, and I've no idea how I could have acted more Irish short of walking around chewing on a spud and wearing a leprechaun hat!
the anti-english thing I understand, a lot of eastern europe felt abandoned to the Russians by the Western powers and hold a lot of resentment ... but after being abused a few more times I started thinking to myself 'I don't harass other European nationalities for not helping out Ireland at any point in the 800 years of England holding its foot on our neck, and it's not like we didn't ask!' AND I don't know anyone who feels that way either.
All in all, beautiful city to look at, most things are pretty dam cheep but the locals wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire ... and it really shows

c - 13

dude25 wrote: »

Yes we were a bunch of lads and yes there definetly was a backlash from other stags causing havoc (we saw 2 seperate groups carrying on). BUT we were always well behaved and we were only asked once to quiet down (which we then did). I didn't mention that fact before becasue all of my experiences were in situations when i wasnt part of a group.

Yeah unfortunately all groups of guys get tarred with the same brush because of some groups. We were four lads there ourselves and often got called for ID etc.

dude25 wrote: »

tbh I wondered if theres some anti-irish feeling aswell because of the Nice treaty fiasco, most people either didn't know what Ireland was or didn't become any less aggresive when I told them, and I've no idea how I could have acted more Irish short of walking around chewing on a spud and wearing a leprechaun hat!

Well I kind of meant just casually dropping it into conversation with a local that you were over from Ireland is all.

dude25 wrote: »

the anti-english thing I understand, a lot of eastern europe felt abandoned to the Russians by the Western powers and hold a lot of resentment ... but after being abused a few more times I started thinking to myself 'I don't harass other European nationalities for not helping out Ireland at any point in the 800 years of England holding its foot on our neck, and it's not like we didn't ask!' AND I don't know anyone who feels that way either.
All in all, beautiful city to look at, most things are pretty dam cheep but the locals wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire ... and it really shows

Thats fairly rough if thats the case. I'm kind of sad if its gone like that now, I liked the place and the people a hell of a lot while I was there last time. I really, really hope that what you had was an isolated experience.

dude25

well tbh I think I was the only one who was really annoyed by the whole thing, the rest of the lads just got on with it, but I have to say I've travelled a fair bit and I have never been treated like that before ... well maybe tenerife was worse but that hardly counts, I knew what I was getting in to when I went there.

bills

well i was in krakow a few months ago. We didnt have any problems at all. We found them very friendly. I should say we were in a couple so didnt go clubbing but we were out drinking etc. I cant remember seeing that many groups of guys, maybe a few. We did see a couple of strip clubs etc so maybe they are getting stags & don't like it. But we had a great time. I would think the polish would really like the irish as a lot of them have family over here. I dont think this thread should put people off going- its a great city & cheap.

WooPeeA

gordon_gekko wrote: »

why would the poles dislike the english , the english beat the germans in ww2 which greatly helped poland ,

100.000 Polish soldiers has fought on British side during WW2, protecting GB and Ireland, 20% of soldiers in Battle of England were Polish. Thousands of great people died for those two countries at that time.. They fought to protect them as they were Europe's last bastions of freedom. Also they were promising their help in building independent Poland all the time.

After all, Brits sold them to Russians with no explanation. That may annoy people who lost members of their families there.


dude25, I was living in Poland for a long time, and met only two anti-English people. I think you were just not lucky during your trip. Most of them are really OK, especially in Krakow. Poland is really pretty nice destination, especially their old cities and nature (they have great divercity of nature there, from deserts (picture of Bledow Desert) to iced mountains on south (pic). Hope that hasn't change your opinion about all Poles and Poland as country.

Sonnenblumen

Why might some people be shocked with OP's experience? Simply naieve to think that all Poles might be nice, well behaved people who love the Irish?

Come on, that doesn't apply in Ireland, so why should it apply in Krakow?

Plenty of countries (Ireland, Poland etc etc) have more than it's fair share of well whatever you wish to call them! During and since WWII there have been Polish supporters for Nazism! There are also still strong pockets of supporters for former Soviet Union and believe the democratisation of Poland has been a bad development. Free choice and free speech comes with a price, for some a heavy price. Winners and losers, I guess.

In large and small Polish cities today, you can find groups (mainly unemployed and poorly educated types) who chant Nazi xenophobic songs.

30d1a

hav to say , had an amazing time in Krakow in december ...

got a few looks now an again , but i couldnt be bothered even givin it recognition ...

would still go back any day ... beautiful city , especially when its snowing

I know of a group that went there for a stag weekend. The were all in different hotels. AS they went out and all met up one of the guys was missing.
Eventually after 2 days he was found in the hospital. He had gone to the club early. A gang got hold of him some how brought him into a room and tied him to a chair and basically beat him.
My work colligue was back in work and that guy was still in the hospital over there.
Never really got the full story .

optiplexgx270

Was there in May and had a great time in clubs and everything. People over there are friendly mainly although i agree the English may not be very well welcomed (Isn't that the world over though? ). But that’s their own fault, when a place is cheap and the common Englishman gets wind of it they saturate the place and get drunk, loud and annoying (I have an English passport so I got special attention in the airport leaving too). I did see one crowd from England taunting the police who looked like they just wanted that ONE reason to lay into them (I was hoping they would too).

All in all Krakow was a great place and I never experienced the above re restaurants/taxis etc.

portomar

I had a fairly positive experience in krakow, bu friends of mine there on a stag got into a fight for no reason, one of the lads trying to break it up got bottle in the back of the head, BY A PASSER BY WHO WASNT EVEN INVOLVED! two other lads in warsaw on stag standing outside pub having a smoke(force of habit?!) both got a box of randomer who ran by them.

Wheelhaus

Man, I loved Krakow when I was there. Everyone was incredibly friendly. The only problem we had was with the police but thats because we were being stupid and loud. We got a good bit of free drinks off some locals when they found out we were irish! Same with when we were in Budapest.

lopppy

Herself and I might resort to speaking Irish there.[/QUOTE]

Resort to speaking irish? If you have irish why wouldn't you be proud to speak it around the world?

dreamerbeliever

Went there with a group (mostly lads) last February and got very little hassle despite the lot of us behaving quite disgracefully (pissing on hostel receptions and the like - not me). One lad got punched in the face while out lost and quite unbelievably locked but apart from that the locals were happy to join in with the craic. That was the 2nd time i've been there and i'd defo go again.

alex14

oh no dude25, shame about your experience; as a Pole i'm obviously pro Poland and hope this doesn't deter you from further travels - Gdansk and Sopot are very nice cities in the north for some sunshine exporing but Krakow is definitely a gem! saying that, I know customer service in Poland is not quite as friendly as in Ireland ... but we're getting there

P. Breathnach

lopppy wrote: »

Resort to speaking irish? If you have irish why wouldn't you be proud to speak it around the world?

This response came to my notice only when this thread came to the top again, and I can't let it go unanswered.

We both speak English as our first language and also speak Irish (Herself very well, me fairly well). We use both languages. There is no pride or shame involved. It's simply a matter of what works best in any particular circumstance. Language is for communication, not for point-scoring.

Pete4779

WooPeeA wrote: »

100.000 Polish soldiers has fought on British side during WW2, protecting GB and Ireland

That's a bit of an exaggeration. The fought on the side of the UK, but Ireland was neutral as was Switzerland. In fact, the only real threat to Ireland during WW2 was threatened reinvasion by Churchill.

teetotaller

gordon_gekko wrote: »

why would the poles dislike the english ,

eastern europeans are perhaps just not that friendly

Well... from time to time I watch in tv some programs about young English lads, who are going to krakow to have a fun / stag party

girls are cheaper, food is cheaper, drinks are cheaper than in UK.
and lads get crazy- far away from their own homes and places.
They swim naked in fountain
they run around old city with your penis for public view
they piss on old city buildings
they puke where you stay
they are loud and don't behave well
They demolish pubs and clubs

don't be surprised that these people are not welcome any more in Krakow. In a front of some pubs there is an info - NO ENTRY FOR ENGLISH.

dude25 wrote: »

well tbh I think I was the only one who was really annoyed by the whole thing, the rest of the lads just got on with it, but I have to say I've travelled a fair bit and I have never been treated like that before ... well maybe tenerife was worse but that hardly counts, I knew what I was getting in to when I went there.

Go to Prague (Second favourite place for stag parties)
You will experience similar things

optiplexgx270 wrote: »

the English may not be very well welcomed But that’s their own fault, when a place is cheap and the common Englishman gets wind of it they saturate the place and get drunk, loud and annoying (I have an English passport so I got special attention in the airport leaving too). I did see one crowd from England taunting the police who looked like they just wanted that ONE reason to lay into them (I was hoping they would too).

Wheelhaus wrote: »

The only problem we had was with the police but thats because we were being stupid and loud.

Two posts above don't require any comments.

WooPeeA

Pete4779 wrote: »

That's a bit of an exaggeration. The fought on the side of the UK, but Ireland was neutral as was Switzerland. In fact, the only real threat to Ireland during WW2 was threatened reinvasion by Churchill.

You think Hitler would care of that? He was a psycho and wanted to have entire world under himself.

Third Reich planned open invasion on Switzerland in 1940 (it was called 'Operation Tannenbaum'). It was just delayed... Fortunately for them the war was over before Hitler 'gave the go-ahead'.

Why should Hitler leave Ireland independent?

sickpuppy

In response too teetotaler with his his ,no english info in pubs.
would be the kinda thing tabloids esp in england would find great as many polish in england.
How would you feel if the same thing was put here be it in pubs building sites
or job applications, would it be considered racist?
The usual shyte will be spawned about that most polish are so ncie etc but the vast majority ive met and knows cant stand ireland here for the money is all.
Would be great if we could put a big sign at all airports no Poles but there to mean to fly so will have to be at the ports too.

BuffyBot

WooPeeA wrote: »

You think Hitler would care of that?

If you want to chat history, take it to the History forum please

BuffyBot

sickpuppy wrote: »

In response too teetotaler with his his ,no english info in pubs.
would be the kinda thing tabloids esp in england would find great as many polish in england.
How would you feel if the same thing was put here be it in pubs building sites
or job applications, would it be considered racist?
The usual shyte will be spawned about that most polish are so ncie etc but the vast majority ive met and knows cant stand ireland here for the money is all.
Would be great if we could put a big sign at all airports no Poles but there to mean to fly so will have to be at the ports too.

Eh? Although it's mostly incomprehensible, it *seems* like the kind of debate more suited to Humanities then here. I suggest if you want to have that debate, you move it over there

Thanks

WooPeeA

sickpuppy wrote: »

In response too teetotaler with his his ,no english info in pubs.
would be the kinda thing tabloids esp in england would find great as many polish in england.
How would you feel if the same thing was put here be it in pubs building sites
or job applications, would it be considered racist?
The usual shyte will be spawned about that most polish are so ncie etc but the vast majority ive met and knows cant stand ireland here for the money is all.
Would be great if we could put a big sign at all airports no Poles but there to mean to fly so will have to be at the ports too.

I've traveled most of Poland I think and never seen anything like that kind of sign.. I don't know where teetotaler took that from... You can go to jail for something like that there.

camel toe

GREAT PLACE. I MAKE SURE TO BE GOOD WITH POLISH WHO LIVED/LIVE HERE SO WHEN THEY GO BACK HOME THEY SAY GOOD THINGS ABOUT IRELAND..SAME WITH ALL OTHER NATIONALITY.

Aurora Borealis

Bringing my Dad over as a Christmas present. Is that type of behaviour not akin to the crazy sh*t you might get outside any of our lovely late night chippers. I'm hoping to have a great time there.

dietcola

i m english and travelled to krakow last year... had similar experiences but i can speak polish... this helped alot, when pople start to take the mick i would reveal that i could speak the language and then you can imagine the turnaround in approach people took... its strange how a little bit of language can affect people so widely... next time try to avoid the holiday complaint by learning a little of the national language...

the sites i used for to learn french was...

everywhere i have been ive tried it... at least hello, thanks and good bye and the difference it makes in phenominal!

sorry to hear about your bad experience... sometime things aren't meant to be!;)