Warsaw or Cracow?

19.04.06, 13:32
I spent one week in Warsaw and I will soon go to see Cracow, so I can't
compare them. But I would like the people who have been to both (or even
better, lived in both) to compare them. What they liked and didn't like in
each, mentalities, culture (yeah us aussies luv our kultcha!), etc.

It seems that most of people here on this forum are living in Warsaw, I wonder
why is that? Is anyone here from Cracow?

Cheers, Ben
    • ianek70 Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 13:56
      I don't know Warsaw very well, neither do most Poles, but the general consensus
      is that it's got all the disadvantages of a capital city (expensive, busy,
      smelly, snobby, expensive, full of tourists) but none of the advantages (ugly,
      not cosmopolitan, nothing old). I hate being there. Like all big cities there's
      stuff to do and plenty of interesting people, but you have to know where to go.
      Almost all Poles hate Warsaw and love Krakow.
      Krakow's full of history, kultcha and shit. There's loads of tourists, but
      somehow the city functions normally (don't know how, since half the citizens
      seem to be nuns). The old centre is great, really beautiful, although the rest
      could be more or less any big old European city.
      I was there at the weekend and it really pissed me off, but that's probably
      because I was hungover, being dragged round clothes shops and seeing the same
      market square I see on every visit.
      It's a cool place to hang out for a week or so, wandering about aimlessly
      during the day and sampling the various bars in the evening.
      Start a "What's good in Cracow" thread (I'm surprised there hasn't been one
      yet) and pretty much everyone'll have suggestions where to go and what to see.
      • firemouse Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 14:15
        I like Warsaw smile but maybe I am biased.

        Cracow is full of history and is exotic as it was part of Austro-Hungarian
        empire, so you can find similarities to other big cities of it, like Prague or
        Budapest or Vienna (I mean here style of living, architecture etc).

        Warsaw is nice too, but it had to rebuild after 1945 from scratch, while Kraków
        was untouched. So Kraków is a city with all historic layers easy to find. Warsaw
        is not exactly the pre-war city, and it is huge (for a Polish realities) so I
        always complained about distances between pubs smile

        Center of Kraków is more compact and everything is in near distance.

        What I don't like in Kraków is overall dirt (I know Warsaw is not good too, but
        Kraków is even worse) and very close society. I think Warsawians are more open
        for new friends. Saying this, I have a lot of friends in Kraków, but maybe I was
        just lucky.
    • gfunkallstars Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 22:31
      I agree about the dirt! I also find that in Kraków everyone wants something -
      just walking from the station to the square you get hassled by ladies selling
      squeeky mountain cheese, beggars, drunks, buskers....

      I think Kraków is a nice place to go for a long weekend. The pace of life is
      much slower than in Warsaw and it is a very pretty place. Or as my friends said
      after spending 10 days there - a very pretty, pretty boring place.

      Warsaw is often criticised for being ugly and having nothing old - these
      criticisms seem to come mainly from people who changed trains in central station
      and didn't venture much beyond the palace of culture. There are lots of lovely
      old buildings in Warsaw - people just tend not to look for them. Having said
      that - a lot was destroyed during and after the war and that makes the history
      more raw than in Kraków.

      Personally - I wouldn't willingly swap Warsaw for anywhere else in Poland - and
      if i did it wouldn't be for Kraków.

      • kylie1 Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 23:04
        > you get hassled by ladies selling squeeky mountain cheese

        what the heck is a squeaky mountain cheese?
        • gfunkallstars Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 23:08
          ocypek (sorry if it's spelt wrong) - it squeaks when you eat it
          • kylie1 Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 23:30
            aaah, I see....
            thanks.
      • usenetposts Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 20.04.06, 17:05
        gfunkallstars napisał:

        > I agree about the dirt! I also find that in Kraków everyone wants something -
        > just walking from the station to the square you get hassled by ladies selling
        > squeeky mountain cheese, beggars, drunks, buskers....
        >
        > I think Kraków is a nice place to go for a long weekend. The pace of life is
        > much slower than in Warsaw and it is a very pretty place. Or as my friends sai
        > d
        > after spending 10 days there - a very pretty, pretty boring place.
        >
        > Warsaw is often criticised for being ugly and having nothing old - these
        > criticisms seem to come mainly from people who changed trains in central
        statio
        > n
        > and didn't venture much beyond the palace of culture. There are lots of lovely
        > old buildings in Warsaw - people just tend not to look for them. Having said
        > that - a lot was destroyed during and after the war and that makes the history
        > more raw than in Kraków.
        >
        > Personally - I wouldn't willingly swap Warsaw for anywhere else in Poland -
        and
        > if i did it wouldn't be for Kraków.
        >

        That has got to be this week's star letter.
    • minimus Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 22:49
      Warsaw is where all the action is. Kraków has nice pubs, old city, Wawel and
      Wieliczka. There is also some interesting things to see around Kraków. The rest
      is run down. I guess you being an Aussie will not be able to live without sea.
      From Warsaw weekend trips to Baltic are quite possible, from Krakow much less
      so. And Baltic is actually quite nice. Unless your into skiing? Anyway, my
      favourate is Gdansk, or the Tricity. But there are no jobs there sad(same in
      Kraków actually).
      Nothing beats Sydney anyway mate!
      • gfunkallstars Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 22:59
        Regarding jobs- it depends on what you do. My Krakowian friend was telling me
        the other day that in his sector (IT projects) it is very difficult to find
        anyone good in Kraków - there are lots of good people but they already have good
        jobs. In Warsaw it's also quite difficult to find good people - they either
        have jobs or left the country.
        • minimus Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 23:07
          Thats true. There is always a short supply of good ppl. But if you compare
          yellow pages Warsaw's is by far the thickest.
          • gfunkallstars Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 19.04.06, 23:09
            sure - it's a bigger city
            • ejmarkow Re: Warsaw or Cracow? 21.04.06, 09:40
              I prefer Warszawa over Kraków because the historical aspect is very
              interesting, right up to WWII. I also agree with gfunkallstars about the
              architecture. There are plenty of interesting buildings and sections of
              Warszawa to see, and just discovering them is half the fun. Sometimes the
              guidebooks associate it with greyness or drabness which is partially unfair.
              It's quickly being recognized as an exciting place for backpackers and partyers.

              Eugene
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