There was a time when the Hotel Cracovia was THE place to stay in Krakow. Those days are long gone but the big, empty and very dated building is still with us. Listen to a story about an interesting piece of Krakow's recent history, learn why the building is still there even if the hotel isn't and discover why it's really risky to buy things from the city. Oh, and prostitutes. And casinos. Just listen—it will all make sense.
After more than two years and almost 250 episodes, we finally get to the subject everyone really wants to talk about—pizza. In this first of two episodes on the topic (topping?), we get some great background on the pizza business from Noel O'Donnell, who managed and led several pizza restaurants in the early days of the industry in the UK. Listen to his description of the pizza business, his take on the Krakow pizza scene and our discussion of the ultimate crime against humanity—putting ketchup on your pizza.
We recorded this the day before the Presidential election and you're going to listen a day or two after so this is a little awkward... But we're pros so we press on and talk about "election silence", Duda's photo opp with Trump, US troops in Poland, predictions about the election (we were right!), a bus crash in Warsaw, police checking for masks on trams and buses, Dr. Mike makes a prediction about Corona doom, construction on Dietla comes to a stop for the 99th time (plus a bonus lecture on concrete from Josh) and last week's Polish invasion of the Czech Republic that you probably didn't know about.
Did you know that Poland has six dollar billionaires and a very long list of 10-digit złoty fortunes? Most of them got rich through being smart and working hard while others had, um, different methods... Listen as we talk about some of the richest people in the country and how they made, inherited or acquired their money.
Lots to talk about this week in the news, starting with the Krakow Balloon getting seriously deflated. After that, it's the upcoming election and Presidential debates, horrible Polish roads and/or drivers, Duda meets Trump (again), some idiot tries to steal money from a charity box right in front of a police station, Tesco FINALLY dies in Poland and more.
DJ, promoter and label owner Dave Redmond from Ireland joins in the studio to discuss everything from the local club scene in Krakow to that old classic...... "so what brings you to Krakow?"
Join us as we meander through news country, after a brief Corona Coal Mine update we plumb ourselves into meaty Nord Stream2 pipeline sanction issues, the shadowy late career of Gerard Schroeder as well as connecting the dots on Krakow's latest piece of transport infrastructure in Bronowice. Cocaine smuggling, Bobby De Niro's rooms to rent in Warsaw and lots of other odds and sods make up this edition of the news, where's our Pulitzer dammit!!
The news is back and full of, um, news about everything going on this week. We start with the upcoming Presidential election, border issues, digital television changes, the European Court of Justice and Polish judges, big construction projects on Poland's Baltic coast (plus a geography lesson) and Baltic Bubbles.
Evelyn Aschenbrenner is an American teacher based in Wrocław. She's the organizer of the March in Memory of George Floyd in Krakow and joined us to chat about how it came together and what it's all about. We also talk about social activism in Poland, what's involved in organizing a march and what she hopes to achieve.
It's a strange topic for a short history, we know. Krakow Plaza started life as a very popular destination, the first of its kind in Krakow. But a combination of factors quickly resulted in changes that have led to the almost empty ghost town we see today. Listen and learn about what happened to Krakow's first indoor mall and the various attempts to transform it into something else.
Small signs of a return to (almost) normality are our main topics this week. We cover the end of the obligation to wear a mask, cinemas can open this week (but most won't), mandatory paid vacations, a dark immediate future for Krakow's tourism industry and the amazing discovery that bridges have TWO ends.
KrakCast Weekend is our chance to talk about random stuff, and what could be more random than the 1997-1998 NBA season and Michael Jordan's run at a sixth championship? Here's our take on the (latest) series that everybody is watching.
Coronavirus has infected the news again this week, starting with the Polish Health Minister getting unmasked (zing!). After that, it's crime stats for people ticketed for not wearing masks, nobody cries for the downfall of Olimp, Krakow loses Eurovision Junior, drive-in movies, new bans on cigarettes and tobacco and an update on the scooter invasion.
Our friend Robert Socha of TVN joins us again to discuss the Polish media during the coronavirus, the massive corruption scandal in the Krakow courts and other current issues in the news.
After a quick lesson from the Venetian language, we dive into this week's news, starting with the election that may or may not have happened, possibly, maybe but we're not sure. After that, PO chooses someone else to lose the election, barriers on Florianska street, a new Hilton is opening soon despite the worst timing ever, a rambling conversation about tourism and bars, the lights are still off at night and it could be driving an increase in crime, new 5G towers are up and controlling your minds, an argument about the difference between moose and elk and a few random other things.
We've talked a lot about the impact of COVID-19 on business, but schools have also been closed by the virus. Millions of students, teachers and parents have been affected and we're still not sure when we might return to a normal school schedule. Brett Elkei, Principal of the Elementary School of the International School of Krakow, joined us to talk about how students there have adapted to a new reality and the challenges presented by having to move everything online.
Our friend Fergus Duffy, owner of Duffy's Irish Bar, joins us for a chat on how the coronavirus has affected Krakow's bar scene and what the return to normality might look like. Listen and find out what happens when you get 200 "Happy St. Patrick's Day 2020" shirts right before you have to close (before St. Patrick's Day...).
There's a lot of political intrigue around the Polish Presidential election right now and that's our starting point in this week's news. After that, it's Revolut banking, Ukrainian workers coming back (or not?), slowly getting back to normal economic life, various pieces of news in healthcare and hospitals, a scammer gets caught, animal guts on the road and Dave's solution for the wild pig problem.
Ten candidates for President of Poland took part in a debate last week and it was actually pretty interesting. Listen as we discuss the questions, answers, personalities and lack of ties that made it worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-JkbvOgdLE
As if the city hadn't already wasted enough money on the 2011 winner of "Ugliest Building in Krakow", this week we learned that they're going to pay an additional 9.7m zl for the copyright plans, which they should have got for free ten years ago, so that they can then spend an additional 20m zl on improvements, like an actual roof that works. Listen as we explain why a club that hasn't won a trophy in a decade has a stadium that they don't need and can't afford anyway.
