This is a proposal that Flock 2016 be held in Krakow, Poland
Staff
- Brian Exelbierd (bex@pobox.com)
- Dominika Bula
Interested in helping? Contact Brian
The city
The city of Krakow is the second largest city of Poland and is the country's ancient capital. It is sometimes spelled as Cracow in English although its correct English name is Krakow nowadays. Krakow is the top tourist destination in Poland. The city basks in the glory of its long history and it greatly treasures its reputation as the culture capital of Poland.
Krakow's seven universities plus almost twenty other institutions of higher education make it the country’s leading center of science and education. The city's expanding service sector is the lifeblood of local economy but varied industry and production still provide substantial proportions of jobs and wealth. Krakow is the metropolis of southern Poland and the capital city of the Malopolska Province. The city has about 755,000 permanent residents and the Krakow conurbation totals some 1.5 million people. The cosmopolitan atmosphere of the city center may be somewhat misleading. Despite recent growth in the number of immigrants and expatriates, inhabitants of Krakow remain ethnically almost homogeneous and they proudly declare their Polish nationality.
Geographic coordinates of downtown Krakow are 50°04'N 19°56'E. The city lies in southern Poland on the banks of Wisla (Vistula) river.
Currency
Poland uses the Polish Zloty (PLN)
Currency Value as of 17 December 2015 (xe.com)
1 PLN = 0.25 USD 1 USD = 3.92 PLN
1 PLN = 0.23 EUR 1 EUR = 4.29 PLN
Airports
The Krakow airport - IATA code KRK, ICAO code EPKK - is situated conveniently on the Balice outskirts of the city, just 15 km (about ten miles) west from its center, by the A4 expressway to Silesia province en route to Germany. Krakow's Balice international airport is Poland’s second busiest after Warsaw, Poland's capital city. The airport is easily accessible by direct train from the city center at a cost of 8 PLN and takes 17 minutes and includes wifi and power onboard. A taxi from the Airport to the Hotel is about 75 PLN.
Estimated costs of flights from…
BOS $900-1300 Swiss/Lufthansa(1 Stop/ 2 stops) RDU $1400(2 Stops JFK,WAW; Lot Polish Airlines) BOM $780-1400 (1-2 stops) CDG $160-250 (direct Easy Jet) PRG $200 (1 stops/ via Vienna) or 725 CZK one-way [https://www.cd.cz/en/mezinarodni-cestovani/specialni-nabidky/cd-bus-krakov/-23251/ Train] BRQ 520 CZK one-way train (or about 3.25 hours drive) VIE $200 (direct)
Transportation
Krakow’s municipal transport company, known in the city under its acronym MPK maintains 137 day bus lines totaling about 650 kilometers & 27 tram lines that consist of some 84 kilometers of double tramways. Trams in Krakow don’t run at night (roughly midnight to 5 a.m.) Eight night bus lines that cover nearly 130 kilometers constitute Krakow’s night public transport.
Tickets Prices:
1 way ticket - 3.80 PLN 2 way ticket - 7.20 PLN 24h ticket - 15 PLN 48h ticket - 24 PLN 72 h ticket - 36 PLN 7 - day ticket 48 PLN
Lodging and Event Locations
Bids and selections are in process - below is preliminary
Hotel Best Western Premier Kraków; on Opolska 14a street is located outside the city centre in a quiet location with a good car park. Being out of the city does not create a problem and in fact is a plus if you are visiting further afield. There is a regular, cheap and reliable bus service only 10 minutes walk away and the hotel staff will point you in the right direction. The 130 bus runs every 15 minutes and can cost as little as 3.80 PLN for a single fare. Just make sure you have change! In 20 minutes you will be in town. The buses run until around 11pm so this hotel location is not an issue. After 11pm a taxi/uber can be had for around 20 PLN.
The hotel staff are very helpful and speak excellent english.
We are looking for a dates 2nd -5th of August.
Double/Twin Room - 65 EUR per night
Meeting Rooms
Meeting Rooms: (Rent includes: flipchart + markers, projector, screen) http://www.bestwesternkrakow.pl/en/conferences/
- Panteon: 400 Theater - 750 EUR/day
- Monet: 81 Theater / 40 Classroom - 120 EUR/day
- Canaletto: 54 Theater / 21 Classroom - 120 EUR/day
- Matejko: 54 Theater / 21 Classroom - 120 EUR/day
- Chełmoński: 54 Theater / 21 Classroom - 120 EUR/day
- Malczewski: 54 Theater / 21 Classroom - 120 EUR/day
Food & Beverage
(base prices) Coffee break (coffee, tea, cookies, water) : a) single: from 3,75€/pp b) all day: from 6€/pp Buffet lunches: from 15 €/pp
Evening Event Ideas
- Browar Lubicz; A one of a kind place for beer lovers in Krakow, Poland - https://www.facebook.com/browarlubiczrestauracja/
Founded in 1840, and reopened in 2015 after 14 years of silence, this historic brewery has reinvented itself as an upscale brew-pub (coinciding with the completion of the exclusive residences that surround it), replete with a snazzy logo, stylish post-industrial design, door greeters, a full card of local fare, and signature ales brewed on-site. Thoroughly professional, Browar Lubicz exhibits all the traits of the corporate clients it seems to be catering to;
Tasting of 3 draught beers (their very drinkable, lager, dark and wheat beer). Their own honey-roasted wheat malt comes as a beer snack and the solid menu offers beer-infused interpretations of local standards like 'maczanka' and 'golanka' and a tasty beer soup. Overall, a lot of care has gone into the rising of this phoenix, and it's a welcome return.
- Guided tour; Main Square or Kazimierz(Jewish district);
All attendees will be split in 5 groups among licensed Krakow quide 's for the inspiring exploration of the city concluded with the shot in Alchemia http://alchemia.com.pl/ ; person representing Krakow guided torus asked to let them know asap as beginning of August should be very buys
If you want to get a real taste of the proper nightlife in Krakow just head to the fabulous district Kazimierz and the great area Plac Nowy. Plac Nowy is teeming with superb ,eclectic pub's,bar's and restaurant's and Alchemia is probably the most famous.
- Krakow underground;
Possible in 7 groups- entrance of each every half hour; to be considered as this is very cool place
Other Touring Ideas
- The “Wieliczka” Salt Mine is located 10 km from the centre of Krakow. It is located in the vicinity of the E40 route and may be accessed in a few convenient ways. by train from the Main Railway Station in Krakow (Dworzec Główny) to the Wieliczka Rynek Kopalnia train station.The trains run at set hours every 30 minutes and the journey lasts 22 minutes. The site features health resorts, restaurants and serves as a jumping off point for trips.
- Zakopane, Poland's premier mountain resort, is one of the country's most popular holiday destinations, both in the winter for skiing and in the summer for hiking and camping. Bus is by far your best bet for getting up to Zakopane. Two private lines and one PKS all leave from the main bus station (dworzec autobusowy) at regular intervals. If you're going at any civilised time of the day you will probably have to wait no longer than an hour for your next carriage. What's more they are dirt cheap - it will only cost you around 15 zloty for the two-hour trip from Cracow. If you're in a hurry you can even buy your ticket from the driver. That said advance tickets are advised in season, and there may be the odd jam on the roads.
- Auschwitz concentration camp was a network of German Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany.