Iterview with Ewelina Tluczek (Krakow Spotter)

Ewelina Tłuczek

This is an interview with one of our Krakow Spotters, Ewelina Tłuczek. We asked her to share more about herself with us and what she specifically knows and loves about Krakow!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
And what do you want to know? :-)

Well, originally I’m not from Krakow but for the last 10 years it has been MY city. Like many of people I came here to study and…I didn’t realize that time is running so fast. I want my motto to be “carpe diem” that’s why I love to travel, eat and drink, hang out with friends, read books, listen to music, watch films and TV-series (now I have 4 new friends called “Desperate Housewives”). Shame that a day only has 24 hours.

What more can I say? I create a good appearance but in reality I am a shy person; however, meeting new people helps me to overcome shyness. I like to laugh and I consider myself as an optimist and incorrect dreamer. I’m still looking for my way of life or dream job (as one of the songs U2 says: “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”).

How do you like being a Spotter?
I really like the idea of city blogs with tips for tourists, and also for locals. Every time I go away I check the Spotted by Locals website trying to find places described there as “must see”. People living in a city (“locals”) can show you spots that normally you wouldn’t find.

Funny story is that my first test article waited a few months for uploading. Shortly after writing about Artefakt I learned they were moving to Kazimierz, so I needed to write new texts about other places. It took me quite a few months to visit their new place and convince myself that it is still as interesting as it used to be.

Even as a citizen I like to look on the blog of Krakow searching for new places worth visiting. I can only wish for new spotters in more and more cities around Europe and maybe even further than Europe.

Why Krakow?
Krakow is a magical city, maybe it has something to do with the famous Chakra located on Wawel’s hill…but maybe it is only a legend ;) Although it is not a small city, sometimes you get the impression that everyone is familiar with each other. Personally I like Krakow during every part of the year:

• in spring you will find many green places (Planty, Błonia, mounds),
• in summer just go to the Vistula River or sit with coffee somewhere in the city center, Kazimierz or Podgórze,
• in autumn take an evening walk by misty Planty,
• in winter drink hot wine and visit the Christmas market located close to Sukiennice.

What do you know about Krakow that no tourist will know?
Every Tuesday after Easter an interesting festival called Rękawka takes place. This historical event is celebrated to commemorate the creation of Krakusa Mound and it’s a great opportunity to get to know the culture and history of medieval Malopolska and its inhabitants – Vistulans – better. Another very interesting event is Emaus – a fest on Easter Monday that takes place in Norbertine monastery on Salwator.

But if you don’t have an opportunity to visit those festivals, I recommend you go to one of four Krakow’s mounds – Kościuszki (the most famous and the best kept one), Piłsudskiego (the biggest and youngest one), Krakusa (which reminds me of hills in Bologna) or Wandy (the smallest one, located in district of Nowa Huta). They are great viewpoints of the whole city so it’s worth visiting them, just remember that Mound Kościuszki can be the most crowded one.

Can you describe a perfect day in your city?
As it is said a good breakfast is the best way to start a day and it should be the most important meal so I suggest you start in Café Botanica where till 12:00 you can eat something good and nutritious for a long, perfect day. After this you can have a quick coffee (or tea) in Bunkier Sztuki and you’re ready for exploring the city. Depending on the weather and your physical condition you can climb to one of the mounds (Kościuszki, Piłsudskiego, Krakusa or Wandy), see Wawel hill or just walk around the city center and Kazimierz. One of the benefits of Krakow is that all the major places are within a 15 minute walk.

Next good idea is lunch in Zazie Bistro, or if you want to try something more Polish – try what Morela offers you. During the night you need to drink beer in one of Krakow’s many places. It is said that even going to a different pub every day, you will run out of days in a year to visit all of them; but still my favorite ones are Antycafe and Artefakt.

And if you get hungry in the middle of the night you can always eat something typical for Krakow (sausages at Hala Targowa or zapiekanki on Kazimierz) or something very Polish (pickled herring in cream served in The Herring Embassy).

Is there something else you want to share?
I really like to travel but I also like coming back, especially to Krakow; I like the specific feeling of security you have in your city, just like home – security not in a manner of safety but certainty of places/people/communication.

For more of Ewelina’s articles check her profile on the Krakow city blog. For more Spotter interviews, click here.