There are many things that all hostels everywhere have in common. The rowdy gap-year Aussies who start drinking at noon. The destructive group of alpha Brits. The elusive Argentinians who only come out between 2 and 7 AM to drink maté. The confused Asian traveller who doesn't speak any English. The white guy with dreads. The guy who was supposed to be there for a weekend, but never left. But my favorite universal hostel truth is the name. Every hostel in the world has an English name that just barely doesn't make sense. This one - that was to end up playing a large role in the development of my life in Kraków - was called "Greg&Tom Beer House Hostel."
Dazed and hungry, with my feet aching in their cowboy boots after having hauled my luggage over uneven cobblestone for a half-hour, I was warmly greeted by a beautiful Polish receptionist who got me set up in my temporary home: a 16-bed dorm. Finally able to relax, I went to the attached pub for a beer and a meal and was waited on by two gorgeous waitresses. I was starting to discover, but had yet to fully realize, that there were more beautiful women than pigeons in Kraków. And there are a lot of pigeons in Kraków.
Every room (plus every shower and bathroom stall) had two lighting options: regular and neon. There was a pub-crawl every night that involved pregaming at the hostel before visiting 2-3 bars/clubs. The guests were lively, the staff engaging and fun. I figured I was morally obligated to party every night, so as not to let down my countrymen (being the only American most of the time). I couldn't be boring in front of all the nationalities that surrounded me, c'mon.
So for the next two weeks, I spent the days seeing the city's sights, the afternoons searching for a flat, and the evenings dancing and making a fool out of myself.
**Side Note: Anyone with reservations about traveling through Europe should abandon them. Hostel life is very inexpensive ($10-$30 a night, depending on the country) and meeting people is a breeze. Everyone in your hostel is traveling in order to broaden their horizons and many are traveling alone, so you'll never be by yourself in a city unless you want to be. Plus, every hostel I've ever been to has been run in English, so knowing the native language isn't even necessary (though a few words in the native tongue can go a long way to befriending the locals, particularly in countries that speak less widely spoken languages). Extra incentive: you know someone who lives in the heart of one of the coolest cities in Europe... unless you're a random creeper who has stumbled upon this blog.
Anyway, with my classes fast approaching, I needed to find a flat. After some gems that got snatched up before I could get my hands on them, I found a pretty good place only a few blocks from the hostel (see earlier blog entry). I needed a roommate, though. Fortunately, there was this one Australian guy who had been staying at the hostel a couple of weeks longer than I had. He had originally intended to be in Kraków for two nights, but enjoyed his experience so much, he extended it numerous times until he fell in love with a Polish girl (can't really blame him for that) who worked at the hostel and decided he wanted to stay long-term (see paragraph 2 of this entry). He needed a place to live, so bingo! Roommate.
When we settled in, we threw a parapetówka, or Polish housewarming party. I was insistent on making pierogi for the party. Behind that is a story for another time. In attendance were the hostel staff, friends we had made there, and some of my soon-to-be classmates, whom I hadn't yet met. Among other housewarming gifts was our pet goldfish, Kacza.
Make friends in Kraków: check
Find a place to live: check
Start my studies: ...
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