1. Wroclaw
1.1. Do I need a visa?
Generally, it is up to you to find out about your travel arrangements; we cannot predict the situation for every person visiting the school. You can usually find good information about the visa requirements on the web. The general trend is as follow: “EU citizens do not need a visa to enter Poland and are allowed to stay for a period of three months from the date of entry. If you are not an EU national, check visa and work permit regulations with the Polish embassy in the country where you are”. Poland belongs to the Schengen area; the following website lists the countries whose citizens need a visa when travelling to Schengen countries. Although obtaining a visa is primarily your responsibility, the local organizers will do their best to assist you as much as possible; for example, we can send you a letter confirming your participation in the School. If such a necessity arises, write an e-mail to Krzysztof Migdalski (krzysz75 @ yahoo.com) indicating your first and last name, date of birth, and the passport number.
1.2. How do I get to Wroclaw?
There is an airport in Wroclaw (Wroclaw Strachowice). It is located 10 km west of the city centre and it offers connections to the cities listed on the airport website. Flixbus operates cheap express buses from Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw and many other destinations. You can also arrive by train and the timetable is available here. The name of the main railway station in Wroclaw is “Wroclaw Glowny”, in Warsaw “Warszawa Centralna”.
1.3. Where can I find some information about Wroclaw?
You can check out wikipedia, another entry on wikipedia, wikitravel, or local pages: Wroclaw-Life, the municipal website and VisitWroclaw
2. Dorm
2.1. Where will the school participants be accommodated?
The name of the dorm is Olowek (it means “a pencil” and is roughly pronounced as ‘owoovek’; it’s the building on the right), and the address is pl. Grunwaldzki 30.
2.2. When should I arrive/depart?
The school starts on Monday July 29 and finishes on Friday August 9. Most people will arrive on the Sunday before (July 28) and leave on the Saturday after (August 10). These 13 nights are included in the 150 Euro fee. If you want to arrive a day earlier (Saturday July 27) or leave a day later, that’s also possible, but you’ll have to pay for the extra dorm night(s). The rate for these extra days is 54 PLN (about 12 euro) per bed per night. It would be helpful to know ahead of time whether you need accommodation for the day before/after the school, so once you know this, send an e-mail to Krzysztof Migdalski (krzysz75 @ yahoo.com) and we can get an estimate of extra beds needed. You can do it NO LATER than on 3 JULY.
NB.: The dorm is closed from 2 a.m. till 3 a.m. at night because the receptionist is on her round in the building.
2.3. What kind of rooms will be available?
You will stay in double rooms. Bed sheets, towels (sorry, no towels), and soap are provided. Each two rooms share a bathroom and a kitchen with a fridge, glasses available and an electric kettle (no kettles), so in principle you could do your own cooking if you have your own plates, pots, and cutlery. Communal facilities include a communal TV room, two study rooms, and a laundry. Free Wi-Fi internet connection is available in the dorm. Cable internet connection is available as well, but you need to bring your own cable. In addition, Wi-Fi is available in the department building where the classes are held.
2.4. Can I choose my roommates?
Yes. Please write an e-mail to Krzysztof Migdalski krzysz75 @ yahoo.com before your arrival indicating your preferences. The deadline for this is 3 JULY.
3. How do I travel around Wroclaw?
3.1. How to get from the airport to the dorm?
There is a bus (No. 106) that goes every 15 minutes in the direction of the Main Railway Station. Take the bus in the direction of DWORCOWA. Get off at the 23rdstop called Renoma at Podwale Street. Cross Swidnicka Street so that you are at the tram stop in front of Renoma. From there, take tram No 17 in the direction of SEPOLNO and get off at the 10th stop called “Grunwaldzka.” The stop is next to the dorm. You can use google maps or this website to plan your trip and hereyou can check bus and tram timetables. The last 106 bus leaves the airport at 23:31 (see the timetable). Do not take the evening buses marked with ‘Z’ in the timetable if you want to get to Renoma. This trip will take almost an hour, which means that you’ll need a ticket that costs 4,40 PLN. There are two types of bus/tram tickets. The fares are as follows: single-ride tickets: 3.40 PLN for regular routes, 3.60 PLN for express or night buses (express buses are marked with letters instead of numbers). You need to validate these tickets each time you board a different vehicle (no transfers possible). Unlimited-ride tickets that allow transfers: 15 minutes – 2.40 PLN, 30 minutes – 3 PLN, 60 minutes 4.40 PLN, 90 minutes – 6 PLN, 24 hours – 11 PLN, 48 hours – 20 PLN, 72 hours – 26 PLN. The easiest way to pay your fare is to use a ticket machine inside the vehicle. The machine accepts contactless bank cards and it encodes the ticket on your card (you don’t receive a paper ticket). You can also buy tickets at some newspaper stores and ticket machines that are available at some stops. You can also take a taxi, but you’d better call one by phone (here are the numbers). Taxis cost around 60 PLN from the airport to the dorm during daytime hours. The current (13 June) exchange rate is 1 EUR = 4.25 PLN.
3.2. How to get from the Train Station/Bus Station to the dorm?
From the Bus Station: cross the street to the Railway Station, walk through the tunnel under the tracks, leave it using the main exit and follow the instructions below. From the Train Station: use the main exit to leave the station. Take tram number 9 in the direction of SEPOLNO. The tram stops outside the station, a little bit to the left. The stop is called Dworzec Glowny PKP (which means the Main Railway Station). Get off at the 9th stop called “Grunwaldzka”. The stop is next to the dorm. The ride will take you 17 minutes. Here is the tram timetable.
3.3. How to get from the dorm to the place where the classes will be held?
The classes will be held right in the center, at the Institute of English Studies, Kuznicza Street no. 22, close to the Main Square (Rynek). It’s 2.5 km from the dorm – about 30 minutes of a pleasant walk passing the cathedral on the way or 11 minutes by tram plus an 8-minute walk. To get to the classes by tram, take tram number 33 from the tram stop called Bujwida (that’s a different stop than the one that you used coming from the airport/train station; it’s on the other side of the building) in front of the dorm in the direction of PILCZYCE. Get off at the 5th stop called called Swidnicka next to a big KFC building. Cross the street and continue straight ahead through the main square (Rynek) to Kuznicza Street no. 22. The route is shown here.
4. Costs
4.1. How much does it cost?
All participants are asked to pay 150 euros towards the cost of covering the school. Most of this money is used to pay for your accommodation. A small fraction of this money is incorporated into the general budget of the school. Students form former communist countries can pay a reduced fee of 100 euros if they applied fort hat.
4.2. When do I pay?
We’ll collect the money on the second third day of the school (on Tuesday on Wednesday). We ask you to pay in euros, so please bring 150/100 euros in cash. If that doesn’t work for you, we’ll also accept the equivalent amount in PLN at the rate applicable at that moment.
5. About the classes
5.1. Are all classes in English?
Yes.
5.2. Do I need to register for classes?
No, we don’t keep track …
5.3. Am I supposed to attend all the classes?
No way!! This school is supposed to be benefit you, not stuff too much down your throat!! So attend as much as you can digest, and only the parts you are really interested in.
5.4. When will the schedule be known?
Scheduling is a long and difficult process, wish us luck!
6. Misc
6.1. Who should I contact if I have more questions?
First make sure that the answer to your question is not on this website!! If it’s not, then you have two options: – if you want to contact the organisers directly, you can do so at zeijlstra AT yahoo DOT com; – if it’s a local organization issue contact the local organizer (Krzysztof Migdalski) krzysz75@yahoo.com – but please, he’s a busy man.