The use of cash in Europe is very different compared to usage in Canada, so before I go into my story I just want to say that wherever you go, especially in any country other than you’re own, it’s best to have cash on you anyway just in case something goes wrong (ex: where you’re going doesn’t take cash, your card is declined, etc.)
Not saying that it will happen, just that it could, and that you should be prepared.
Another thing before I start this story, ladies, gents, and non-binary pals, if you’re going out to party/drink/club/socialise, whatever… Drink responsibly. I’m all for drinking with pals and having a good time, but don’t be an idiot.
And I say that first and foremost because, like so many good stories, this one starts off while I was… intoxicated.
Not blitzed, but I wouldn’t claim that I was sober.
While I was in Krakow, I was staying at Greg & Tom Hostel (fun fact: there are 3) and the first night I arrived, the hostel supplied us all with dinner and drinks afterwards. I got to know some of the people in the hostel and we decided to go out after drinks for, you guessed it, more drinks!
I was hanging out with some of my new pals, Alex and Maria, and we went to a bar that specialised in shots.
Now, I’d already had some drinks back at the hostel, and it was only after we ordered drinks at this bar that we realised that it was cash only. I remembered seeing an ATM near the bar, so I went to take some cash out.
I found the ATM without much trouble, amazingly, and went to take out some money.
Now, I don’t know if anyone else has ever taken a look at the Polish language, but I’m just going to say this:
Polish is a strange language when you’re sober, and is even more strange when you’re not.
So I’m at this Polish ATM, and for the life of me could not find the button to choose the amount of money you want to take out. The only buttons they had that I could understand were :
3000
2000
1000
These were the ‘shortcut amounts’ you could take out.
Now, my tiddly self didn’t think of the exchange rate from the Canadian dollar to the Polish złoty when I picked 1000 PLZ and just hoped for the best.
(Just a side note, 1000 PLZ is worth just over 340 CAD.)
Oops…
The only thing about having that much money in Poland is that everything’s super cheap. Which is great, save for that I still have 800 PLZ that I didn’t spend.
Moral of the story? Take your money out before you go drinking 😀
So remember, drink responsibly. Don’t drink and drive. Take money out before going to the bar.
Peace ;P
Anna's Travelling Antics 