Poland

‘Let It Glow’ Festive Fundraiser for Kraków’s Animal Shelter

For a Committee member the IWAK Christmas event already starts in September. While members are still enjoying Indian summer days, we prepare for what is to come. We visit different locations, try their food, feel the atmosphere and approach the owners and managers for offers. Meanwhile our feelers run overtime […]

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Nowa Huta Tour

Nowa Huta, which literally means “New Steelworks”, was founded in 1949 just to the east of Kraków. It was built as a brand new town to accommodate almost 40,000 steel workers and their families in the most ambitious project of urban planning in post-war Poland. At the heart of this […]

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IWAK Pandemic Overview – 2020/21

Needless to say, the last IWAK year, and the end of the previous one, have been a challenge! A social organisation based on organising regular events and activities for our members, we were suddenly forced indoors often with Zoom as our only option… no more regular coffee mornings, parties, museum […]

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Happy Stones Kraków

Two of our IWAK ladies have launched a creative, interactive project. Find out more here and feel free to join in! Stones that make you happy. Made in our beautiful Kraków and left to find at Jordana Park. If you find one, please post a message and photo to our page […]

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Polish Easter Egg Dying Traditions

As my kids (12, 15, 19) get older I have gradually been losing my enthusiasm – the one I had when my first daughter was four – for making craft with them. Taking care of their tiny fingers while they learn how to use scissors, limitless delights about their crooked, […]

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Autism Centre Handover Visit

On 19 February Kasia Gates and I, on behalf of the IWAK Committee, visited the Centre of Autism and Complex Development Disabilities for the official handover of the 10,000 PLN collected at last year’s Christmas Charity Golden Party. This closes IWAK’s second year of financial assistance to the Centre. We […]

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The Joy of Volunteering in Kraków

Read any guide on how to best integrate into a new community and one of the top tips will always be – VOLUNTEER! It makes perfect sense – you can meet new people, get an opportunity to bridge the gap from “expat” to “local”, develop and maintain skills (often when […]

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5 months in Kraków

In August of 2019 my family and I moved to Kraków with the expectation we would live there for three or four years. We moved into our house, unpacked our boxes, started school and jobs, and began our love affair with Poland. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to last as long as […]

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IWAK Golden Charity Christmas Party 2019

If you skipped New Year’s celebrations and instead joined the IWAK Golden Charity Christmas Party on 7 December 2019, you won the lottery! The interiors of Avangarda welcomed all the guests with the unparalleled atmosphere of interwar Kraków. IWAK members celebrated the most important night of the year in a […]

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IWAK Golden Charity Christmas Party

This year IWAK’s annual Christmas charity event is the Golden Party, held to support the Centre for Autism and Complex Development Disabilities (http://www.centrum-autyzmu.pl). Since 2013, the Centre has been providing a wide range of professional, educational, medical and consulting services to students with autism spectrum disorders and their parents. This […]

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