Klezmer Fun Pub in Kazimierz, Krakow! (Alchemia (Krakow))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Alchemia (Krakow)
Date:	09/04/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good music, nice atmosphere

Disadvantages: Prices are sneaking up

Alchemia's location by the main square in Kazimierz was always bound to attract a fair amount of tourists even if that perhaps wasn't their main intention. A cosy cavern of a pub, Alchemia plays center stage to the Klezmer scene in Krakow and hosts numerous excellent Jazz and Klezmer concerts in the basement, when there are no live gigs it is still a popular place though. Prices have sneaked up and were never dirt cheap to start off with but the pleasant atmosphere of people getting ratted at busy candle lit tables and occasionally dancing around them adds to the enjoyment of the pub.

This pub brings in all sorts and you could as easily meet a dream girl as you could an elderly drunk Welsh choir talking about rugby. The last time I visited this pub, it had major issues with the toilets which were getting far too much use and backing up so that a visit to the toilet meant getting knee deep in a mixture of wee and water.

Smokey and Bohemian there is something more Czech about this place than Polish, despite being a mecca of culture as well as hedonism, it has a grittiness that is rarely found in such places which would usually inhabited by the glasses and book brigade. People let themselves go whilst here for the night and it's just as well as it would be no fun swimming in the urine drenched toilet listening to a Welsh choir if you were feeling serious!

A visit to the cosy Alchemia is well recommended, if it's raining it is definitely worth getting in early and being at the forefront of any of the night's events! In the summer, the pub has tables outside and this can come as a pleasant relief for any non smokers.

Summary: Getting very popular but still worth going