On Jul 2, 2010, at 8:37 AM, Marc A. Pelletier wrote:

On 02/07/2010 11:09 AM, phoebe ayers wrote:

Hi guys,

I am not on the official logistics team so I cannot tell you exactly where

to go when you arrive. But I can give you a little bit of general gdansk

travel information:

Thanks, Phoebe, that's appreciated.  It's the first time I travel to a
location where I do not speak any of the local languages so basic
expectations are useful to have (how much to expect paying for a cab
amongst them).

How likely is it that people involved in trourism (cabbies, hotel staff,
restaurants) speak basic English or French?  I'm generally fairly good
at improvising enough of a pidgin to get by if I have a fair expectation
that I have at least some vocabulary in common.

-- Coren / Marc

Marc, 

I visited Gdansk briefly in April before the Chapters Conference and found it an easy city to navigate.  For most everyone once you are in the city center walking will be your primary mode of transportation. For some of the dorms it might be a slightly longer walk (25 min or so) but the small and beautiful nature of Gdansk makes the walk feel much shorter.  

While visiting Gdansk I met with 9 hotels and went into several restaurants.  English is not as fluent in Gdansk as it would be in urban and western European cities, but I had no major problems communicating or getting the appropriate message across.  Hotel staff were mostly fluent in english and always willing to help. In restaurants I found a lower percentage of English speakers, likely around 50%, higher in the more tourist traveled areas and lower in more local restaurants.  The same was true for taxis so it might be useful to write down the address for the driver in advance of getting in a cab.  An additional suggestion for anyone who might need to go to a pharmacy is to speak with a staff person in your hotel before going into the pharmacy, have them write down the polish words for your symptoms or the medication you desire, over the counter drugs are sold through the pharmacist so you will need to clearly communicate your ailments. 

I look forward to seeing everyone next week, safe travels. 

Regards,

James T. Owen

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