Need some help buying stuff in Krakow on a Sunday
July 4, 2015 10:01 AM Subscribe
Easy part: I forgot a hairbrush, and tomorrow is Sunday. I have a reception in the evening. Where can I buy a comb or hairbrush on a Sunday? (Or Sat evening).
Hard part: I need a power brick for a Lenovo T510 Thinkpad as mine just caught fire.
I got a 3rd party power brick for my Lenovo T510 when the old one broke. It is 3 prong. I brought a2 prong convertor with me. Opps. I finally found a store selling adaptors this afternoon. Power brick says 100-240V so I go for it. Cue pink flame. So the detachable cord connecting the brick to the wall is toast. Is there any hope of getting that or the whole brick replaced any time soon? Bonus- laptop is out of power since I was dumb and used it all up without leaving an emergency reserve.
Oh and I still need to buy tickets to Pruage since u forgot about that, and was going to ask MeFi advice on it. However all the research I had done are in my powered down laptop. How screwed am I?l I need to move between cities on the 12th.
I got a 3rd party power brick for my Lenovo T510 when the old one broke. It is 3 prong. I brought a2 prong convertor with me. Opps. I finally found a store selling adaptors this afternoon. Power brick says 100-240V so I go for it. Cue pink flame. So the detachable cord connecting the brick to the wall is toast. Is there any hope of getting that or the whole brick replaced any time soon? Bonus- laptop is out of power since I was dumb and used it all up without leaving an emergency reserve.
Oh and I still need to buy tickets to Pruage since u forgot about that, and was going to ask MeFi advice on it. However all the research I had done are in my powered down laptop. How screwed am I?l I need to move between cities on the 12th.
Best answer: My experience in Europe(though not Krakow)is that the main train stations have stores open on Sunday.
posted by brujita at 12:07 PM on July 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 12:07 PM on July 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Galeria Krakowska over by the train station should do you for most things. And you can check the schedules for Prague/ maybe buy a ticket while you're over there!
posted by damayanti at 12:16 PM on July 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by damayanti at 12:16 PM on July 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I'm assuming you have a phone and access to the internet, or a smartphone with data? I'd get on this list and call every single store. Ask them if it's a lenovo branded/OEM power supply before you even head over. I've had to do this when traveling, and that method just works.
I've had an aftermarket brick do this as well! Left a big ass burn mark on the carpet. Make sure any brick you find has the "lenovo" imprint on the top and the logo on the label on the bottom. No "replacement ac adapter for" anywhere. The bottom should look like this.
A 2 prong converter isn't the problem. These are full range power supplies, that one was just a hunk of shit.
For peace of mind, see if the store has a replacement wall to cloverleaf cable that's the correct european plug on the wall end. That way you wont need an adapter.
posted by emptythought at 1:12 PM on July 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've had an aftermarket brick do this as well! Left a big ass burn mark on the carpet. Make sure any brick you find has the "lenovo" imprint on the top and the logo on the label on the bottom. No "replacement ac adapter for" anywhere. The bottom should look like this.
A 2 prong converter isn't the problem. These are full range power supplies, that one was just a hunk of shit.
For peace of mind, see if the store has a replacement wall to cloverleaf cable that's the correct european plug on the wall end. That way you wont need an adapter.
posted by emptythought at 1:12 PM on July 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks all! Someone on twitter pointed me to Saturn, which was an outright amazing store; I was easily able to find a cable with a Male/Male/Female European end. My power brick is getting hot as heck with it by 30% charged though, so I'm going to let it charge in bursts and then cool off, and unplug it overnight. Guess this is what I get for buying 3rd party. (That said, if I had my original Lenovo charger, it was ungrounded, and they only sold grounded onesl, so I'd be more screwed....)
That sounds like great advice on the train station; I'm right near one too. Now I just need to figure out how to book the train I want:
Kraków Glówny (Autobus) dep 14:20 ICB83200 ICB
(Intercity bus) InterCity-Bus 83200 CD BUS
Direction: Ostrava Hlavni Nadrazi 2nd class only
Ostrava Hlavni Nadrazi arr 16:45
Ostrava Hlavni Nadrazi dep 17:14 IC 502
IC InterCity 502
Pendolino
Direction: Praha hl. n.
Praha hl. n. arr 20:21
(I was going to use my weekly MeFi question on it, if anyone could help me out? I found it on the Swiss search engine, but it directs me to use the national train in question to book tickets; Which one would that be: Poland or Czech Republic?)
posted by Canageek at 1:20 PM on July 4, 2015
That sounds like great advice on the train station; I'm right near one too. Now I just need to figure out how to book the train I want:
Kraków Glówny (Autobus) dep 14:20 ICB83200 ICB
(Intercity bus) InterCity-Bus 83200 CD BUS
Direction: Ostrava Hlavni Nadrazi 2nd class only
Ostrava Hlavni Nadrazi arr 16:45
Ostrava Hlavni Nadrazi dep 17:14 IC 502
IC InterCity 502
Pendolino
Direction: Praha hl. n.
Praha hl. n. arr 20:21
(I was going to use my weekly MeFi question on it, if anyone could help me out? I found it on the Swiss search engine, but it directs me to use the national train in question to book tickets; Which one would that be: Poland or Czech Republic?)
posted by Canageek at 1:20 PM on July 4, 2015
Best answer: OK for train tickets in Europe get your info from The Man in Seat 61. It has everything. Including: how to book trains from Krakow to Prague. Short answer: buy at the station, or buy online from Polrail. I've booked Krakow to Budapest with Polrail. They're good, and tourist-friendly. They'll send your tickets to the post office in the square by the railway station, and they send you a PDF that you give to the post office staff, with instructions for them in Polish. So even if you don't speak a word of the language, you're fine. (But probably easier to buy at the station if possible). I'd do it ASAP as you're probably in the busy period, on a popular route. (That's for the overnight sleeper train, I'm not sure if there are day trains, but I do recommend the sleeper if it fits your budget/time).
Echoing damayanti about going to Galeria Krakowska, it's a decent-sized mall with anything you could need.
posted by Pink Frost at 1:15 AM on July 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Echoing damayanti about going to Galeria Krakowska, it's a decent-sized mall with anything you could need.
posted by Pink Frost at 1:15 AM on July 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Update on that: Wikitravel says there's no daytime train, but suggests the bus/train option that you mention. It suggests booking from Regiojet (click EU flag for English) or Czech Railways. They'll both let you book from Krakow to Prague.
posted by Pink Frost at 1:33 AM on July 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Pink Frost at 1:33 AM on July 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Ok, I tried at the train station; they only have the overnight, which I don't want to do (The Canadian government warns that train specifically has had some swarming and theft incidents as of late, and not to sleep on it. I'd REALLY rather not have to stay up all night guarding my suitcase then arrive in a strange city at 6 am. I'll try the other two links this evening after my conference reception. Thank you So much.
posted by Canageek at 8:46 AM on July 5, 2015
posted by Canageek at 8:46 AM on July 5, 2015
Response by poster: Urg, I'm wishing I'd just spent the extra to take a plane now. Wonder if that is still an option and how broke I'd be after. Planes are nice and safe and simple.
posted by Canageek at 8:57 AM on July 5, 2015
posted by Canageek at 8:57 AM on July 5, 2015
Response by poster: THANK YOU Pink Frost.
Got my ticket:
Sun 12/07/15: Kraków, corner of the Worcella and Pawia streets (Dw. Glowny)/08:00/ Kraków → Ostrava (104)/Ostrava, Svinov/10:35/10:48/RJ 1008
Návsí (Jablunkov) → Prague (RJ 1008)/Prague, hl.n./14:10
The only thing I'm worried about is that 15 minute connection, but not much I can do. There are trains after this, and the whole ticket is only $44 CDN, so if I have to miss my connection and book a new ticket it will suck, but not be the end of the world.
You guys have been so helpful I'm going to toss MeFi a few bucks at the end of my vacation to say thank you. You rock, not sure what I would have done without you.
posted by Canageek at 2:54 PM on July 5, 2015
Got my ticket:
Sun 12/07/15: Kraków, corner of the Worcella and Pawia streets (Dw. Glowny)/08:00/ Kraków → Ostrava (104)/Ostrava, Svinov/10:35/10:48/RJ 1008
Návsí (Jablunkov) → Prague (RJ 1008)/Prague, hl.n./14:10
The only thing I'm worried about is that 15 minute connection, but not much I can do. There are trains after this, and the whole ticket is only $44 CDN, so if I have to miss my connection and book a new ticket it will suck, but not be the end of the world.
You guys have been so helpful I'm going to toss MeFi a few bucks at the end of my vacation to say thank you. You rock, not sure what I would have done without you.
posted by Canageek at 2:54 PM on July 5, 2015
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Concerning the AC/DC adapter, the input voltage is only 1/4 of what you need to match for the power. The AC frequency there is going to be 50Hz, as opposed to 60Hz in Canada and the US. So you want to make sure the adapter says 100-240V, 50-60Hz. I assume if it is being sold there it should be good, but you never know. The other two things to match are the output voltage and amperage (or power equivalent). It looks like the T510 needs 20V @ 4.5A, or a 90W power supply. Double check the tag on the bottom of your laptop and my Lenovo need a 170W supply and yours may not have standard options.
posted by Yorrick at 11:32 AM on July 4, 2015