Since the 3G connection during the train ride was exceptionally bad, I had trouble with my credit card and the train didn't have electric plugs, I ran out of battery before I could finish booking a hotel.
So the first thing I did when arriving in Kraków was looking for the Hackerspace Kraków. Luckily it's very close to the main train station and Wiktor, one of the members which talked to me on IRC, was waiting outside to show me in! This made me feel very welcome!
Entry to the Hackerspace Kraków
After charging my devices, talking to my credit card company and booking my hotel, he showed me around. They've actually just moved in a few month ago and the space isn't yet open for public, so they told me. They are still thinking about ideas on how to decorate the space. I proposed to make the entry look like a submarine since the corridor is very narrow and rounded on the top. I'm looking forward to see what they will do with the space.
The space mainly consist of:
In the workshop they actually built the ventilation system themself!
Workshop ventilation system
And during my visit they actually built a controller board to be able to regulate the speed of the ventilation system. Was awesome to watch them getting busy until 1 or 2am.
Workshop ventilation with freshly built controller on the bottom right
They also told me about some past and present projects. In the past they helped build the lightening system for the Galeria Krakowska, which is a big shopping mall close to the main train station.
Galeria Krakowska lightening system
The green LED wall on the picture can actually change color and also show different animations and effects.
Another project they are working on is tracking and collecting radiosondes. This probes are used for weather related analysis and are started with weather balloons by weather stations all around Europe.
Captured radiosondes
One of their member created a Docker image which contains various software related to tracking the radiosondes.
Setup used to track radiosondes
Tracking coverage achieved with the setup above
Since I took myself quite some time to have a look at the city (Which is amazing, I can definitely recommend a visit to the Wawel Castle and the underground museum), I only showed up at the hackerspace for a quick goodbye the other day. But I really enjoyed my stay their nevertheless!