The big cities of Prague, Czech; Krakow, Poland; and Kiev, Ukraine were perfectly safe.

Three interesting issues dealing with safety came up during my 10 days in Eastern Europe.

(1) The Water

(2) late-night 

(3) Crossing the Street.

The Water

Interestingly two countries I visited were at opposite ends of the “is the water safe to drink” spectrum. 

Kiev: You CAN NOT drink the tap water in Kiev. The tap water is not safe to drink. This is why the hotel supplies bottle water next to the coffee maker. 

Prague: On the other end, the water in Prague is excellent. While it is true that beer is cheaper than water in Czech, the tap water is very good. 

Poland: I don’t know. I did not research it or drink it. 

Note: a little off topic but the food in Krakow and Kiev was very good

Tip: Try the Polish Pierogi (Polish Dumplings), and the Borsh (Beet Soup) in Kiev.

Electricity

In all three cities, the electricity is  220 volts. In my experience of charging my phone, computer, and Ipad, the voltage was fine. The only thing I needed was an adapter. You can buy a very small inexpensive adapter here:

Out Late at Night

In all three cities, I found myself walking back to my hotel or Airbnb at approximately 3:00 am. There were very few people on the streets, but I felt fine. Granted, I’m 6’2 and 190 lbs so that might make a difference, but there are places in the US that I wouldn’t walk through at 3:00 am.

In summary, don’t be stupid, but Prague, Krakow, and Kiev are no different than any random U.S. city from a safety standpoint.

Crossing the Street in Kiev

Crossing most streets on the main street of Khreshchatyk Street took some getting used to.  I couldn’t figure out how to cross the street my first morning in Kiev.

On Khreshchatyk Street anyway, you must go underground to cross the street, for example:

The problem is that there are multiple exists so I spent a week of coming out of the wrong sides.

Obviously, there are many more things to know when it comes to safety, but these are just a few of the things that I remember that kind of stood out.