Poland
 

I am considering (presuming award avaliability) going to Poland and a few neighboring countries in August. Right now, my plans look like this:
Krakow (if I feel brave enough, then a visit to Auschswitz from there) - train to Warsaw - plane to Gdansk .

Any comments on around how much time to spend in each city and the must sees and dos?
Also, how easy is it to get around using English and/or Russian?

A friend here just got back. He said that in Poland's larger cities he managed to get by reasonably well with English for most purposes. Between English and whatever level of Russian you have, you should get by even better. Among those Poles who are multilingual, older people seemed to know Russian more often than English while younger people seemed to know English more often.

English, Russian and German seem to be the three most likely foreign languages spoken by those with some multi-lingual skills there.

Krakow is great! Two days is plenty. Schindler Factory, salt mines, and Auschwitz. Krakow has great character. Excellent food and wonderful people.
I had a driver he is excellent. Very resonable.

http://www.ceti.pl/~source/

Don't take the plane from warsaw to Gdansk...It's a ripoff (can be over €200 return!)...first class intercity train isn't too slow and it's comfortable and a lot cheaper.

Krakow is lovely. Probably 2-3 days is fine. Not much to see in Warsaw. Auschwitz is horrifying.

Overall food quality in Poland leaves something to be desired.

The quality is good enough...I think Poles are quite good when it comes to cleanliness/hygiene....But they hardly use any spices, therefore the taste often is as dull as it gets.... :eek:

Thank you for the great tips, please keep them coming :)

I checked the LOT site and the WAW- Gdansk RT is around 260 PLN, so only $70 USD . How much is the train and how long does it take?

Looks like language won't be a problem since my Russian is at least as good if not better then my English (born in Russia).

Thank you for the tip on the driver, but I will probably stick to public transit. Cheaper, plus easier to get to know more about people that way.

I'm going there on Tuesday and will be back next Monday with more tips :cool:
Lemme check the LOT site!!! The prices on opodo.co.uk were anything between £100 and £200!!!

EDIT: The PLN 259 price is the special 2-week APEX fare. Non adv-purch fares are a LOT (no pun intended) more expensive.

Further update: Train takes about 4 hours and costs around PLN 110 in first and PLN 75 in second (one way). BTW the real difference between second and first if my 2 KRK-WAW experiences are anything to go by is that first isn't crowded.
for further train info www.intercity.com.pl

I went to Krakow 3 years ago and absolutely loved it. We spent 2.5 days there; I would have liked to have stayed a bit longer to get in some more day trips. We did go to Auschwitz, which I found incredibly sad and moving and important to have seen.

For some reason, I ran into a lot of people who did not speak English, but German worked most of the time. My brother went to Krakow last spring and had no problems speaking English.

Regarding the food - it's all a matter of taste. I grew up eating Polish food and was in heaven in Krakow! And the beer isn't too bad either. :D

I just returned from a quick trip to KRK, (and last year to WAW)--both cities were wonderful. I disagree with the statement that there is not much to see in Warsaw. The rebuilt Old Town, the old Jewish Quarter (& monument), the shopping, even the Soviet styled "Palace of Culture" had its interesting moments. The Polish people, overall I found to be very friendly and in any of the main tourist areas English (as well as French, Spanish, Italian etc.) was widely spoken. In fact--in situations where there were a number of different nationalities seated (say at my hotel bar, for example ;) )--the common language was English. I travelled around both Krakow & Warsaw via public transportation-the trams, buses and in Warsaw the subway were very easy to use. Buy a day or weekend pass (7.20 PLN=US$1.80) and you'll be set. In Krakow be sure to visit the Old Town & Square, the Barbizon, Wawel Castle and the Jewish quarter. As for food, I found many sophisticated/continental restaurants, as well as some very good quality local Polish places. I was a woman travelling alone and at no time did I fell anything but comfortable. Prices in Poland are still quite low, the easiest conversion from US $ is just to divide everything in PLN by 4.

Definitely go! I had the great opportunity to work in Warsaw in 1998-99 and it was wonderul. I was able to travel throughout Poland. I agree with everyone's comments that 2-3 days in Krakow is sufficient. Definitely go to Auschwitz and the Salt Mine's. I hired a taxi to take me to Auschwitz (sorry, I don't recall the price). I took the city bus to the Salt Mine, it's incredible.
In Warsaw, there is plenty to do and see. There is a good market across the river from old town in an old stadium (your hotel staff should be able to assist you) the tram will drop you off right there. But use CAUTION!!! There are good deals, but along with that there are plenty of pickpockets too. There are some great crystal and ceramic shops in WAW. The beer is wonderful, as is the chocolate (Wedel - yummy!). I always took the train to Gdansk or rented a car and it was from WAW. If you fly, you won't get to see the countryside, but will definitely get there much faster. Good luck and enjoy!

There are some wonderful old synagogues in Krakow that would be worth your time. I hope you like slaw, because four varieties will be served with most meals.

relax and enjoy it
 

i have had excellent trips to warsaw in the last few years, a couple of days will be sufficient, and there are plenty of things to see. why gdansk ? shipyards a thing you like are they ?

as for auschwitz, it is easily reached by train from krakow, and it is a small enough town to walk through. the guided tour, in my experience, is annoying, better to contemplate the horrors on your own, rather than be interrupted by the un-informed banal questioning of other tourists.. the only thing is the train station is named in the polish name now, so best look it up in the guidebooks.

krakow is lovely, just make sure you stay in the old town itself.

I actually started considering Gdansk after reading the post at http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331646 , haven't heard about the city before. Anyone else been there? Are the ship yards and the Malborg castle the only interesting things around Gdansk?

Krakow is a cute little city; we had a great time there a couple years back. And, especially back then, the exchange rate was great, so it was very cheap. We were driving around the region; Poland's road system leaves a lot to be desired.

Language shouldn't be a problem; we only spoke English (or, at least, the other languages we speak wouldn't have been much help) and did fine.

We stayed at a very inexpensive place called the Hotel Polska which was clean and comfortable, and right across the street from the main square. Very convenient.

Have heard from family members who have been that is incredibly pretty. Poles have a reputation for being excellent "restorers" ('restorators'? - those who restore), so that the city center has been meticulously reconstructed to its former glory.

The train station and the town are called Oświęcim.

I have spent a lot of time in Gdansk and it does have a very pretty old section around amber street. The rest of the town is Very industrial. It forms part of Tri city with Gadnyia and Sopot.

Sopot has some nice beaches but that is about it.

As for language Eglish is fine with most service people and all young people. German is also very well spoken as the place fills up with old Germans in the summer.

It's Gdynia. :)

Many people don't know this little fact, but the 1st shot of WWII was fired on Westerplatte where a small Polish garison defended the little inlet for 7 days against all odds. They were bombarded from the sea, air and attacked by some of the best that Wermacht and SS units had. It's located just north of the city and I believe there is a memorial and some of the old buildings left and now serve as a museum.

Anyway, here is a good place to read about the tri-cities and the surrounding areas.

http://guide.trojmiasto.pl/

I'm back...quite a good trip but my polish host was not too well prepared and a bit obsessed with saving money so in the trip to the North I only got a private room in Krynica Morska that didn't even have its own bathroom :td: instead of the 4-star hotel in Gdansk I was thinking about. Gdansk is excellent, but a lot more touristy than I would have thought (seems like quite a few Baltic cruisers pay a visit to it). There's a concentration camp in Sztutowo (around 40 km from Gdansk)...Not as impressive as Oswiecim, but still quite moving.
Stuff is still fairly cheap; the taxi driver preferred to take 20 PLN for the 26 PLN ride to the airport than give change from 100(!!!), and I brought back a year's supply of alcohol (10-12 bottles of all kinds of wodka and krupnik) that cost me just 300 PLN. But petrol is probably as expensive as in the UK and no Polish drinking/eating establishment could beat the 15 CZK I paid for 0.5L of beer in Plzen!

i personally think 2 days in Krakow is not enough. There is a lot to see in the city, and there are several interesting day trips. I'd spend more time there and less in Warsaw.

To put it in perspective -- think of Warsaw = Milan, Krakow = Florence. Although not a perfect comparison, there really is much more for a tourist to see / do / experience in Krakow, which is just a gorgeous little city. Not speaking Polish was not a problem at all for me.

Definitely spend a good amount of time in Krakow, its a beautiful city! Try to hit the Wieliczka salt mine (30mins south), and the Tatra Mountains--Zakopane (2hrs south). I don't have much experience with Warsaw--(I've been to krakow 8 times as opposed to 2 in Warsaw), but I think i prefer Krakow. Best advice is just to hit the town square or the castle and then just explore--randomly going into churches, museums. LOT is definitely a rip-off flying within Poland and train service is more than reasonable and pretty quick. You can get around with English pretty easily--Polish people DO NOT enjoy speaking Russian (USSR subjugation etc.) although a lot of the older generation does know it. Enjoy your time in Poland! :)

PS Krakow is much prettier and better conserved thank Gdansk.

Mauld, As a single male traveler, is WAW a good 2-3 day visit... I was thinking about going last minute during Europe trip in Aug????

I am not mauld :D , but I can give you MHO. WAW is an interesting destination and 2-3 days should cover what you really want to see, but KRK is probably better. Just my 2 groszy. :p

Ever-so-slightly OT, but if you're contemplating a OneWorld RTW, Poland is one of the cheaper (and most convenient) places in the world to buy your xOWEx ticket. Here is the relevant topic.

Haven't been to Warsaw or Krakow since the 70s, but back then the saying in Warsaw was that the best place to see the city was from the top of the Palace of Culture, because it was the only place in the city where you didn't have to see the Palace of Culture.

Rzeszow
 

It looks like I may be visiting Rzeszow on business in the near future. This town is in southeastern Poland close to Ukraine and Slovakia. Does anyone by any chance know anything about that area?

I was born in Krosno, about 70km south of Rzeszow. Can't tell you much about Rzeszow, but I would highly recommend a short trip to Krosno and possibly little deeper into Bieszczady. Krosno (many consider it a Krakow Jr) is a quaint town with many historical buldings, some of the oldest churches in Poland. Krosno site: http://www.krosno24.pl/miasto.php. It's only in Polish, but this page has a great aerial shot of the beautiful old town.

Go to this page and click rhe links in the middle of the page. Great pics of some of the old churches, old town, and other historical buildings.
http://www.krosno24.pl/miasto.php?po...ystyka/zabytki

Krosno is also a gateway for the Bieszczady region. Beautiful mountainous area with rich forests and a beautiful lake Solinski. The lake wa created when the biggest water dam in Poland was build back in the 60s. It offers many activities. Canoeing, bicycling, swimming, hiking, etc.. The following is a nice site for the region, but unfortunately it's in Polish only. This page has some great pictures of the area: http://www.bieszczady.pl/portal/html...trona=galeria1

Just few kms outside of Krosno is a Iwonicz Zdroj. It is well known all across the country as a popular health resort famous for its mineral waters and intact environment. Here is a great site in English: http://www.iwonicz-zdroj.pl/index_an.html

Have a great trip!

Rzeszow is not the prettiest of cities but nearby is Lancut castle (it`s pronounced something like wan-sewt), well worth a visit. It is 17 km from Rzeszow and if memory serves, there is a fairly convenient bus service.

I agree with Andrzej that Krosno is a very pretty city - also, if you have some time to wander around, Sandomierz, Zamosc and (in the Tatra mountains) Zakopane.

If you're into walking / trekking the mountains south of Krackow are wonderfull. Well worth a visit. Although August and early September are school holiday season!

I've lost the link for now but have an excallant hotel there, although is probably fully booked. PM me if needed and will make a note to find it and come back and add to the post.

In WAW, the above quote about best place to see WAW is from the Palace of Culture is still true today. Be carefull the attendants downstairs aren't always overly helpful, it is worth the lift to the top. Also in WAW in the old town, watch out for tourist trap restaurants. There are two large squares ione after the other. One has restaurants all round, one just has them on left-hand side as you walk into it from the previous square. I would skip the places in this second square, they're ok but not worth the prices. Realise the 'directions' are a bit cryptic but don't have a street map to hand, should make sense one you are there.

Agree with previous posts re time, 2-3 full days in WAW is fine.

My parents are from the US but are working in Warsaw right now and I have to say, it took me awhile to get used to the city (I like big cosmopolitan cities like, oh...I dunno, Moscow!) but I LOVE it now. I can't wait to return for a visit in August. There's so much to do, taxis are plentiful, the metro leaves something to be desired (it's not nearly as extensive as the Moscow Metro, but really, none are), but it's SO easy to get around. Krakow is wonderful...the town is quaint and charming. On the weekends they have "farmer's markets" and craft markets in the main square with delicious sausage and pierogis - I don't think Polish food is bland at all but then anyone who has tasted the spicier of the sausages couldn't possibly think it's bland. If you do Auschwitz, don't forget Birkenau - in fact, I would recommend Birkenau first, then Auschwitz but that's just my opinion, of course! Depending how much time you have in Gdansk, you could go to Gdinya (sp?) or even to Hell (which is what we recommend to all our friends who come visit). As for must see and do in Warsaw - in the summer, in the old town, they have jazz fests in the square that is surrounded by beer gardens. You MUST go and sit and enjoy the music and some Zwiec (polish beer) and a real Polish meal - SO GOOD. A tour of the old town is also recommended, as is the Wilanow palace which is in a beautiful area of town.....For more recommendations during the time you'll be there, try www.warsawinsider.com they usually have pretty good advice. ENJOY!