Inter railing: places of interest in poland?

mcgann4

Hi, me nd my boyfriend are going interrailing for 10 days in august. We're landing in Krakow in Poland once we have a look around the city we were hoping to move on to somewhere else in poland but we dont know much about the country. Any suggestions? Wouldnt mind seein some of the countryside so even a suggestion of a paticular region would be great,

Thanks

Affable

Well there's auschwitz which I'm sure is fascinating but maybe not good time holiday mateirial.

milkado

Zakopane is two hours away from Krakow and well worth a visit! It's up in the mountains, the scenery is great and it's cheap! I'd say two days is all you would need for it!

kraggy

milkado wrote: »

Zakopane is two hours away from Krakow and well worth a visit! It's up in the mountains, the scenery is great and it's cheap! I'd say two days is all you would need for it!

Yup. Second this, but probably mostly as it is the town from which you can walk (1-2 hours) through a park up to this lake:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=morskie+oko&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=

It's beautiful.

The buses run from Krakow quite regularly to Zakopane and the cost is pittance.

You could get the bus down to Zakopane from Krakow in the evening, get up the next morning and walk up to the lake and get back to Krakow that evening no sweat.

PS, do not miss Aushwitz (this would take a full day) or the Salt Mines (this would take an afternoon) when in Krakow.

RATM

If you have 10 days in the area then Id say spend a few in Krakow (as mentioned dont miss the Salt Mines) Aushwitz isn't for everyone so think carefully before spending a whole day getting there and back.

You'll then have a few days spare, Zakopane is certainly a good option- ski resort in winter, nice mountain town in summer- it will keep you occupied for a few days.

But Id advise getting a train across the border into Ukraine to a city called Lviv (spelt Lvov in Russian). Its approx 6-7hrs on the train from Krakow and EU nationals no longer need a visa to enter Ukraine- you'll get a free one on arrival. It used to be a part of Poland and a sister city of Krakow before WW2 and it is simply a gorgeous place which has (unlike Prague and Krakow) been untouched by tourism. The city is full of Italian renaissance architecture and there are lots of nice plazas and markets to keep you occupied. The buildngs in this place are stunning and like Krakow it has lots of undergound 'cave' bars which serve good food and very cheap vodka.:D

nayorleck114

milkado wrote: »

Zakopane is two hours away from Krakow and well worth a visit! It's up in the mountains, the scenery is great and it's cheap! I'd say two days is all you would need for it!

Well worth going to Zakopane. Really super place. Will go back next year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cvylippqzw&feature=channel_page

Up-n-atom!

Wroclaw isn't too far away either and is supposed to be v nice

bluedolphin

I lived in Warsaw for a few months on Erasmus in 2006 and traveled a fair bit around Poland (student train rates = pennies). As I was on a student budget, we used public transport and shanks mare as much as possible and avoided tours especially in Kraków. The city is amazing; I've been there a handful of times and each time I return I still find it as charming and discovery new nooks and niches. Beware, though, it has become quite touristy and will be especially over-run in August. It's worth maybe 2-3 days of your time if you do the day trips to Oświęcim (pronounced Osh-vee-ayn-chim but better known by its German name of Auschwitz) and to Wieliczka. The salt mines (as previously mentioned) are well worth a visit. You can get public transport there (don't bother with the overpriced tours) from the bus station (down the stairs under the train station [Kraków Glówny]); it's about 15-20 min stroll from the Old Town Square. If you decide to go to Oświęcim, again you can get a bus from the station (and again much, much cheaper than the private tours). Just a word of warning on that, when the Memorial closes for the evening, the next bus will be full - and probably the one after that too! Walk away from the Memorial (and the crowds) to the town's train station (about 15 mins) and take a local train instead. We were there in November, very much during the off-season, and at least 2-3 buses filled with a huge queue still in front of us, so I can't imagine what it'd be like in August. Plus it is about 1hr+ back to Kraków which spent standing wouldn't be very pleasant. On whether you go there at all... I'm of the belief that you can't block out parts of the past just because it's unpleasant. No matter what city you go to in Poland (and indeed much of Eastern Europe) you cannot help but be made aware of the effect of the war and Nazi occupation on the country. Despite how painful it is, the memorial museum at Auschwitz is a remarkable symbol of the brutality of the Nazi regime. I won't lie to you: it is harrowing; seeing mounds of shoes, hair combs, suitcases...walking along the platforms...walking beneath the infamous 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign embellishing the entrance at the first camp. But you can't be selective about the past; it happened; let it never happen again.

Warsaw is about 2.5hrs from Kraków. I grew a special affection for the city as I lived there, but to the regular tourist it's neither very attractive nor terribly exciting. If you do want to go there, get an early train from Kraków, spend the day there, and then travel onwards that evening or overnight. If you do go there - head to the Old Town (the Ratusz stop on the metro line) and wander around there.

Gdansk is about 4-5hrs from Warsaw and is absolutely beautiful! I was there in the height of massive storms in Jan '07 and still thought it was an amazing city. Do the usual stuff - The Solidarność (Solidarity) movement began as a trade union in the Gdansk shipyards in 1980 and eventually led to the liberation of Poland from the Soviet yoke. Trek out to Westerplatte (on a bus, again!): it's the site of the German invasion of Poland and the resulting Battle of Westerplatte which signalled the beginning of the bloodiest, costliest battle in history - World War II. It's incredibly poignant; old tanks, buildings, left as they were as the Germans advanced in '39.

Wrocław (pronounced Vrots-wof!) is about 4-5 hours from Kraków and is also a beautiful city that has not yet been discovered by tourists!! It's not far from the German border (it was formerly under Prussian and then Nazi rule and known as Breslau until 1945) and the German influences are still very obvious in the city. Avoid the Panorama Racławicka...it's one of the things to see while in the city, but honestly, take it from me (and I am very much a Polish history enthusiast!!), it is incredibly tedious and will bore you after the first half an hour. (It's a panoramic depiction of one of the great battles during an uprising in 1794 to overthrown the Prussian and Russian powers in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.) It's time you will never get back again. Spend it instead wandering along the pretty old streets and taking in the architecture.

If you have your train ticket already, well and good; if not, they are easily purchasable on the day at the train stations. Sometimes you may be unfortunate enough to be served by a relic of Soviet times who distrusts all foreigners and their business in Poland and who will try to make it as difficult as possible for you to purchase your tickets by refusing to co-operate with your pidgin Polish and hand gestures. In this case, it mightn't be a bad idea to write out what you want on a piece of paper. You should probably be ok in Kraków - they're fairly anglicized at this stage - but elsewhere (even the international desk in Warsaw Central...yes, I speak from experience trying to enquire about trains to Russia!) is still fairly old-school.

Some useful Polish phrases for train journeys...particularly if you're met with a grumpy old lady with a shade of orangey-red hair scraped back into a bun revealing inches of grey roots:
Dwa normalne, powrotne do Krakowa, prosze = Two return to Kraków, please
(pronounce ' Dva nore-mal-ne, pov-rot-ne do Krakova, prusha')
Dwa normalne do Warszawa, prosze = Two single to Warsaw, please

Prosze ('prusha') = please
Dziękuje (djen-ku-ye)/Dzięki (djen-ki) = thank you/thanks
Kasa (biletowy) = (ticket) office
od = FROM; do = TO (useful for the information boards!!!)
odjazd = departures
przyjazd = arrivals
wejscie = entry
wyjscie = exit
peron = platform
tor = track

Edit: You might find this site useful http://rozklad-pkp.pl/ - you can check train timetables and such like!
have fun!!

mcgann4

Thanks for all the great suggestions, have found them really helpful!

RadekPL

As bluedolphin mentioned, if u r in Krakow hang around there for 2-3 days, it’s really beautiful. Do go to Auschwitz and you have to go to Wieliczka (Salt mines) - it’s something totally different. I would argue about Zakopane. Its very posh and "a place to show yourself, a place to be" among polish - that’s why I don’t like it. It’s packed with tourists all year round and you will spend lot of time waiting for a table, waiting for cable lift up the mountains etc. Plus it’s not that cheap anymore. Prices in Poland are already catching western prices and you would be surprised paying for a meal in a restaurant 10-15e at least. Especially in Zakopane. Mountains are great, views are great, the scenery is great. But I would not go there just for that. You can go to little towns and villages around Zakopane and you will get the same views of the same mountains but without all the tourists.

Warsaw is a waist of time. It was completely destroyed during WWII and very few historical building actually survived it intact. It’s like any other big city, crowded, jammed with very few places to see. Stop there on your way up to Gdansk if you like but seriously, waist of time.

Gdansk is on the northern coast. It’s about 6-8hr on the train. August is the middle of the season in Poland so it will be packed just like Krakow. If you are there go see Westerplatte for a bit of history and also old town is a must. Go see the harbor, it’s nice with all the ships, sail boats etc.

Wroclaw is great, I lived there for 5 years any maybe that’s why I love it. Its 4-5hr by train from Krakow and it’s well worth a visit. The central market square is like the one in Krakow (bit smaller but still). Restaurants, pubs, clubs are everywhere and its cheaper here (compared to Krakow). If you are there go to Ostrow Tumski – beautiful church on an island on the river Odra just a stone throw away from the market square. Take the boat on the river itself if the weather is good, you should like it.

10 days might not be enough to see Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk and Zakopane. I would stick to the southern Poland and just skip Gdansk this time if I were you. Gives you a reason to come back to the north

Enjoy your stay.
Radek

spurious

Stay a few days in Krakow and then head north to Mazuria (lots of lakes and ideal for camping) and then Gdansk. Beautiful part of the country.

Was boiled out of it in Poland in July - I'd say August will be the same.