Bagbabe53

After learning some new (and until now unknown) information on my family heritage, I am beginning to figure out a rough itineray for our trip to Poland and Lithuania next year. I'm thinking about two weeks in Poland, and roughly a week in Lithuania, including intercountry travel days. I have decided not to do Gdansk or Poznan this time. This trip is primarily a family heritage journey in our ancestral villages with some main sights in bigger cities. We'll use Marriott points in Warsaw as they have a hotel there. As I go along, I will periodically update things and ask more questions on this forum. I think we'll use trains most of the time on our own, except for village visits with hired genealogy guides.

So here it is so far:

Day 1- Fly from US to Warsaw

Day 2- Arrive Warsaw, hotel check in, shake off jet lag, do some casual walking around.

Day 3- Laziensk Park, royal buildings, possibly Chopin Museum.

Day 4- Jewish heritage day for husband's paternal side- new Polin Museum, Jewish ghetto walking tour.

Day 5- Fly to Vilnius. Why fly? Husband does not like buses. Have read rail connections to Lithuania aren't great, and I don't want to go through Belarus, which requires a visa. Check into hotel, walk around old town.

Day 6- Vilnius sights.

Day 7- Rail to Kaunus. See SS Peter and Paul Cathedral where some paternal ancestors were married, other sights.

Day 8- Kaunus and Hill of Crosses.

Day 9- Meet genealogist guide and travel to paternal ancestral villages in Samogitia region in NW Lithuania.

Day 10- Time in ancestral villages and Telsai, where some ancestors married at St. Anthony's.

Day 11- Leave guide. Travel to Klaipedia and Circonian Split.

Day 12- Rest day for me in Klaipedia. Hope to find fishing guide for the day for husband.

Day 13- Travel day. Rail to Vilnius. Fly to Krakow.

Days 14 to 17- Krakow. Tour Krakow main sites and visit family graves in Krakow. Also use as base to see Aushwitz-Birkenau, Black Madonna in Czestochowa. Is it worth it to see salt mines, or is this too touristy?

Day 18- Leave Krakow and rail to Rzesnow or Premysl to meet genealogist guide for ancestral village in Podkarpackie region of SE Poland.

Days 19 to 20- Time in maternal ancestral village. Possible meeting with relatives. Visit open air museum in Sanok or a vineyard for a wine tasting.

Day 21- Rail to Warsaw. Visit Warsaw Uprising Museum.

Day 22- Fly back to US.

Day 23- Arrive in US.

We will do most of our own arrangements for hotels, air, and rail. Will contract with one or more genealogy companies for genealogist guides with ancestral village visits in Poland and Lithuania. I have seen several organizations recommended on genealogy forums, but Polish Origins and Ancestral Attic are most prominent. Has anyone used them? Do you recommend either one?

Secondly, my husband gets bored after a while with cahtedrals, museums and historical sites. I found in Italy that when I set aside a day here and there for something different, it made him very happy. (His fishing day in Florence was a huge hit, as was the soccer game in Rome). He is a huge sports junkie. Has anyone attended a soccer game in Poland or Lithuania? I have heard Krakow has a great soccer scene with two teams. How would I get tickets to a soccer game there or in another city?

Posting this also in Poland forum. All suggestions welcome, and looking for input on travel times, genealogy companies/guides, and special activities. If I am missing something. please advise! Thanks!

lanejohann

Hi
we just visited Krakow earlier this year in july
it is one of my fav cities now
gorgeous

we were in berlin and flew to Krakow
stayed at a delightful Orlowska townhouse hotel right near the old square
we had excellent meals around the square and just in the streets off it
cheap and fabulous

we visited Auschwitz which left us numb
so overwhelming
we did a tour that we picked up from the tourist centre just down from the hotel
small van picked us up and we then joined a bigger group
the next day we visited the saltmines
lots and lots of stairs to descend but you get a lift back up
it is awesome
not touristy in my opinion ...just stunning
what people can do with salt...the carvings...everything...the floor the walls...all made of salt!
I want to go back to Krakow...only the kids and I went this time but I know my husband would really enjoy it

I bought lovely souvenirs at the cloth hall..in the old square


we also visited the castle...beautiful!


I hope you enjoy your trip..sounds like theres quite a bit of history to trace

Bagbabe53

Thank you so much for the tips! Will look into the Orlowska for sure!

cdnyul

Raft trip on the Dunajec?

xcountry

Your husband might find something here:

http://adventurewarsaw.pl/en/

We took their VW van tour. Interesting and fun.

kja

If you have an interest in art, you might want to visit the John Paul II Collection Museum in Warsaw. When I was there, some of the pieces were sadly in need of restoration, but their beauty was evident nonetheless.

And even if your interest in art is minimal, consider making time for the making time for the <i>Lady with an Ermine</i> while in Krakow -- she is very special.

You might want to plan on a full day for Auschwitz – Birkenau. Even if it doesn’t take all day, having the time to decompress afterwards can be very valuable.

Hope that helps!

cdnyul

Restaurant near Warsaw Marriott:

http://www.mala-gruzja.pl/

Recommended by my brother who travels to Warsaw often.

Adelsten

You've made a great itinerary in my opinion! Personally I think that Poland and Lithuania are one of the most interesting european countries to go. I was in both too and in case of Poland I was really impressed with Warsaw and Krakow, they have very beautiful architecture and parks However I liked Krakow more because there's more historical architecture and I adore such sightseeings. Also there are so many cathedrals in this country, you really should to visit at least several of them. You can spend a day for example for sightseeings in Krakow and then for other activities in other cities for your husband
Also visiting Auschwitz – Birkenau is an interesting idea too but it's really hard emotionally and I recommend to save some time after this only for it, well you'll need time for your feelings and thoughts about all of these... I can recommend Majdanek too, it's not too far from Warsaw but you'll need to go there by bus for at leats 2 hours so I'm not sure that it's a convinient idea for you.

And in case of Lithuania, Vilnius is the best place for start in this country, it represents it perfectly in many aspects. I can advise you to book a tour for local sightseeings in Vilnius https://greentourbaltic.com/tourcats/vilnius/ , there's really much to see and for a newbie there it's hard to choose which certain ones and in what order, in this case you can loose much time (I had similiar experience in Germany and that was unpleasant). We also booked some other tours across Lithuania but you've already planned a nice trip there so I see no sense in such additions.

Marija

For diversion, you can go up in a hot air balloon over Vilnius or Birštonas. An afternoon in Trakai to see the castle is a good break from churches and museums.

Bagbabe53

Loving the hot air balloon idea! Have always wanted to try this!

Bagbabe53

Loving the hot air balloon idea! Have always wanted to try this!

Bagbabe53

Thank you! It does. Have heard Auschwitz is a full day. When I was stationed in Germany 40 years ago, I visited Dachau and was blown away. While we're in Warsaw we'll be concentrating on my husband's Jewish heritage there.