We just returned from 7 weeks in Poland. We hired a professional genealogist to help us search for our relatives. Fantastic experience, but had a robbery. This did not deter us from having a really great trip. Visited many museums, churches, etc. We thought Poland was one of the lovelist places to visit!! <BR>

Which places did you visit? did you find your roots? sorry about robbery what happened?

<BR>Is traveling in Poland difficult without knowing the language? My roots are there too, but I've never learned to speak it.

English and German are getting very popular in Poland and many young people speak it well, and are very willing to help out. Even in small towns you can find schools offering english language courses. You may have a problem in small villages.

I will be in Berlin next spring. Would it be worthwhile to make a day-trip to Poland? Is there an interesting city/town/village in the western part of the country that would be easily accessible by train?

Message in response to Joe: You could easily get to either Gdansk or Posnan from Berlin. Both cities are wonderfully rich in culture, museums, music festivals, etc. <BR> <BR>Message in respont to Fran: We could not speak more than a few sentences in Poland, and found that in the western part of the country that German was very useful. English is spoken and understood at most large hotels, and among the very young student population. We did rely on pantamines quite frequently, and in general we were understood. <BR> <BR>Message for Peter: I will e-mail you directly regarding our fantastic trip sometime soon. Yes, we did a great deal of research and were able to meet with our relatives in various cities throughout Poland. More later. <BR> <BR>Cathy <BR>

My wife and me will go to Poland , Chezch Republic, Slovenia and Germany in mid July. <BR> <BR>I just want to know how're the weather and what kind of clothes we will need. Shorts , jeans , or coats and winter stuffs. <BR> <BR> <BR>Thank You . <BR> <BR>Jaime Torres

jaime&gt; mid july in those countries is very hot. For high Mtns areas may need long sleeve. You also may need lite long sleeve as protection from sun, which sometimes is very strong in mid-july. <BR> <BR>Joe&gt; Poznan, Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow and most of other parts are easly accessible from Berlin. Most trains will go thru Poznan. Worth seeing - Poznan, Torun, h Malbork, Gdansk. Each could be a day trip. Poznan is about 2-3hrs away by train (including border stop). There are also many overnight trains with sleeper cars. As for what to see... Poznan,Torun,Gdansk the beautiful old city sections. Malbork - huge castle. <BR> <BR>You can e-mail me with extra ques

Hi Cathy, <BR> I know it's been awhile since you posted your message, but I'm visiting Poland with my handicapped dad in Sept. (He's on crutches) We're thinking of renting a car in Warsaw, driving to Cracow and other places.Also thinking of taking a manual wheelchair. How handicapped accessible are the cities? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Also there's a website that claims to be able to book you in palaces and castles at low prices. Any experience with that? <BR>Thanks for any help you can give me.

We've made three trips to Poland in the past 5 years. Warsaw is worth seeing once if you have the time. However, Krakow is really the place to visit. It is a beautiful town and never bombed during WWII. About one hour drive south of Krakow takes you to Zakopane in the Tetra Mountains-very scenic and very nice to visit. Prices in Poland are reasonable but increasing yearly due to increasing popularity. IMO, Krakow is not to be missed. Problem is, too many people are finding out about it. Enlish is no problem except in the smallest towns. The people are wonderful.

Ann, I've been all through Poland and in my experience Polish cities are lagging in handicapped accessibility (Soviet legacy). And there are many cobblestoned steets, steps, uneven paths. Check ahead with the tourist boards to see if you how you can deal with this best. Goodluck!

Tim and Iola, <BR>Thanks for taking the time to write. I appreciate the advice. A couple more questions, if you'll indulge meMy dad wants to stay in smaller villages as well. Is it hard to find accomodations in the little towns? Do I need an international driving permit to rent a car? <BR>thanx in advance

You definitely need an International drivers license in Poland. All the rental agencies require it before rental. Can be gotten at any AAA office for $10.00. Most towns have hotels, some better than others. If driving toward Krakow, you might like to go to Krasiczyn near the town of Przemysl. There is a beautiful castle there with a modern hotel (Hotel Zamkowy, I believe)with low rates on the some very beautiful grounds.

Hi Ann, <BR> <BR>You might be interested to hear that we didn't need an international drivers liscence to rent a car during our trip in Poland last July. We were able to get the best rates from Budget in Krakow. Tim gives good advice, however, as you wouldn't want to come up short for not having made previous arrangements. <BR> <BR>You should not have trouble finding accomodations in smaller towns, especially in September. However, many of the hotels are quite variable, especially if you're looking for accessible buildings. I found that almost all Polish cities have a web site listing accomodations and many hotels also have websites with pictures. I was able to generate a good list ahead of the trip, so we were pleased with our choices. <BR> <BR>We did stay at Krasiczyn, mentioned above. I definately recommend it - even better is the palace in Lancut. Probably best to book either of these places ahead of time, as they can be very popular. I have included websites below that were helpful in planning our trip. The Zamkowsky palace in Krasiczyn doesn't have it's own web site, but I included its location and phone number below. You might be interested to see that they have 2 disability accessible rooms. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip, contact me directly if you wish. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>http://www.polhotels.com/index.htm <BR>http://poland.pl/ <BR>http://www.lot.com/travel/ <BR> <BR>http://www.sarnow.com/poland/TOURISM/index.html <BR> <BR>http://www.um.przemysl.pl/ <BR>http://www.lancutdistillery.polishvodka.com.pl/city.htm <BR> <BR> <BR> Krasiczyn - Hotel Zamkowy <BR> Krasiczyn, tel. 016/ 671-83-16 <BR> number of beds: 75, 1,2,3 - bed rooms, suite <BR> 2 rooms for handicapped

Hi! This is kind of Urgent. Can you write back to me on my email please. I am doing a report on poland but it has to be as if we are there. 2 of the days I have to go shopping and the other one I have to go to a festival. Do you know any place where I can go shpping and can you tell me what kind of clothes they sold and jewlery. and for the other can you tell me what festivals they have and the history and what they do for it. It can also be a celebration. I would really appreciate it if you could help me on this. Thank you so much for reading this and thank you very very very much if you help me. Thanks again, <BR> -Nicole <BR>

To Nicole <BR>My,my you do seem to a problem.I hope I can help. <BR>First of all, if I was shopping in Warsaw I would start off first at nowy sacz in Warsaw in a pedistrian only area <BR>There are many fine shops for shopping. They include many clothing and food shops along with many restaurants. Then on my second day of shopping,I would go to the old town of Warsaw. There are many hand crafted works of art for sale. <BR>As far as festivals, I would go to Czestochowa. There is a lot of history regarding this holy Catholic site. This is where the Black Madonna is worshipped especially on the feast of Corpus Christi. There are many pilgrims that celebrate this festival and take communion during this special day. This is one of the most celebrated days in and around this area.

Dear Bill or whoever wrote back to me. Thank you soooo much I hope I get a good grade on my report. I will write back to tell you my grade when I get it. Thanks again. So much!!!!! <BR> -Nicole

Bill or Cathy&gt; Hi you know about the festival thing about the Blac k Madonna? well can you discribe what goes on?. What month is it in? What day. Thank you. <BR> -Nicole

Nicole <BR>The festival of Corpis Christi is celebrated on the Thursday or Sunday after Trinity Sunday, in honor of the Eucharist. - The date varies - <BR>In Czestochowa, they gather at the church and parade down to the main square. There are many Priests and Nuns along with the school children that take part. <BR>The children are dressed in white and spread flower pedals along the way of the parade. Hope this helps <BR>

sorry to bother you again but what month is Trinity Sunday in? I don't know this because I am jewish. But i have to do the report and i picked to do the day on Corpis Christi. <BR>Thanks so much, <BR>-Nicole