Otzi

This may sound stupid to some of you folks, but we really would like to add one more country to our "Places We've Been" records. Since we are staying 4 nights in Berlin and have done most of the sights on an earlier trip, we'd like to use our car rental for a quick aprint into Poland just to say we've been there. Even though I'm part Polish, I know virtually nothing about the place and in looking at maps, nothing in Western Poland sounds familiar. Any suggestions?

My family will do whatever I like as long as a good meal and plenty of photo ops are involved. I'm interested primarily in anything historic and old. Also anything to do with the Cold War fascinates me. Kostrzyn looks like it might offer a few things to entertain us, but I'm hoping to find something to keep us entertained all day. Any decent sized towns with shops would be of interest to the 4 ladies in our group of 7.

lbstole

No one's replied, so I'll toss in a few ideas.

I currently live in Poland teaching English, and while I haven't been that far north yet, I've talked to people who have. A lady I met on a bus once suggested visiting Zielona Gora, which according to Google Maps is about two and a half hours from Berlin by car. Another place my students have talked about is Szczecin, a port town on the Baltic and a little under two hours from Berlin. They both seem big enough to entertain for a day, in my opinion.

adrienne

Will your rental car company allow you to take the car into Poland?

Otzi

We'll be picking up our new BMW in Munich earlier in the trip. Perhaps we should consider train tickets however. Wgy the problem with driving into Poalnd? Bad drivers or crooks?

Szczecin looks very intersting. I think that's the place. Thanks!

logos999

O.K., you'll need a steering wheel lock that'll act as a deterrent. If someone wants the car, he'll just cut the wheel, but for amateurs it'll work, because it just takes them too long. You'll want guarded parking and be aware of your surroundings. The crooks want your car and they're well organized. Further away from the border, I'd be less careful. Driving depends, lots of slower and good drivers, mixed with a few completely crazy people. So far, I havn't managed not to be scammed at a gas station in one or the other way, but it has never been much, so who cares. The quality of gas can be a problem, don't use the cheaper gas stations, but the big brands or the ones at Carrefour. Anyway, they'll perform the "dynamic currency conversion trick" on you if you use a credit card, but since it just a few $... I don't see anything interesting about Stettin, but it's close to the border and that's all you want.

If I were you, I'd visit Danzig!!! But it's rather far.
Or maybe a sea resort like Kolberg or Swinemünde?

Otzi

Thanks Logos. Sounds like a fun place. Maybe I oughta stay home locked in my house instead.

Actually, the Brandenburg-Berlin Ticket was suggested by our hotel proprietor. For 28 Euro all 4 of us can head into Poland for the day and leave the car parked at the hotel. I'm sure there'll be no thieves in Germany.

Marija

Spent five days at a conference in Zielona Gora. It's cute but not worth the effort of getting there.

logos999

Berlin is the hot spot for car thefts in Germany. But if it's parked at the hotel there shouldn't be a problem. A few cars get torched every night in Berlin, but it's only about 5-10. It's always in different locations so it's quite a challenge for police. Bringing a brand new BMW into Poland close to the German border is asking for trouble. People are generally poor, what can you expect.

I do like Poland, it's a lot of fresh air compared to the German way. Going camping in Masuren is a dream of nature come true. The eastern Beskids are on my list for bear watching.

Woyzeck

I've been to Szczecin (Stettin)- it's a sprawling city that might be just big enough to be kind of a hassle as a day trip and just uninteresting enough to make it not quite worth your while. I understand what you're doing though and you could certainly have worse options than Szczecin.

Another interesting possibility would be to choose a border city that was divided after 1945, such as Görlitz, Frankfurt an der Oder, or Guben.

Planner13

I just read that you live in Poland. We are looking at a trip to Krakow and Budapest for the fall. Should we consider Warsaw or Gdansk? Know most of the attractions we want to visit, but do love suggestions from locals. Any recommendations for local restaurants?
Thanks ever so much.