Poland Information
Jun 5th, 2003, 12:46 PM
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Poland Information
Looking for some information on Poland and which cities would be good to see for the first time? Warsaw, Krakow, etc.? Any hotels and good deals are also appreciated. How is the language situation? Do they speak much English there? I know very little Polish, but didn't know French, Italian or German either and survived in France, Italy, and Austria. Not sure if or when I would go, but want to just check into anyone with some information that has been there and can give advice. I assume that they are also on the Euro there? I believe just about everyone except England is. I have looked Poland up on the internet and there are some gorgeous places. Just not sure where to begin. Any and all help is appreciated!
Thank you! Dubje (sp)
Thank you! Dubje (sp)
Jun 5th, 2003, 01:12 PM
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Poland is years away from using Euros. The current currency is zloty. It's about 3.80 zloty per $. The capital city Warsaw, has some WW2 historical places, as well as the Old Town, that was totally destroyed during the war, but through sheer determination of Poles, rebuild brick by brick from old architectual plans, and it includes the Warsaw Castle.
Krakow, besides being one of the oldest cities in Europe, with it's magnificent castle and walled-in old city, first European University - Jagielonski) has too many treasures to mention here. Not far from the city, there are three important excursions. The very sombering one is Aushwitz(Oswiecim), the Nazi concentration camp, where hundreds of thousand Christians and millions of Jews died.
The second excursion is Wieliczka, which has a salt mine tours. It does not sound like anything exciting, but believe me, it's worth the trip. And of course there is Jasna Gora Monestery with the Black Madonna portrait, where millions of Catholics make pilgrimiges every year.
Other cities that you may want to research are: Torun, Gdansk/Gdynia/Sopot(tri-city), the castle in Marlborg, Sczecin, and my favorite, my hometown Krosno. Many people call it the miniture Krakow. It has 3 very old, historically rich, Catholic Churches, and it was one of the first defenses against the invading Mongols, Turks, Muslims few hundred years ago. It's also a gateway city to a beautiful part of Poland - Karpaty.
Hope this will give you a head start, and have a great trip!!!
Krakow, besides being one of the oldest cities in Europe, with it's magnificent castle and walled-in old city, first European University - Jagielonski) has too many treasures to mention here. Not far from the city, there are three important excursions. The very sombering one is Aushwitz(Oswiecim), the Nazi concentration camp, where hundreds of thousand Christians and millions of Jews died.
The second excursion is Wieliczka, which has a salt mine tours. It does not sound like anything exciting, but believe me, it's worth the trip. And of course there is Jasna Gora Monestery with the Black Madonna portrait, where millions of Catholics make pilgrimiges every year.
Other cities that you may want to research are: Torun, Gdansk/Gdynia/Sopot(tri-city), the castle in Marlborg, Sczecin, and my favorite, my hometown Krosno. Many people call it the miniture Krakow. It has 3 very old, historically rich, Catholic Churches, and it was one of the first defenses against the invading Mongols, Turks, Muslims few hundred years ago. It's also a gateway city to a beautiful part of Poland - Karpaty.
Hope this will give you a head start, and have a great trip!!!
Jun 5th, 2003, 11:36 PM
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Polite suggestion, try some thing beside cities! The Masurian Lake region or The Carpathian Mountain region-Zakopane. Access Poland other ways besides air into Warszawa. Most tourist sources know some English. English is now being taught in all grades of school. Most young Poles know some English. Convert dollars to zlotych at currency exchanges. Major cities have extensive ATM systems with AX, Visa and Master card choices. Poland is no longer an "Eastern Block Country". The arts and theater are really great. Every day there are more internet sites. Seemingly all are available in English. 4 and 5 star hotels are expensive! Shop the internet. Many hotels have good websites.
Jun 6th, 2003, 06:26 AM
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Just returned from a week in Krakow and Warsaw. Both were worth visiting, if I were to select one or the other it would be Krakow. Daytrips to the salt mines and Auschwitz are easy to arrange from Krakow, we did both on our own but they can also be arranged as tours.
The reason I recommend Krakow over Warsaw is that it is a much quainter city, much of it still intact as it didn't get destroyed during WWII as Warsaw did. There seemed to be a lot more restaurant options located in a smaller area, Krakow has a large student population so there were many inexpensive options as well. The old town area is completely walkable and every day we were there an event of some sort was happening in the square.
We don't know any Polish and managed just fine in the cities.
Definitely not on the euro, there were ATMs everywhere, including the airports and train stations, that accepted our card and many places are set up to take credit cards.
The trains were easy to use, you can always write down your destination and time you want to leave and show it to the clerk if they don't understand you. It was around $20 each way from Warsaw to Krakow on an 2 1/2 hour express train with reservation.
If you are flying into Warsaw though it was worth a couple of days of visit. The old town isn't nearly as lively as Krakow's but still worth seeing, esp. if you see the before and after photos. The Royal Castle was quite nice, and there are a couple of palaces also worth a visit, Lazienki and Wilanow are the two I have visited.
As far as hotel deals go, there are some to be had but it took a little work. I ended up at the Sofitel in Warsaw for 55E per night but I think that was just luck. We stayed at a flat in Krakow for 215 zl per night, the location was fine and the stay was fine but the bed was pretty uncomfortable. www.hotelspoland.com seemed to have some reasonable rates. Contacting the hotels directly also seems to bring lower rates in some cases.
The reason I recommend Krakow over Warsaw is that it is a much quainter city, much of it still intact as it didn't get destroyed during WWII as Warsaw did. There seemed to be a lot more restaurant options located in a smaller area, Krakow has a large student population so there were many inexpensive options as well. The old town area is completely walkable and every day we were there an event of some sort was happening in the square.
We don't know any Polish and managed just fine in the cities.
Definitely not on the euro, there were ATMs everywhere, including the airports and train stations, that accepted our card and many places are set up to take credit cards.
The trains were easy to use, you can always write down your destination and time you want to leave and show it to the clerk if they don't understand you. It was around $20 each way from Warsaw to Krakow on an 2 1/2 hour express train with reservation.
If you are flying into Warsaw though it was worth a couple of days of visit. The old town isn't nearly as lively as Krakow's but still worth seeing, esp. if you see the before and after photos. The Royal Castle was quite nice, and there are a couple of palaces also worth a visit, Lazienki and Wilanow are the two I have visited.
As far as hotel deals go, there are some to be had but it took a little work. I ended up at the Sofitel in Warsaw for 55E per night but I think that was just luck. We stayed at a flat in Krakow for 215 zl per night, the location was fine and the stay was fine but the bed was pretty uncomfortable. www.hotelspoland.com seemed to have some reasonable rates. Contacting the hotels directly also seems to bring lower rates in some cases.
Jul 27th, 2003, 02:43 PM
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We were in Krakow 2 months ago, touring and looking into family history. We had a tour guide for a few days and he thought the hotel I found on the internet was one of the best deals hes ever seen and this is what he does for a living! Its the Hotel Jan at 11 Grozska in Krakow. Its just off the town square, a 5 minute walk to the castle and the room was 2 bedrooms, a livingroom, huge bathroom and kitchen for 100USD a night. We also went to Prague and truth be told, we all liked Krakow better. It was like a compact Prague with lots to see and do and not the crazy crowds.
Aug 7th, 2003, 11:42 AM
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Thank you all for your information. I am not sure when I will get to Poland, but the rest of this year I have some other trips planned already. I will print out this information and keep it for when I do plan the trip. It sounds like a really pretty country. My family is of Polish background and I would love to search for some relatives while there. Glad you all enjoyed yourselves!
