help with trip to poland

[nzeeman]

dear rff members,
my wife and i will go to Poland from may 1st until may 10th. we will visit Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw. We have some ideas what we want to see but we will also appreciate any help with locations we should visit.
Also anyone have recommendations for some restaurants with good food?
And one more question - safety in night trains - i read various stories about unsafe trains - are they true?
Thanks in advance
srdjan

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

dear rff members,
my wife and i will go to Poland from may 1st until may 10th. we will visit Krakow, Gdansk and Warsaw. We have some ideas what we want to see but we will also appreciate any help with locations we should visit.
Also anyone have recommendations for some restaurants with good food?
And one more question - safety in night trains - i read various stories about unsafe trains - are they true?
Thanks in advance
srdjan

You should be o.k....it will be nearly deserted!, they have all moved to the UK!!😱
sorry, could not resist! 😱 Dave

 

[JRG]

We visited Poland exactly one year ago. Lots of things to see in Gdansk, especially if you like old architecture. If you have a car at your disposal, drive south from Gdansk toward Olsztyn and visit Malbork Castle --- an absolutely astounding creation.

 

[mfogiel]

Well, I do not know about the trains, as the last time I took one in Poland it was 35 years ago... The things to see in Krakow are many - beyond the Castle and the Sukiennice market you could see Kazimierz - an ancient Jewish district, and if you feel like reviving the old good days of comrade Gondrand. you could go to Nowa Huta. Apparently there is a special tourist service with a guide, that drives you there in a Trabant and lets you visit a worker's apartment... Look it up on the net.
Warsaw is entirely a different story, and you should visit the Old Town and look over the Vistula, then you will have some modern architecture in the center, and if you spare some time, go to visit the museum of the Warsaw uprising. The restaurants - there are a few, but go to the best ones as the rest is crap. I recommend Belvedere in the Lazienki park, U kucharzy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/3392678951/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/3393490558/
near Hotel Bristol on Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Polska Tradycja, Belwederska 18A, and you should also try the Slodki i Slony - a patisserie in Mokotowska 45 for the best cakes you have ever tasted in your life. If you spare some time, go for a drink in the evening to the 40th floor of the Marriot hotel for a shot of the city's panorama - quite worth it.
In Gdansk, the obvious is to visit Stary Rynek and the old port of ancient hanseatic architecture - you will see best amber shops in the world there... but you could also ask where to go to see the longest community building ever erected , I believe it is about 1km long... to see how the working class under communism was enjoying themselves... I also recommend Malbork, but it is a short trip in a car from Gdansk.

 

[Quincy]

The best is take Inter City train, ticket is little expensive but security is assured. You should choose first class. Visit that page http://www.pkp.pl or better in english http://www.intercity.pl/ .