Travel /
Just Returned from 10 Days in Poland (...my previous trip was in 1972 :) [6]
My previous trip to Poland was in 1972 – so, needless to say, I barely recognized it! The countryside is still beautiful and we had a great time. Inflation is rampant in Poland, as it is in the U.S. We had to be careful to keep our expenses in line with our budget.
We were traveling on our own (ala carte) because I wanted to visit family. I think organized group tours are probably easier and less stressful.
Thanks LOT for Nothing.
We flew on from Los Angeles to Warsaw by way of LOT. The connections they made for us in Chicago were terrible – especially on the return. We just barely made our connecting flight because of the tight schedule they put us on – and we were rushing and scrambling on our own trying to figure out where to go and how to get to the correct gate.
Taxi’s Are NOT All the Same
Apparently, (we found out later) that there are two types of taxis in Warsaw – the expensive and the much less expensive. They look almost the same, but one is metered and the other is a flat rate – but much more expensive than the metered rate. The less expensive metered taxis are plentiful so I’m not sure why anyone would want the other for almost twice the price.
Hotels from $125 - $45 a night
We were quite happy with each of our hotels even though they were quite different.
For our first two nights in Warsaw, we found a special Internet pre-paid non-refundable price of $125 a night at the Victoria Sofitel; a classy hotel located a short walk to Old Town. The staff was very gracious. When we tried to get the same room later, it was $170 a night – still not a bad price, especially tastefully with free Internet.
There were plenty of hostels in all the larger cities – but we did not check them out. In Szczecin we stayed with family and it’s a good thing because there was not a large selection of hotels.
In Krakow, we found (once again on the Internet) the Cracow Apartments, which were also very near Old Town and only $110 US Dollars a night. It is owned and operated by a very nice English-speaking Polish couple. (I mention this because even though I speak Polish, my boyfriend doesn’t – and it often made it easier when I didn’t have to translate constantly.) The room was large and included a small kitchenette, which we enjoyed for a couple of quiet meals “at home”. The only downside is there are no elevators and no air/conditioning – but we had mild temperatures, we only missed the elevator when moving in. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. Also, there was no Internet access, and forced us to use the Internet cafes, which were not easy to find.
Krakow was Lively, Interesting – and Filled With Tourists
Lots of young people who come to party at the clubs. Very eclectic. Tons of tourists and tons of tourist traps.
After Krakow, we rented a car from Avis and drove up the highway to Warsaw, taking our time to stop to buy cherries from vendors along the road, take plenty of photos, visit the old church in Radom, etc.
We also find a very special location just before Radom – the Zloty Karpik restaurant and motel – where our room was about $40 US Dollars. Located on a small lake, it was delightful. It was tranquil and the other guests were not typical tourist types. Unfortunately, even though the room overlooked the lake and had a nice deck, it was small, dark and not very clean – but it was also the only room remaining – so we were very glad to get it. And we would definitely stay there again. The food was ample and delicious. Dining was either indoors or out on the deck overlooking the lake. A lovely place with pleasant staff.
Our last night in Poland was at a hotel in Warsaw near the highway for the convenience of getting to the airport early in the morning and because it had secure parking. The price was $125 a night, but included a decent breakfast and Internet. The location was far from restaurants and shopping but the balcony with a view of the outskirts of Warsaw allowed us to watch the moon rise.
Driving in Poland – Not Bad at All
After being warned by so many posts on this forum, and even my cousin in Szczecin, we hesitated renting a car – but I am so glad we did. With the car we were able to get away from the tourist-filled areas, and explore more of the countryside. I regret that we didn’t allow more time for this. The car was very expensive for only 48 hours too. We paid $315 for the 48 hours which included insurance and drop off fee.)
The Highway from Krakow to Warsaw
Looked almost brand new. The drive from Krakow to Warsaw was very easy. Yes, the drivers take a lot of risks passing every vehicle that drives under 100 miles per kilometer, but the drivers were otherwise very courteous. There was a lot of construction along the entire highway, so I would not drive this road at night. Also, it was good that we were not in hurry – so the occasional slower vehicles didn’t bother us – and when they did, we found passing them very easy since they would almost always move over to the right.
We chose not to drive inside Warsaw – but mostly because we were afraid of getting lost and didn’t want to press our luck – again since we had heard such bad things about driving in Poland.
Restaurants
We ate at many different types of restaurants. The food was quite good everywhere, but a couple of the restaurants in Krakow and Warsaw) were exorbitantly over-priced. One trendy café charged $2.00 for a of glass tap water and $1.00 for a cube of butter with our breakfast.
Trains:
We had no problem buying unreserved train tickets the same day. We chose First Class, but we were told that that Second Class was almost the same quality.
Overall:
The people were very nice even if they may not be outgoingly friendly as Californians. The weather was very changeable – from very warn to cool within hours. Some rain fell almost daily but so did the sunshine.
