Travel / planned itinerary: wroclaw, krakow, torun, gdansk, etc- any suggestions?? [11]

hello all,
i'll be travelling poland for two weeks starting in wroclaw monday next week. so far, i'm thinking of the following itinerary:
wroclaw-krakow
krakow-torun and chelmno
torun- gdansk
gdansk- gizycko
gizycko-biebrzanski park
biebrzanski park-warszawa
warzsawa-back to munich somehow. via berlin or praha, i don't really care, both are beautiful cities if i still have time for a stopover left :o)

can anyone suggest a cool place to go up northeast other than gizycko? and in or near biebrzanski park?
i'm slowly clicking my way through various bus operator homepages... any advice on how to get where i want to go? i couldn't find information on a bus service to chelmno on the net for example. is there one?

thanks for your help!!!!

Travel / Pictures and advice from trip through Poland [18]

hi everyone,

here's the link to my web gallery:

picasaweb.google.de/Isarfreak/Polen08#

there are slightly too many pictures to post them here ;o)

and here's my advice for anyone planning to travel Poland:
- take your time if you can. it's a beautiful country, don't just rush through on your way.
- if tired of the big city rush, go out to Mazurskie. this area holds the most beautiful landscape i have yet set my eyes on. i spent a while in Gizycko (off season).

- don't listen to anyone feeding the stereotype of criminal and dangerous Poland. i travelled as a woman on my own, took buses and trains, went out alone at night and felt perfectly safe. nothing bad happened to me, nor did i hear of anything worrying from other travellers.

- vegetarians won'tfind much to eat in Poland? just another lie. i found things to eat alright, and was never asked to explain myself.
- make sure you see Krakow. and if you do, for once believe what's written in the l.planet and stay at one of two good bye lenin hostels in town. they have a booking desk at the train station.

so, i hope you enjoy your trip as much as i do. i will definitly travel to Poland again.
i just loved it.

News / Metal concerts in Poland- where to launch them? [7]

hi all,

a young German band i'm friends with is thinking of touring Europe next year. Does anyone have suggestions where they could play (clubs, bars etc) anywhere in Poland?

I heard Katowice and surroundings is THE place for music?

check out the band i'm talking about:

loonataraxis.de (all in German) or for a taste of their music:
myspace.com/loonataraxis

looking forwards to your replies

Genealogy / Looking for family members in Poland- Franz Sass [4]

Hi everyone,
my great-grandfather (Franz Sass) was born and raised in Chelmno and moved to Germany for work before 2nd world war and all that. I'm now trying to find out what became of all those possibly existing relatives that never left Poland.

Any ideas where I could start the search? I've had a root through the church register in Chelmno this summer but couldn't find anything really.

I'm grateful for every hint...
Thanks
Ilo