Travel / WE ARE BACK FROM POLAND AND HERE IS OUR REPORT [96]

My husband and I visited Poland for 2 weeks in the summer of 2006 and loved every minute of it!

Reading all of your posts today has brought me back, and since we are planning a longer trip (a month) this summer, it was good to get some reminders, as well as learn about Europeans' reticence in smiling. (We were part of a tour on our last trip, and did not really notice any problem with getting smiles in return. Of course, we were part of a tour, and perhaps the locals just cut us a little slack, since we were obviously "not from here.")

We visited Zakopane, Katowice, Krakow and Warsaw. The Tatra Mountains are breathtaking! It was like looking at a picture in a calendar, so beautiful.

Krakow was our favorite, the Market Square made us feel . . . part of history, I guess, to be standing where other people had stood and shopped and gone about their daily activities, hundreds of years before us.

We also had to opportunity to enjoy a piano recital of Chopin music in Warsaw, a lovely experience if you get the chance. (I understand there is also a regular performance of Chopin piano music at the Chopin Memorial each weekend in the summer, near £azienki Park in Warsaw.)

The trip we are planning this summer includes Wrocław, Poznan, Warsaw, £odz and Krakow, and we have been able to find several self-catering websites with apartments at very reasonable rates, for most of our days. (We are part of a tour for about 10 days in the middle of the trip, so will be staying at hotels some of the time.)

What was really interesting to us is that the apartments sent us a booking form, but most would not take a deposit. They asked us to sign and date the form and email it back to them. Both my husband and I thought it very refreshing - here in the States you are required to book with a deposit or credit card, it seemed that PL is less suspicious (?), and ready to believe you when you make a commitment to book a room. (Hope you understand what I am feebly trying to impart . . .) Any thoughts on this?

We are planning to fly into £odz and take the train into Warsaw the next day, will be staying at the Focus Hotel (sp?) for that night. Does anyone have any suggestions for which train or ??

We'll be staying at a self-catering apartment (the owner has been lovely, emailed us, offered to pick us up at the train, told us some of the best sights, etc.) for the first 3 nights in Warsaw, in a flat on the 3rd floor of an old apartment building.

We were thinking we may wander over to the zoo while in Warsaw, does anyone recommend that? Also, can someone explain about the bears on the island? (I've been told something vague about that, but would love to hear more!)

Thank you in advance --

Travel / Poland: What should I look forward to or avoid? Is it fun to visit? [34]

My husband and I visited Poland 2 summers ago for 2 weeks and loved it.

Look forward to the food, be adventuresome! Dinner (evening meal) starts with a bowl of soup, an entree with some kind of cabbage dish and potato dish, and then dessert, sometimes ice cream or a fresh fruit tart -- delicious! (Try bigos, like a hunter stew with meat, sweet/sour cabbage and stewed plums, yummy!)

We walked the streets of Warsaw and Krakow after dinner in the evenings and had no troubles. I'm sure safety is a matter of being aware of who and what is around you, just like in the states. We did not get robbed. (We were a family of 3, my husband and I, 43 years old, and our 20 year old daughter.)

If you can get to the Tatra Mountains (Zakopane), go. It's the "Swiss Alps" of Poland, breathtaking. We were told it is the winter-time destination for many families who go there for a couple of weeks to ski, considered very good for your family to get out in the fresh air and have some fun.

Something we found very enjoyable is the fresh fruit stands in the large cities, instead of a McDonalds every block, there would be a fruit stand every block with fresh peaches, apples, plums, grapes, etc. A pint basket of fresh raspberries with a little plastic fork will run you 3 PLN (about $1), delicious. (Wonder why we saw very few fat people in Poland?!?)

And when you're in the rurals, be sure to try the farmers wives' homemade cheese. Cheap and delicious!

Be sure to visit Krakow. Unharmed by Hitler (he got headed off by the Red Army and had to retreat at the end of the 2nd World War), it is original to the 14th century. The street performers are good, and fun!

Hope that helps! We enjoyed Poland so much in 2006 that we are going back for a month this summer :)