Travel / City info Konin or Kalisz [3]

Hi quicktrip,

I've been to both towns, and Konin ranks as one of the worst places I've ever visited in Poland. You should definitely give it a miss. Kalisz is not to bad, the small Old Town area has been decently reconstructed and there are a good few pubs around the Rynek area. If memory serves me correctly, there is a cracking mini brewery called Zloty Rog.

Travel / Al fresco dining in Warsaw [6]

There is Lolek in Pole Mokotowskie which is a grill restaurant, but I'm not sure if they hire out for private parties during summer.

Travel / Al fresco dining in Warsaw [6]

More of a pub but it does decent grub, better than half the restaurants in Warsaw and for al-fresco seating in the centre it can't be beaten. I noticed this weekend that they've even started up a business lunch.

More here: publolek.pl

Travel / The best way to travel from Warsaw to Katowice [5]

You can take bus 175 from the airport which stops at Warszawa Centralna. The bus takes around 25mins. From there take a train to Katowice. The journey between Warsaw and Katowice is just shy of 3hrs. Be sure to take an Intercity, Eurocity or Express train as Pospiesny trains can take around 4hrs 30mins. Intercity are marked IC on timetables, Eurocity EC and Express EX.

History / Kielce Prison History [5]

Cliff,

I would recommend contacting the local tourism board. They usually have a good amount of information about sites and locations relating to WW2. I'm not sure what you want the info for, but local tourism offices are usually bend over backwards helpful when you want to find out about local history.

Take a look here: um.kielce.pl

Travel / Warsaw to Auschwitz [5]

While I think Treblinka is a worthwhile trip to make, if it's your first trip to Poland, and possibly your only trip to a concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau is really a must. This is especially true if you factor in Birkenau, which is easily recognisable from films and thoroughly shocking in its scale. There is little to actually see in Treblinka and it's not easy to get to you unless you have a car. Although this does mean there are less visitors.

7-8 hours is a tight schedule to get there and back, see all of the exhibitions in Auschwitz, and explore Birkenhau, although it is doable. I've taken visitors down on day trips from Warsaw before. The downside is the experience is really one that shouldn't be rushed.

There are PKS public buses from Krakow main bus station, which is attached to the train station. Buses take about 90mins. In summer, there are many, many private companies running minibus tours to the camp, although these will cost you a good bit more more cash. I also think visiting the camp is better down privately, but that's up to yourself.