Posts by MJL

MJL

30 Jun 2009

Travel / Prague to Auschwitz/Krakow - safety? [10]

Krakow looked safe enough for me to consider going back for a second stay tomorrow. On the other hand I DID almost get killed coming back to Krakow from Auschwitz in flooding where my car actually got picked up and moved by flash floods and I had to do some creative driving to get back to krakow safetly. More on that when I get to my real computer in the USA

MJL

28 Jun 2009

Travel / Information Needed About Holocaust Related Travel: Krakow, Lublin, Warsaw [25]

Well, I'm in Krakow. I got a room at the Campanile Hotel via the internet and spent an embaressing 4 or more hours looking for the place. I finally got a cop to show me the way....that is another story. I am staying through Sunday and maybe Monday to see the camps and a bit of the old town. The trip into Poland was very interesting but more on THAT later when I write up my thoughts. Any good cheap ( I am a broke teacher) places to eat around my hotel that come recommended?

MJL

18 Jun 2009

Travel / Information Needed About Holocaust Related Travel: Krakow, Lublin, Warsaw [25]

I am in Schwerin, Germany at the moment fulfilling a fellowship to the German government. I shall be in Poland in late June or early July. I still dont have a place to stay in Krakow and Lublin and would love to hear suggestions. Thanks SO much to all the warm people here who have helped me. I am thinking about going to the Jewish fest in Krakow. Worth going to § I will try to check in here again but email is really hard for me to get to.

MJL

7 Jun 2009

Travel / Information Needed About Holocaust Related Travel: Krakow, Lublin, Warsaw [25]

Here's a bit of advice: If you focus only on the camps, your trip will be very depressing and you will be burnt out after a few days.

Yehudi,

Sage advice and something I have twisted about for some time now. Without revealing too many details I am assuming the Germans will be presenting themselves to me in the best possible light. I have, for some time now, considered going to either Poland or France/Belgium after my fellowship is completed in Germany. Members of my family fought with the United States Army from Normandy into Belgium and then into Germany. I have a few resting in cemeteries in France from both World Wars and one in Luxembourg that I have wanted to pay my respects to. Yet, time is very short and I need to make a quick run of this. I have about 7-8 days tops to make a dash into Poland to see what I need to see. Thus, for now, I am avoiding places like the Warsaw ghetto uprising or the later Warsaw uprising against the Germans as these will wait for another trip with my family. The same goes for the Jewish areas of cities like Krakow where I believe my Maternal family may have come from. For now I actually WANT the depressing and deeply personal experiences at the camps by myself so I can come to grips with some emotions and lingering feelings I have had. I have been advised to hire a Polish guide to the camps and even read about this in a book I bought but I don't see that I will have the money to do this. To me a visit to the camps will be more about feelings and emotions than snapshots and pictures. I am fully aware of what lays ahead for me but seek to confront some of these issues so I can better understand what has been said to me by people I have been talking to in the USA. I need to walk the ground, smell the smells and get a feeling of the places.

MJL

7 Jun 2009

Travel / Information Needed About Holocaust Related Travel: Krakow, Lublin, Warsaw [25]

MJL:
Auschwitz-Briana
Getting the names right would be a good start. Auschwitz-Birkenau, Mr-Masters-Thesis-on the-Holocaust.

MJL:
and perhaps one or two days in Warsaw (Treblinka).
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, hallo?

Thanks for the sarcasm. Is this what I have to look forward to in Poland? I had been told that Poles are warm and inviting so I truly hope you are not the norm. The spelling was the result of an American English spell checker that spit out Birkanau (I have it turned off now) and inserted Briana (?). My MA is in American History, not the Holocaust, but I am working a possible angle regarding Polish surviviors in the South Florida area. Thus I am trying to "walk the land" of some of the events I have been told about by these survivors and by members of my own family so I can get a feel for the places I have been told about.

MJL

7 Jun 2009

Travel / Information Needed About Holocaust Related Travel: Krakow, Lublin, Warsaw [25]

Hello,

I found this site when doing some looking around on the internet. I come seeking any and all advice. Here is my scenario:

I have been accepted as an academic fellow of a German institute and so will be traveling from the United States to Germany to do my work with them during the remainder of the month of June. Afterward I intend to rent a car in Frankfurt (to give me the flexibility to look about) to drive to Poland. A little background about myself; I am a High School historian/educator of American History and currently am a 43 year old graduate student in that field. My knowledge of the Polish language is non existent. My knowledge of Polish history is moderate. I am the decedent of Polish Jews who emigrated from Austro-Hungarian controlled Poland in the 1890s or earlier. My trip to Poland will serve several purposes. The primary reason I am coming to Poland is to visit the Holocaust sites at Auschwitz, Belzec, Majdanek, Sobibor and Treblinka. The secondary reason is to make some connection (cultural, historical, etc) with the Poland my people emigrated from. Thirdly this trip is a recon trip to set the stage for a later return with my wife and daughter so we can see the Holocaust sites in the future. Fourth, I am considering a Masters Thesis on the Holocaust so this trip will be an information gathering expedition for that as well. I realize a trip like this is not fair to the huge extent of Polish history and the rich culture of Poland so I am seeking guidance. I do have some questions I would like to ask:

1. Driving from Germany in a rented car should I encounter any problems or slow downs at the German/Polish border? Again, speaking no Polish will I get hassled? I am assuming this is not going to be like crossing from one EU country to another. What should I expect?

2. What are driving conditions like? How are the roads? Are petrol stations easily available? Any tips I should know about? How is driving after dark? Are the roads around Lublin OK?

3. I am diabetic and handicapped(spinal damage that makes me walk with a cane). I am not on insulin but control my diabetes by controlling what I eat. Please give me a clue what I can expect to find in Poland food wise? Are supermarkets widely available? Can someone please direct me towards low sugar low carbohydrate Polish foods that can be purchased in restaurants? I love Pirogi but they have way too many carbs for me. What are my other options?

4. I collect militaria. Is there any place (shop, flea market, etc) that you can recommend where I can find older military items? I like Imperial Russian, Imperial German, Austro-Hungarian, early Polish and Soviet Great Patriotic War era stuff. Maybe some WWII German items but I am less keen on those. I like bayonets, knives, uniforms, helmets, hats, orders, medals, flags, etc

5. I am a underpaid American educator. We had to take an unexpected pay cut last week so I have dramatically less money than I thought I would have. I am not asking for handouts but am asking for clues how to travel, stay, eat, etc cheaply. Remember, everything an educator sees, learns, eats, etc gets brought back into their classrooms. I fully expect to come back to my students with rapacious stories of Poland and would love to have assistance in that.

6. Any clues to Holocaust sites would be appreciated.

7. I intend to stay two days in Krakow Auschwitz-Briana), two days in Lublin (Belzec, Majdanek, Sobibor) and perhaps one or two days in Warsaw (Treblinka). Could you give me specific tips about these places? Places to stay, eat, shop for food, etc?

Thanks so much in advance for any and all help you can give me. I am looking forward to my time in Poland with both concern and rapacious interest. I hope to come back to this forum upon my return with a report about my travels.

MJL

7 Jun 2009

Travel / Using iPhone in Poland, which carrier to buy a SIM for? And other questions... [17]

. I'm actually from the US and am using what's known as a Piggy Back Sim that allows me to use any sim card I want - Since iPhones in the US are locked to ATT I have to do this.

Could you explain the piggy back SIM? I too am going to be in Poland with an ATT iphone and would like to use it without paying the huge fees. Is the original SIM card removed and replaced with a new one? I don't even see how to get at the SIM card in this phone.