Things to do with a month is Poland

Hi,

About 2 years ago I planned a trip to Poland, but ended up canceling it due to changing jobs/circumstances etc etc.

The trip is back on for either late this year (September/October) or early next year (March/April) depending on when i can get the time off.

I am trying to build a really rough itinerary for the trip and was wondering if I could get some advice on what is worth seeing etc.

Some points of the trip.

No concentration camps or any depressing war sites, I have seen Auschwitz/Birkenau and do not feel the need to go back to these places this time around it is purely for enjoyment.

I am going to hire a car and drive around the country for a month, so there should be plenty of time to do a lot of things.

At least 3 days/nights will be catching up with friends in krakow.

What are the conditions of the roads at that time of the year (ie black ice/flooded etc)
Is it easy to get last minute accommodation in most places at that time of the year?

What areas (maybe particularly remote areas) are most worth seeing? I am probably planning approx 10 "dot points" on the map to stop and stay 1-3/4 nights at each.

My main interests are just "people watching"/mingling to get an insight into a culture and also i am interested of course in scenery (buildings/vistas etc).

Also how much Polish will I need to get by? I am trying to get 1-2 hours worth of (unstructured) study in daily as of the moment and was wondering if that is enough time to be able to enjoy this experience and mingle on a basic level if I do go in 6 months?

Oh also a friend and his father may be traveling back to Poland at the same time, he grew up somewhere near Białystok, so I may have to make sure I am in that region at some stage as well.

Anyway any help on any of the above content would be extremely helpful.

You should contact this guy:


And this site got good reviews:

ilovepoland.co.uk/seven_secret_wonders_of_poland.htm

Look at me, I know nothing of Poland and I'm giving travel advice! :D

Certainly plan to spend some time in both Warsaw and Krakow. In Warsaw be sure to go to the Uprising Museum. You said you didn't want depressing site, but this in my opinion isn't This is about the Polish spirt that didn't die then. Don't go to Krakow without going further south to Zakopane. Find some of the old manor houses that are open to visitors and see how life used to be for some. See some of the amazing palaces that have been restored. Go to the National Art Museum and see unique things. A month is easy to spend in Poland. It depends upon what interests you.

September-October may be more pleasant than early spring which has more unpredictable weather.

Hello mateinone, And welcome to the Polish Forums. Good luck on your trip and be sure to let us know how you got on.

Thanks Sean

Thanks a million, I have read through both your threads and numerous of the links that hang off them and they are absorbing. Great work!!

Nowa Huty is certainly on the list of things to see and the Crazy Tour might be a fun way to do that. Some awesome information on Kazimierz as well, which we simply did not get the chance to experience last time so is a "must do" this time around.

Will certainly post pics and info of the trip once done.

Thanks Lori,

Yeah museums etc I am interested in seeing, I was thinking more along the lines of death camps and gruesomeness that i want to avoid this time. I do have a strong interest in that period and have read much on the topic, but in many ways I think the world associates Poland and WWII as going hand in hand and I wanted to drop that stereotype and just get to know the place more.

This is especially true of course of Krakow and it's proximity to Auschwitz and of Warsaw, the ghettos, the uprising, the underground and the city being leveled and rebuilt. I am really very keen to limit the WWII element of the trip this time around to perhaps 5% of the total trip, whilst not dismissing the places that are worth really going to see like the one you mentioned.