I will be travelling from Warsaw to Mlawa, the town where my grandfather was from, on a Sunday next month, in April. I do not speak Polish and would like to go there by means of public transportation. When I look on the Polish railway website, most trains take up to 4 hours each way if choosing Mlawa Miastro. If choosing Mlawa, I found trains only taking 1 1/2 hours at the bottom of the page. I'm also open to going by bus if need. I would like to leave fairly early in the morning and return back to Warsaw sometime before early evening. If anyone could make any suggestions regarding this I would be most appreciative. If someone on the board speaks Polish fluently could take a look at this for me it would be an enormous help.
Thank you in advance.
Ross :-)
If anyone could be of assistance in answering my post I would be most appreciative.
By train is best. A bus would not be a good idea if you don't speak Polish, and 1.5 hours to Mlawa on the fast train is very good. I just had a quick look and found 2.44 hours. That's OK, and there's a train that leaves before 6 am.
4 hours on the stopping train is pointless, Mlawa Miasto, by the way, isn't the main station in Mlawa - it's a little halt. Part (a very big part) of those 4 hours is taken up with changing trains to get on one that stops there.
Have a look at the PKP website - click on the flag for their English website, and remember - this is VERY important - only to tick the boxes (lower left side) for the faster trains - the slower ones take ages and involve changing. The faster trains are good, cheap and comfortable.
Most people in Poland wouldn't travel there and back in a day unless they really had to - why not stay overnight?
Thanks for responding so quickly to my post. I only have two days in Warsaw and four days in Krakow this trip and would very much like to see where my grandfather was from. I've already paid for the hotel in Warsaw so staying overnight in Mlawa isn't an option at this point. Have you been to Mlawa? If so, could you tell me what to expect by visiting there, please?
In that case, the train is definitely best. Be careful not to get the slow trains though - there are a few traps you can fall into that the online timetable doesn't explain (and the ticket office clerk wouldn't tell you about!). Your best bet is the fast trains, and the one I noticed a little before 6 is probably good, though there may be changes on Sundays due to engineering work. If the 2+ hour journey seems long, remember the views from the window should be nice, and the food in the restaurant car is usually interesting and good value.
Just remember not to check the box on the online timetable (under 'products' in the English version) for the slow (osobowy) trains.
I've been through Mlawa a few times - it's a dull but pleasant little town with a nice square. Not much to see, though the church is old, It's quite poor nowadays, so everything should be cheap - just don't expect much to be open on Sunday. As I remember, it was heavily damaged in the war, so apart from the area round the town square, there isn't much to see or do.
Personally, I've never visited Mława although, since it is on the way to Gdansk I must have passed by 100.000 times, when driving. The road (no. 7), although sometimes narrow is good. Just drive carefully and that's all. Check wikipedia for what Mława offers. In Poland it is known for the battle of Mława which took place in 1939. While driving I always see the monument commemorated to it on one side and the battle field on the other.
I just remembered - there's quite a nice restaurant between the town square and the TV factory, and a couple of bars in the little streets off the square.
To be honest, the journey there will be as interesting as the town itself, but you should be able to take some interesting photos to show peoplel back home. There used to be a small railway museum - not sure if it's still there though.
Out of interest, which hotel are you staying at in Warsaw?
Thank you so much for all of the information you've provided me with. I truly appreciate it! I was fortunate to find a fantastic rate for the Inter Continental in Warsaw so I'm very excited to stay there. Do you live in Warsaw?
Ross
Thank you for the info you provided as well, Zman.
Thank you emha!!! It's a great website for me to look at.
The Intercontinental's a good hotel - right in the heart of the city. It has an amazing swimming pool on the top floor with big windows that go right gown to the water - it feels like you're swimming in the sky with Warsaw spread out below you! April's a good time to go - the cafes and bars on ul. Nowy Swiat (10 minutes walk from the Intercontinental) should be setting their tables out on the pavement sometime in April, and £azienki Park will be full of families out walking.
I live in Warsaw, but I'm working away a lot this year and staying with family in England right now due to a contract in Libya not happening for obvious reasons - soon in Veracruz, Mexico for some work then back to Warsaw in May.
One of the reasons why I choose the Inter Continental was because of it's renowned pool as I'm a swimmer myself. Just went this morning before work!!! Can you recommend any restaurants or interesting places to visit in Warsaw where the locals go? I'm not into very touristy places.
I suppose it depends what sort of place you like - one (very cheap) restaurant/bar is called Carina on ul. Nowowiejska - it's a bit like stepping into the past. Set meals only, and most popular in the afternoon. There used to be lots of places like that but they've been closing down one-by-one over the past few years. I used to have a late lunch there when I worked nearby. The cafe about 50 yards away on pl. Zbawicela is good - a bit more modern but relaxed and friendly - though a bit trendier than the places I normally go to.
Walking down Marszalkowska towards plac Konstitucji there are some decent places - not touristy. The Intercontinental is between the station and the finance district, so there are plenty of places round there, but most of them generic. Hard Rock Cafe, sushi chains, etc.
There's a Polish/Czech place at the bottom of plac Konstitucji called u Szweika, very popular and on Mondays when they do special offers it's hard to get a table Nevertheless it's very worth a visit - the little place at the back, Chłopski Jadło (looks better inside than out) is traditional to the point of kitsch but very authentic food and not touristy. Rather family-oriented though.
Ul. Nowy Swiat has become the main 'going out' area, with a lot of pavement cafes - some of the places in the alleyways off, near the bottom end of the street, are worth visiting.
In the Old Town, some of the best places for going out (and the least touristy) are in the bit called the New Town (a misnomer because it's not at all new), especially round ul, Freta. That is where the Poles tend to go - the tourists tend to stick to the places nearest the Old Town Square, some of which are real tourist traps.
Near the Intercontinental, on ul. Swietokrzyska, there's a little Vietnamese place that people rave over - I've been a couple of times and the food is good, but round the hotel, I personally like the park by the Palace of Culture - there are a couple of Cafes there. Daytime only.
There are some nice Jewish places nearby in pl. Grzybowski - but a bit touristy. Ul. Próźna, off pl Grzybowski has one or two decent places, and the street is a 'must see' but if you go to any of the bars in the pavillions at the end, it's better to do so earlier rather than later - not the safest bit of Warsaw.
Near the hotel, one of the more interesting places is Drink Bar on ul. Wspolna - small and intimate, a bit of a legend and popular with English-speaking Poles, but off the tourist radar. Make sure you have low-denomination notes and some coins - they're hopeless at giving change. It's the type of place where you easily get talking to strangers - not a very Warsaw thing, reallyl. I recommend it. Generally good from 9pm until very late.
I'm not up to strength on the Warsaw nightclubs - not really my scene - maybe someone else here would know.
You're a wealth of information, Jonny!!! Thank you so much!!! The restaurant suggestions are GREAT!!! Not looking for any nightclubs. Not my thing. Out of curiosity, do know Krakow well? I'll be there for four days after my stay in Warsaw and visiting Mlawa. I'm considering a day-trip to Zakopane while there. Perhaps even a side-trip to Slovakia right over the border but it doesn't seem that there's good public transportation in that area.
I don't often get to Krakow these days - but quite a few posters here live there, so it could be worth starting a thread on that!
Have a great holiday in Poland!
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If you're looking for the 'old Warsaw', the Lotos restaurant (one junction down from being opposite the Hyatt Hotel) has been open continuously since the 1930s. It used to be extremely upmarket in its day, and that part of town was expensive and grand even during the communist years. The decor is absolutely surreal and rather oppressive, and the clientele are very posh Poles and aging communist apparatchiks. Not a gourmet place, but worth seeing if you're at £azienk park (it's just down the hill from there). It sometimes feels like time has stopped still there. Not an English speaking place, and no expats there, much less tourists! Worth seeing before some developer turns it into something else.
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