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Day trip from Krakow

triggerfinger — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:46:03 -0800

Day/overnight trips from Krakow? I will be going to Krakow in a few weeks for a six day visit. I am planning on spending a day each on the Salt Mines, Auschwitz and Krakow itself and am hoping to do a day trip if possible to another major city. Warsaw is an option but I'm also wondering how easy/difficult it might be to instead go to Budapest, Kiev or any other Eastern Europe cities? I am willing to take an overnight train, spend a day in the city and catch another overnight train back to Krakow. I've done a lot of searching on the internet and am having a difficult time finding enough information to make a decision.

Basically, I have come to the conclusion that as far as cities within an overnight train ride distance, the options I have are as follows:

Warsaw, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava, Kosice, Lviv, Kiev and Odessa

I've been to Prague and Berlin so those are out for me. Is there anyone who is more familiar with the region who could give me an idea on the travel time (via train) for the other cities? Which ones are more do-able than others? Which ones would be the most interesting to see? Are there any that involve hassles that are best avoided? For example, I've read that Ukrainian customs can hold you up for hours. I am a US passport holder if that matters.

Any advice would be appreciated. I'd like to take advantage of my trip to see another major Eastern European city if possible. Thanks.

Poles from Lviv/Lwow - emigration or forced resettlement?

mdonley — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:21:04 -0800

At the end of World War II, would a Polish-ethnicity girl/young woman and her family from Lwów/Lviv have been given the option of moving west of the Curzon line to post-war Poland, or would they have been forcibly resettled? On a train from Warsaw to Bydgoszcz today, I met a woman in her seventies or eighties who was telling me about her childhood. Like many older people in the western part of what is now Poland, her roots go back to the areas which belonged to Poland between 1919-1939 and no longer do.

My Polish wasn't good enough to pick out much more than this:

• She was born in Lwów/Lviv.
• "In the 1940s", according to her, she moved to what is now Poland. Soon after this, she went to university in Gliwice, near Katowice, perhaps at the Silesian University of Technology (my own guess - she didn't say, but their Wikipedia page turned up that many of Lwów/Lviv Polytechnic's professors and curricula ended up there.
• She met her husband after she left Gliwice, while they were both studying in Szczecin.
• She now lives in Bydgoszcz.

While I've consulted the Wikipedia article on the Repatriation of Poles (1944-1946) here and found this book (which, from the title, seems perhaps less than objective?), I don't have much in the way of English-language sources for what it was like for those moving/being moved.

I realize this is a really specific question, but any additional information you can provide would be amazing. Thank you!

Wouldja believe it?

The Light Fantastic — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:21:04 -0800

Anyone know the way to Łódź? I'll be traveling there around the end of October, and would love advice on the best way to get there and cool things to see once I do. I'm going to visit a friend while they are in Poland. He's staying at his Mom's apartment in Łódź, and won't have a car, so we will be using that as a base of operations. I have never been to Europe before, so this is pretty exciting for me, but I also want to avoid making any n00b mistakes.

I've seen that RyanAir has started flying directly into Łódź from selected airports in Britain. Would it make more financial/logistical sense to book a round-trip to, let's say, Dublin - then book a round-trip from there to Łódź? Last I checked, it will save me about $150-$200 (I'm pretty poor, so this makes a difference), but if this is going to be a huge pain in the butt, would it make more sense to fly into Warsaw and take the train? Any other ways to get there?

Also, since we'll be at his Mom's Communist Era concrete fortress apartment with all of about 3 rooms, any recommendations for lodging would be appreciated - especially bed-and-breakfast/cheap alternatives to hotels.

Any advice is appreciated - although comments along the lines of "Łódź sux" is just going to bum me out without actually making me change my travel plans. Thanks world travelers!

Where can I find the Polish film "Requiem dla 500,000"?

ovesh — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:47:23 -0800

My father, a holocaust survivor, is interested in a Polish film called "Requiem dla 500,000" (Requiem for 500,000, directed by Waclaw Kazimierczak and Jerzy Bossak). I was entrusted with the task of getting a hold of it (purchase/download etc). Where should I start? I couldn't find it on Amazon, Google Video, etc.

Zapikanka?

anomie — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:26:35 -0800

Can anyone tell me how to make great Zapikanka? (snack from Poland) When I was in Krakow briefly a few years back, I enjoyed a snack called Zapikanka. (I hope I've spelled it right.) It was a large slice of bread with mushrooms, cheese, some kind of sliced meat, and something like ketchup - but not exactly the same as ketchup.

I've tried to make it again but it's never been quite the same as back in Poland, does anyone know how to make an awesome Zapi? General info about the snack is hard to find online, so that would be appreciated as well.

How do I find my Polish grandfather

sien — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:34:21 -0800

My father and his mother were separated from his father by events in WWII in Poland. I'd like to find him. I've tried a few things but would much appreciate more help. Are there any Polish Mefites out there or anyone who has searched for people who are probably dead. My grandfather was a Psychiatrist in Poland who was in the Polish Army who managed to survive the war. He sought a divorce from my grandmother after the war but was at least alive in 1950. I have his birth date and know what he was in life and have one web page that refers to him. But beyond this I don't have anything.

I've called the Polish consulate in my city but they were pretty unhelpful. I've looked online for services that have records but they all look dodgy. Some may not be, but all of them look poor. Are there any reliable services that find people like this? Are there any in Poland?

I don't speak Polish so web searching is heavily curtailed.

Any help would be appreciated.

Getting to Torun from London, via the rest of Poland

mdonley — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:38:28 -0800

I need to get between London and Torun, Poland around the end of the first week of September via public transport, but since I'm moving there for at least a year with lots of stuff, I'm having a hard time deciding the best way to do it. I'll be landing at London Heathrow from Los Angeles around 11:00 on the morning of Thursday, September 4 and have until Friday evening or so, let's say, to get to Torun; the earlier I arrive, the better, though. I'll be going to my new flat as soon as I arrive in the city. However, I'll have something like 25-30 kilos of luggage in a big rolling suitcase, plus a briefcase-style carry-on.

I've done this trip before, but with only a small backpack, and over an evening and an afternoon with a lot of time wasted in London and Warsaw (arrive at Heathrow, day in London lugging stuff around, train to Luton, flight to Warsaw, hostel, train the next afternoon to Torun). There must be a better way!

So: do I stay at Heathrow and fly to Warsaw from there (seems like the only option from that airport) or do I fly to Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, or Bydgoszcz from another airport on a budget airline? From there, a coach or a train to Torun? If the train is better: where do big suitcases go on Polish trains, anyway? (What if I booked a first-class seat?) If the coach is better: is there a place online where I can check Polish coach times/fares? And are there coaches that would get me from any of the airports directly to Torun?

Overall, it would be AWESOME if I could get to Torun on Thursday evening without staying somewhere else first. I can speak a tiny amount of Polish, have a phrasebook, and am registered with the Polish Railways e-ticket site if that's at all helpful.

Dziekuje!

Things to do in Krakow

4eyes — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:43:19 -0800

Krakow, Poland. A fleeting visit - seeking suggestions for Great Things To Do. I'm travelling courtesy of my employer and I'll be tied-up with work for a few days, but I'm hoping to stay longer and explore the city over a weekend. It's very last-minute, so recommendations for place(s) to stay, sights to see, food to scoff and bars to relax/revive, all welcome.

Auschwitz and the salt mines are within tour-bus distance, but I'd love to hear about those gems nestling in Krakow itself. I'll be alone; cafes or whatnot where I can simply watch the world go by are a good thing. Thanks!

FleaMarketFilter: Looking for all Flea Markets in Europe

dripdripdrop — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:55:20 -0800

I'm looking for flea markets in Europe. Specifically we will be going through Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia (Sarajevo), Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland (Krakow) before settling in France, but any other suggestions in Europe are welcome. I'm interested in the kind of flea markets with old, random crap, not the new, cheap crap. I've been to the flea market outside Budapest on Nagykőrösi út and loved all the old nick nacks.

Please be as specific as possible about addresses. If I get a lot of answers I'll put together a Google Map for sharing.

Polish Craigslist?

mdonley — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:28:59 -0800

What is the Polish equivalent of Craigslist? I'm going to be in the market this fall for a bunch of things like a bicycle and some used housewares. A site that includes the whole country and not just, say, Warsaw and Krakow - I'll be in the Bydgoszcz-Torun area - would be great. Polish-language sites are, of course, fine.

Dziękuję!

Eastern Europe: Hiking

mateuslee — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:40:26 -0800

Cool places to take day-trip hikes in Eastern Europe: suggestions? My brother is coming to visit me in Amsterdam for a couple weeks and, aside from the usual visit to the Netherlands, he wants to take a trip to Eastern Europe. He's pretty into the great outdoors and probably wants to do some hiking. Giving time constraints, I don't think we'll be camping - but aside from that I'm open to new ideas. I hear there's a very nice, old forest in Poland.... he seems interested in this. Any other ideas / indie travel-agencies / suggestions? Thanks!

Where can I find an original Polish movie poster for "Dawn of the Dead" (1978)?

laze — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:26:12 -0800

I'll be going to a convention next month with a number of "Dawn of the Dead" alumni in attendance and I'd like to have something unique for them to sign. I love the very unique style of Polish movie posters and want to get an original print of the 1978 "Dawn of the Dead" poster, but am having no luck. The movie was released in Poland as "Swit umarlych," according to IMDB. I've checked ebay.pl, done the standard Google search (.com and .pl), browsed through (the super-expensive) PolishPoster.com, all with no success. I can't even find an image of what the poster looks like. But it's gotta exist.

Additional info: I believe the word for "movie poster" in Polish is "film plakat." Not reading Polish makes this search a little trickier.

Any ideas about where else I might look?

Where should we visit or stay in Eastern Europe?

D J Robertstein — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:54:44 -0800

Where should we visit in Eastern Europe? Me and three or four freinds are planning to have a bit of an interrail this summer and unlike last time, we've opted for more of an eastern European slant. So far it's looking like this:

France - Italy - Greece - Bulgaria - Romania - Hungary - Poland - Germany

We're hoping to see a bit more of the countryside and will be camping a fair bit as well as using hostels. However, we know nothing of Eastern Europe save for a Michael Palin documentary.

Does anyone whos been around that area have any suggestions of places to go, things to see and stuff to do? We're on a fairly low budget, but we could save cash for certain things if it's worth it.

Sorry for the vague post but we're ignorant and in the early planning stages. Thanks!

What to see in Poland and the Czech Republic?

kjs4 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 03:41:10 -0800

Looking for things to see and places to go in Poland and the Czech Republic. In the process of planning a trip to Poland, Czech and Germany in October this year for a few weeks. Basic plan is Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Dresden and finishing in Berlin. Any specific suggestions on what to see, do, eat and how to get between them would be appreciated, particularly in Poland and the Czech republic. History, cultural (pop and/or traditional), geographical preferred, and the more unique to the area the better. I have a general dislike of the overly touristy, and I've done enough concentration camps to not have to see Auschwitz.

Translate this

Artifice_Eternity — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:59:48 -0800

Question for people familiar with the Polish language and/or political scene: What are the "Patriotyczny Ruch Polski" newsletters I recently found in my heavily Polish neighborhood (Greenpoint, Brooklyn) all about? Here's a scan of a front page. I haven't been able to find out anything about this publication online. It seems to be mostly targeted at the Polish diaspora -- the masthead says "Nowy Jork, Chicago, Toronto, Berlin, Warszawa." The numbered list near the top (which I've outlined in red) represents the table of contents.

I get a nationalist, possibly right-wing vibe from these newsletters, but I can only make out a few words (even with the help of an online Polish/English translation program). But I find the issue linked above particularly weird, given its lead story clearly relating to Judaism (note the photo), and references to "Jewropie," "(homo)seksualna," and a reference to a site called Nacjonalista.pl.

I know there is a strong strain of rightist extremism in Poland, and I've previously seen hints of it here in Greenpoint (casual anti-Semitic remarks from Polish guys at bars, etc.). Do these newsletters represent this kind of thinking?

Interesting investment strategy?

mateuslee — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:22:17 -0800

How can I wisely invest US$15k? I have an unconventional idea, but could use your advise: buy land in new EU countries. Of course the obvious safe-bet for an investment portfolia is a mix of C.D.s and mutual funds, right? I guess the return on mutual funds should be around 9%, depending.

However, my idea was this: land. What if I were to buy land in those countries on the verge of accepting the Euro - namely Poland/Romania, for example. These countries (esp Poland) seem pretty stable and the transition to the Euro should be straight-forward and easy (esp given the recent elections in Poland: pro-EU).

Surely after the switch from the zloty, the prices will rise as they did in most other countries, and there will always be a need for land, right?

OK, 12K can't buy much - but a few acres near the sea or outside some medium-sized city might prove lucrative one day... no?

Not sure if this is wise... Any other ideas for creative/non-conventional uses for this money are appreciated, so long as they are lucrative, practical and don't contribute to the military/industrial complex (sorry for sounding like a hippy).

Thanks!

Polish Citizenship

bigspoon — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 01:53:03 -0800

Can I obtain Polish Citizenship? Today in one of my classes, my economy professor mentioned the fact that he had recently discovered that people whose great-grandparents/grandparents who emigrated from Poland can apply for Polish citizenship (according to the professor, many people have taken them up on this so they can hold jobs in other parts of the EU). He then said he looked further into it and discovered that it involved a period of residency, the length of which he didn't specify. My mom's side is entirely Polish, my great-grandmother and father came over some time before America joined the allies, I think sometime in the early 30's although it might have been a little later or earlier than that. I was wondering if my eco professor was right about this, if I would be eligible, and how long residency is.

Day Trips Across the Border from Berlin?

EnormousTalkingOnion — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:07:53 -0800

What cool places in Poland and the Czech Republic are feasible as day trips from Berlin? I'm in Berlin for another two weeks or so, and have ample time to take day trips, but, for various reasons, want to spend my nights in Berlin. I'd really like to get across the border(s) to Poland (never been) and the Czech Republic (only been to Prague, which was underwhelming), especially to smallish places. Are there any cool small towns, goofy locales, seats of natural beauty, etc. in the western part of either country that you'd recommend visiting for the day? I don't have a car, so I have to stick to trains, but I don't mind a long transit time - anything up to, say, four hours one way is OK. Thanks for your help!

Feasible Day Trip to Auschwitz

jontyjago — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:43:28 -0800

I have a free day in Krakow in a couple of weeks, and have to be at the airport at around 4pm. Do I have time to visit Auschwitz and still get my flight? I am spending a weekend with friends in Krakow in a couple of weeks. They are leaving after breakfast and I don't need to be at the airport until 4pm. I'm not planning on hiring a car, (although it's not out of the question) so is it feasible / advisable to visit Auschwitz, have a reasonable amount of time there (it's not something I feel I would want to rush) and make it back to the airport given that it's an hour and half from the town. This will be a Sunday should that make a difference.

Or should I just have a lie in and try to go back again when I have more time?

How do I find reputable web developers in Poland?

runkelfinker — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 11:43:12 -0800

How do I find reputable web developers in Poland? I'm looking to get some web development done in Poland, specifically Warsaw or Lodz. Besides using my personal contacts, and Meta Jobs, how should I go about finding high-quality web devs (individuals or companies) who might fit the bill?

Bespoke suits in Eastern Europe?

Marquis — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:58:09 -0800

Bespoke suits in Eastern Europe? I'm in Krakow, Poland for the next little while and am interested in buying a new, tailored suit at a good price. Whenever people talk about cheap bespoke stuff online, both Asia and "Eastern Europe" come up, but I can't actually find any recommendations for where in this part of the world to go. Are there any recommended Polish tailors (maybe who understand some English)? Or even outside Poland, so long as it's not too far? Google's not being any help at all.

Thanks so much!

Polish/Ukrainian Film Recommendations

rinkjustice — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 19:54:01 -0800

I'd like recommendations for Polish or Ukrainian historical documentaries or fact-based films. My family from my mother's side is Ukrainian and Polish, and I'd like to learn more about the turbulent social/political/economical past of these two countries - any time period. I'm doing the genealogy for these families and I'm hoping your recommended films give me a fuller understanding of the lives they lived.

Many thanks.

Where to travel from Stockholm for 2-3 days?

Frank Grimes — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:27:16 -0800

What are some good side trips from Stockholm? At the end of August I'll be travelling to Stockholm to visit my American friends who have just moved there. I would also like to travel somewhere nearby. I will probably do a two or three day excursion on my own and a weekend trip with my two friends/hosts.

Ryanair flies to Riga, Latvia, Kaunas, Lithuania and Gdansk, Poland. Ferries go from Stockholm to Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. How are Goteborg and Malmo?

Where are some entertaining places to go by myself and with my friends? I'll probably do tourist things by myself midweek and either outdoor activities or tourist things with my friends on the weekend.

Things people in 1854 Warsaw did for a living

Asparagirl — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 19:31:45 -0800

What does the Polish word "Haftarz" mean? I see it listed as the occupation of one of my ancestors in the 1854 Warsaw Police census, but I can't find a translation.

Travel tips for Kaliningrad?

huskerdont — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 07:34:13 -0800

TravelFilter: Tips/recommendations for Kaliningrad? A friend who is traveling to Poland on vacation has been considering the possibility of visiting Kaliningrad as well. It seems to be a Russian territory lodged between Poland and Lithuania, without any direct land connection to Russia. The history seems interesting enough but it sounds like it might be a bit... off the beaten track.

My friend was especially curious about two things. First, how easily a non-Russian speaker fluent in Polish, German and English could get by there. Second, whether it would be possible to travel from Kaliningrad City into some of the abandoned East Prussian towns in the countryside without renting a car.

Any intrepid European explorers have tips?