poland! where? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

polarbear · 10-13-2007, 08:50 PM

i was browsing again for my far off trip, and saw that i didnt even recognize Poland as a stop! I myself am kind of a world war 2 enthusiast, and was wondering about places to go in poland that would be recommended? i got the normals of Krakow, Warsaw, and i would really like to see Auschwitz. but any other ideas?
thanks!

**freakypete** · 10-14-2007, 04:28 AM

Ive been to POland a couple of times and really love it. Not really sure about locations for WW2 entusiasts though

Warsaw is probably one of my favourite cities, really friendly and lots to do there. we stayed in this great hostel but I cant remember the name...will have a think then let you know.

There is a really interesting museum in warsaw about the Warsaw uprising against the nazis. its one of the most interesting museums ive been to, partly because i knew nothing about the uprising before i went. plus everything is in english as well as polish. definitely recommend you see that. plus theres some remains of the Ghetto which was interesting, although it was all being held up by scaffolding, not sure how much longer it will still be standing.

Krakow is a really nice city too, and lots of history there. and you can do a day trip to Auschwitz from there.

Apart from that, Poznan is a really cool city. There isnt that much to do there though, so maybe dont really need to spend more than 2 days there. The Baltic coast is really nice in the summer, theres some really nice beaches and the weather can get pretty warm. And youve got Gdansk which is apparently very nice (not been there yet).

All these cities have really useful guides by "in your pocket" http://www.inyourpocket.com which have information about accomodation, sightseeing, events, restaurants, etc. you'll probably find them in your hostel when you go.

polarbear · 10-14-2007, 05:47 PM

wow thanks alot pete, im not planning on spending but 2 or 3 ish days total. i think ill just head to krakow then do a day to Auschwitz, then off to belgium.

Magnifico · 10-15-2007, 07:39 AM

I've never been to Poland (except for an unintentional foray into Szczecin {itself a pretty sweet-looking city} when I stopped paying attention riding a train), but I've heard that Gdansk is pretty sweet, especially for its more recent history. Lodz, in addition to being an important historical focal point of the Holocaust, has one of the longest commercial/market-like/pedestrianised streets (Pietrkowska) in the world. Lublin has a very beautiful castle, and a stunning cathedral that would both be worthwhile if you're into architecture. Good luck and lots of fun, it's supposed to be a pretty awesome country.

**worldwidemike** · 10-17-2007, 05:58 PM

Warsaw has an interesting military history museum with some WW II stuff. I was more interested in the late medieval stuff, so don't remember too much about it. My favorite city in Poland is Malbork, home of an awesome brick castle built by the Teutonic Knights...

worldwidemike

**d_fresh** · 10-19-2007, 05:13 AM

see krakow. I really fell in love with that city.

**expatben** · 10-19-2007, 06:01 AM

I spent a couple of weeks in Wroclaw and it was pretty nice, the Rynek (market square) is worth seeing.
I have never been to Krakow so I won't comment except to say that everyone I know who has been there said its wonderful. I wanted to go but never found the time.

**tumblezweedz** · 10-31-2007, 11:03 AM

Gdansk is magnificent, both for older and more recent history. One of the original Hanseatic League cities, it may remind you of Amsterdam or Stockholm, but there is an excellent museum depicting the destruction of the city during WWII that is pretty sobering.

Szczecin is a great little city, very laid back, friendly, youthful and tourist friendly - though they escape the tourist hordes, by and large. The most interesting WWII related thing we came across was a chapel in S. Jakobu (St. James) cathedral in which were displayed St. Maximillian Kolbe's concentration camp uniform and some other effects. If you're unfamiliar with the story, he was a priest imprisoned at Auschwitz who volunteered to take the place of a Jewish father who had been selected for a starvation punishment as an example to others to quash protest. Fr. Kolbe was starved and otherwise abused for two weeks, but his perserverance and continued survival began to be an encouragement to the other prisoners, so he was shot in the head. The man whose place he had taken survived, and was a guest of honour at the ceremony naming Fr. Kolbe a saint. The little chapel differs from those surrounding it in one subtle but very moving way.