Just saw a segment on a travel show here in Aus about Warsaw. Looks like an awesome place to visit. Has anyone been and care to share experiences, good or bad about what looks like a great city. I think it will definitely be on my list of places to visit.

Hi Cliffo ! Welcome in here !

I have spent a few days in Warshaw and I'm quite pleased to hear finally someone (or some documentary) say something nice about this city. I would be curious to see the show you're talking about. Warshaw was unfortunately destroyed during the second world war, and rebuilt afterwards, during the 50's and 60's... what makes it an unattractiv city of concrete ! But this uglyness is what makes it in some aspects interesting ! So if you're not only looking for "beauty", you could enjoy it. Warshaw is propably the city where one can feel the most the aching of Poland's people. The older generation is serious and distant, the younger one open and dynamic, already very materialistic (is that a good thing ?!). You see poverty and wealth side to side ; longing for the old communist dream and hunger for capitalism...

The old city was rebuilt exactly after what it used to be, so yes, that part is beautiful.

Beside its aesthetic, Warshaw is a city full of life. You can feel its revival. And there are plenty of nice restaurants and cafés.

Another great city to visit in Poland would be Cracovia. Its untouched beauty and its young college population makes it probably the most pleasant city of the country. And Auschwitz is just a few kilometers away. Don't miss it !

Thanks for the info...you didn't write the story for the TV show i saw did you?? What you said was almost exactly what the presenter said..hehe

The story highlighted the materialism of the younger people and the pain felt by the older generation.

Of course the story wasn't about backpacking - the guy stayed in a AUS$230/night 5 star hotel but I was very fasinated by the place. Auschwitz is on the list when i get to Poland. Here's a link to the website article to the story if anyone is interested

http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/getaway/facts.../factsheet5.asp

So many places to see - thankfully i can take as long as i need to see as much as i can.

Thanks! Great job on the details, Atchoum.

When I think of Warsaw, that exactly what I envisioned, a bunch of concrete debris. Even though it's been rebuilt, it's just hard to imagine a bladed of grass there. Although it's not this way, but I picture black, some whites, and mostly grays, if I had to paint a picture of Warsaw right now. Those are the only colors that pop into my head. I'd love to visit it too, someday. I'm sure that I would be completely fascinated Poland and all of it's history.

Thanks for the link, cliffo. I'll check it out in the morning B)

Hi,

I spent a couple days in Warsaw and it wasn't bad. Krakow is the city with more to see, though, and naturally more "touristy." Both cities have Old Towns with traditional buildings and such, but Warsaw's is fake. As other posters alluded to, it was all rebuilt, whereas much of Krakow is authentic.
The military museum there was kind of cool, with all kinds of neat stuff like the armor from Polish "Winged Hussars." These were renaissance era cavalrymen who literally had wings affixed to the back of their armor. Don't see that in the Hollywood movies that often, do you?

I did take a day trip out of Warsaw on the train to Malbork. If you like castles, this one's a beaut! It was built by the Teutonic Knights (a German order of crusading knights in the Middle Ages) and called Marienburg, at that time. It is a sprawling, red brick gem on the banks of a mossy, green river.

One tangible piece of advice I can give you if you don't speak Polish: At the train stations, write everything down you want to do -- what date and time train, destination, what time return train or one way and which class service (1st was only pennies more, it seemed). Hand it to the ticket seller with your credit card or cash, and they hand you your ticket back -- no Polish necessary! Worked great for me...Lonely Planet Polish was all I spoke!

Hmm...as you can tell, I'm a bit of a history buff, so all my recommendations lean that direction. Check out my Poland travelogue on my web site at: http://home.earthlink.net/~mikedemana/

Good luck, and have fun!
-- Mike Demana

WWM - thanks for the in depth info. great tip for catching the trains, Polish is like a foreign language to me....oh hang on, it is a foreign language to me :)

Just checking out your web site...looks like you've got a hell of a lot of info there that will come in handy...cheers