Any suggestions for a city to stop at for two nights in Poland during my journey from Prague to Berlin? Would be nice to see somewhere that is a 'contrast' to those two cities, and get a good feel for the culture and/or history of Poland.
(Or perhaps a stop at a city on the German/Poland border.)
Thanks,
Bobby
If you're going from Prague to Berlin by train, you're going through Dresden, Germany, not Poland.
Dresden was possibly the most beautiful and classiest city in Europe until the end of WWII when allied bombers leveled much of the city. And the mountains to the East and Southeast are incredibly beautiful. It is well worth a stop of two days.
I suggest you sign into Wikipedia and put in Dresden as a subject. It has some great reading.
My relatives were very wealthy people from Dresden. They left for Hamburg 11/1939 and had tickets on the last American ship to leave Germany before the borders were closed to American shipping. Ellis Island was quite a sight to them on Thanksgiving Day, 1939--and a new life was waiting for them.
I have never been to Dresden, but have been to Germany on several leisure and business trips, including Berlin. I have also been to Prague and have looked at the connections in that region. I agree that Dresden makes of lot of sense as a stop between Prague and Berlin. I have also wanted to go to Goerlitz, a smaller town on the Germany-Poland border for quite some time. It used to be included in Rick's Germany book but in recent years I think it's been excluded.
Dresden makes sense. It's on the way from Prague to Berlin (approximately in the middle of the way). It was completely reconstructed after being pulverized in WWII. It was probably the most beautiful city in Germany. It is a big city. Every express from P. to B. stops there.
Thanks for the recommendations. I wasn't taking into account train connections, and it does make sense to stop in Dresden for several reasons. But since Prague and Berlin are large cities, I thought having a smaller German (or Polish) town in the mix would be nice. Any thoughts on Leipzig (or anywhere else), or does Dresden still outweigh the nearby smaller towns?
Thanks!
Leipzig is a big city, too. If you want a small town I would suggest Bad Schandau or some other town in that area called Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland. Martin from this Forum is the expert on this area.
Nice small towns between Prague and Berlin are Görlitz, Bautzen, Freiberg, Meissen and Pirna. IMHO Görlitz is the best one, with 4.000 listed buildings maybe the best preserved German town. But it's a bit difficult to get there. I think you have to take the bus to Liberec, and from there the train via Zittau to Görlitz. Zittau is nice if you want to see some cute and unique villages btw.. Bautzen is a Baroque town surrounded by medieval fortifications and the centre of the Sorbs, a Slavic minority. But like Görlitz it's a bit difficult to get there. Freiberg and Meissen are a short train ride away from Dresden. Meissen is more picturesque, Freiberg bigger. Here is a gallery of the two towns. Pirna is the smallest and least interesting town, but the train from Prague to Berlin stops there, and Pirna is a good base to explore Saxon Switzerland.
There are no comparable towns on the Polish side, only Wroclaw, but this is a big city and quite a detour. Görlitz however is on the German-Polish border, so you can at least set your foot on Polish soil. But it's not much to see there apart from a reconstructed square and the Upper Lusatian hall of fame, which looks like Berlins Reichstag in small. Historically the Polish town was a suburb of Görlitz until the border was redrawn.
If you like nature consider Saxon Switzerland, which are one of Europes most picturesque mountains, or the Spreewald, where the river Spree meanders in hundreds of small waterways through meadows and forests. You can do guided tours on punted barges, rent a canoe or hike/bike.
Hi,
As accurately pointed out above, the only Polish city relatively close by is Wroclaw, which is interesting but doesn't fit your description. How far are you willing to deviate? If you don't mind doing extra driving or extra time on the train staying two nights en route, then I would heartily suggest a small town towards Katowice, ie, south of it...Pszczyna, used to be called Pless in Upper Silesia. It escaped war damage.
Hello!
You can also take into consideration a tour through Wrocław, Poznań and Szczecin. Between Wrocław and Poznań and also Poznań and Szczecin you can travel by Polish trains. Train timetable is on the website
http://rozklad-pkp.pl/
and between Szczecin and Berlin by German train
http://www.bahn.de/p/view/index.shtml
Greetings,
Michal
