Poland

I'll try to answer some of your questions. Traveling by rail within Poland is just as easy as western Europe, although the system is not as extensive. Bus service fills in the gaps, however. Poland does not use the euro, they use the Zloty (don't ask me to pronounce it!). Poland is now a full member of the Schengen Agreement, so if you arrive from Germany, you don't even have to show a passport. The quality of Polish rail varies considerably. In the western part of the country, the trains are just as clean and almost as fast as in Western Europe. However, I have also ridden on some rather slow and quite dirty trains. Worse, some of them do not have any food service, so if you're on a particularly long haul, make sure you bring some snacks. As far as language, in the major cities, there isn't too much of a barrier, but in the smaller cities and towns, you may have trouble finding English services.

I was in Poland a few years ago and used trains to get from Prague to Krakow and then Krakow to Dresden. It was very easy, although we experienced a wide mix of trains. Like Tom said, some were very nice, some were filthy (especially the 'milk run' train from the German border to Wroclaw, where we transferred trains coming from Krakow). However, it wasn't a prohibitive factor to deter me from doing it again if I have the chance.

We did find language to be a bit difficult in smaller towns, but nothing that wild hand gestures can't overcome.

I would definitely recommend getting to Poland if you can. I've read great things about the Old Town in Poznan (but haven't been yet) on the TripAdvisor.com forum, and one thing I regret is not being able to spend more time in Wroclaw (which is relatively close to Dresden and easy to get to). And, of course, Krakow is a beautiful city to visit but would involve about a 9 hour trip to get there, time which you may not have this time out.

Lastly, as RS pointed out in his guidebook that we had, Poland has its share of corrupt policemen. If you are stopped by a police officer who wants fo "fine" you for something, tell him/her up front that you want a receipt. The honest ones will oblige, the corrupt ones will walk away, and this was a handy tidbit of info that I actually had to use. But that is a story for another day...

Have fun!

You can enter Poland without border control from Germany as they're in the Schengen Zone. Their currency is the Zloty and you can get an exchange rate at xe.com. The rate is fixed to the €uro and is round about 4.25 Zloties in a €uro. Do drive 40 km/h inside of cities and towns as it's stricly reinforced. Driving in Poland isn't very different from driving in Western countries. Everything is well signposted. I crossed the border at Zittau and went into the first Tesco on the Polish side, which is an English grocery store. Nobody there was able to speak any English let alone German - not even younger people. The only city that's really worthwhile on the Polish side not too far from the border is Breslau/Wroclaw, about a 2 hours drive from Zittau or Görlitz. We haven't been to Posen/Poznan but if that's where you've got links to I'd definitely check it out. Also do fill up your car in Poland as gas is cheaper there. Gas in Poland is charged in Zloty per cubic decimeter instead of €uro per Liter as it is in Germany. But one cubic decimeter equals one liter, so don't be worried ;-). Make sure you know the German prices before checking the Polish ones. Usually the further away from the border you go the cheaper gas gets. If you pay in Euro in Poland, which in many places is accepted, be prepared to getting your change in Zloties. But credit careds and maestro cards are widely accepted.

Both Poznan and Wroclaw are well within striking distance of Dresden. Both feature charming old sections, though Wroclaw's is larger. Since you have an emotional connection to Poznan, I would definitely give it a try. The old town area is dominated by the Old City Hall and several beautiful historic churches. Good cafe culture, too. A fun excursion is to take the daily steamtrain to Wolsztyn. This is not a tourist train--as far as I know, it's the last ordinary commuter steam train in Europe. Or you can go part way to Wolsztyn on the train and get off at Steszew for the Wielkopolska National Park and take a lesisurely hike or ramble instead. Poznan has several small museums, including one with a fair collection of Egyptian artefacts.

If you are traveling by train, Poznan has excellent connections to Germany--it's a main crossreads between Berlin and points further east.

I'm going back to Poland this July and will spend time again in both Poznan and Wroclaw, so if you are going in the meanwhile, I'd love to get an update from you on what you did and what was worth seeing.