Itinerary advice - Poland/Baltics

I haven't done a lot of your itinerary so can't offer much advice. I would suggest you visit Malbork Castle between Gdansk and Warsaw. It's right on your way, walking distance from the train stop in Malbork. It's about 45 minutes by train from Gdansk. Arrive early, spend half a day, eat lunch, then board the train for the rest of the ride to Warsaw. They have Ipod's with self-guided tours in multiple languages (included with your admission). Tallinn has a few things to do. Walk the old center, visit the big park, go west to the beach areas and/or visit the open air museum/village. I would definitely see the old center and decide if the others are high on your list.

Hi Chad, I've been to all of your Polish sites:) but none of the others unfortunately:( Considering your time frame, it seems a bit heavy on Zakopane. It's a cute little town and a beautiful area of Poland, but unless you are planning on doing a fair amount of hiking in the mountains (or skiing depending on when you go), OR if you have a rental car to drive around and see the traditional architecture of the region, it seems a little long relative to your other destinations. I would also allow a little flexibility with Warsaw: some people hate it, others really like it. I was pleasantly surprised by it; its old town and Royal Way are quite pretty, and its recent history is interesting and inspiring. Whatever particulars you decide on, it sounds great! Have fun!

I would consider reducing a day from Tallinn and adding it to Warsaw. I found both Riga and Vilnius worthwhile - given the distance and location, I would stick with Riga. Riga also has more of the Russian influence (IMO) esp outside the downtown core which may be of interest.

You're definitely shortchanging Warsaw. According to your itinerary you're going to arrive there midday Saturday and leave Sunday morning. Warsaw to Zakopane is going to involve an absolute minimum of 6 hours of travel time, depending on your connection time in Krakow. Be aware that the fastest way from Krakow to Zakopane is by bus, not train - which is somewhat counterintuitive. Warsaw is IMO one of the great undiscovered destinations in Europe. I agree totally with Penny's comments about it. I would definitely subtract a day from Zakopane in favor of more time in Warsaw. If you would like a really fun tour of Warsaw, take the Adventure Tour. It is a totally non-typical tour run by some entrepeneurial young Polish people whom you will really like. www.adventurewarsaw.pl

I agree with previous posters that you probably need less time in Zakopane and more time in Warsaw. My own preference would be to skip Zakopane in favor of Wroclaw. The suggestion that you stop in Malbork on your way to Warsaw is also a good idea. When I was in Poland in September 2010, there was a lot of work being done on the rail lines and train stations. Travel between Gdansk and Warsaw was very slow. Malbork station was closed for renovation so we left our luggage in a nearby hotel while we toured Malbork Castle. Usually we rely on the German Rail (DB) website for accurate train schedules in Europe but on that particular trip, DB was very inaccurate. The Polish rail website was a better source of up-to-date information.

Tom (Hessen)...I know what you mean as to the rebuilding styles. I call that the early 1960s look. Pretty obvious. Go to these cities, where I have seen this "ugly" style...Kiel, Duisburg, Essen, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hannover...haven't visited Mannheim yet.

I really like Vilnius, but for your trip, Riga probably makes more sense (haven't been to Riga, though). My most lasting impression of Warsaw is that I didn't spend enough time there. I used it as a stopover between Vilnius and Krakow. I was expecting a dirty collection of communist block architecture, but I was REALLY surprised how clean and pretty the city is. The Old Town may be completely rebuilt and as authentic as the Magic Kingdom... but who cares?

The Polish people didn't have much choice about rebuilding Warsaw's Old Town, considering the original was bombed flat in WWII. They tried to make the rebuilt area look as much like the original as possible, and they did a terrific job. Doesn't seem fair to compare it to a theme park.

Thank you for all the feedback. Seems like we could probably shift a day from Tallinn, unless there is a worthy day trip from there. I am a little surprised at the Warsaw recommendations. I have only read Rick's book thus far, but we were actually planning on skipping it totally. We added a night as a way to break up the ride from Gdansk to Krakow. If I was going to add a day somewhere I was thinking Krakow as it seems to warrant a longer stay, especially with day trips. We were thinking two full days in Zakopane as we do want to hike. What we may do is plan to go to Krakow the night of the second day. That way if we are bored or the weather is bad we have the flexibility to spend that day either in Zakopane or Krakow. Thanks again.

Hey, I'm not complaining about the result of the rebuilding at all. It looks much better than a lot of rebuilt German, French and Belgian cities- I live close to Mannheim, which was mostly rebuilt in the ugliest style possible. I just know that some people on this website have a bug up their @$$ about "authentic" vs "inauthentic" ("Neuschwanstein isn't even an authentic medieval castle!" How often have I seen that complaint on this website?). That was one of the big surprises about Warsaw for me. I knew that the city was completely leveled. Yet here I was walking through this beautiful Old Town. It was only later that I learned that it was a complete reconstruction, complete with faux aging. Bravo, Poland, good job.

Yes, I've seen it in Hannover. In my opinion, Frankfurt did a better job, proving that "modern" and "ugly" don't always have to go together. And how did Hamburg manage to rebuild in a fairly elegant style?

Let's just all agree that all cities are equally beautiful, but some are more equal than others. I am trying to get actual feedback here!

If I were to skip a place on your proposed itinerary, I would suggest between Riga and Talinn so that more time can be added to the Polish places. I would propose seeing Warsaw, which was the most systematically destroyed city in East-Central Europe. I've been to the city once and it warrants another trip. The large military history museum is there, which I missed. En route from Gdansk (Danzig) to Warsaw, your train stops at Tczew (Dirschau) before going to Malbork (Marienburg). As suggested above, seeing the historical castle is well worth it. It can be done in few hours and you can still get into Warsaw by 20:00. Going from Gdansk to Ilawa (Deutsch Eylau), you'll see the former West Prussian countryside...very interesting.

Here's a dining recommendation for Warsaw- I forget the name of the restaurant, but it sits on the large traffic circle down the street from the main train station... the one with a fake metal palm tree in the middle. The place specializes in pierogies, and dear God, are they amazing! Artery-clogging calory bombs, probably, but you only live once.