I'm trying to decide how to attack this. We will be in Krakow and will want to go to Auschwitz (Oswiecim). We can, of course, do it as a day trip from Krakow, but Oswiecim is is on the train line to Vienna, our next stop. Logically we should see the concentration camp and then move on from there. However, the best train to do that (with no changes) is the night train that stops in Oswiecim at 11:35pm. That means we would have to kill time from the camp closing until quite late--and from the pictures, the train station doesn't look like a great place to linger. Has anyone been in that station? Do we even want to tackle a night train in Poland? Rick says they will be noisier and rougher than in western Europe. How bad are they really? We will be on a 90-day Eurailpass. (We're covering a lot of ground.)
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
Progress is unstoppable. There is so called corridor from Bohumin (the first stop in Czech Republic) to Vienna. The trains go up to 160 km/h and are quieter. So it won't be noisier and rougher than in western Europe. It will be comparable. I don't know about tracks from Oswiecim to the border but anyway it won't take that long to get to Bohumin.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Are you sure there is luggage storage at Oswiecim?
It's very inexpensive to take the bus form Kraków for a half-day or full-day trip. Bus station is right behind the train station.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8498 posts
I would bite the bullet and go back to Krakow, or forward to the next bigger station in the direction of Vienna, and connect there. Too much time to waste.
Posted by
Chicago
507 posts
If you decide to stay one more night in Poland but don't want to go all the back to Krakow, I recommend Katowice. It's 22 miles north of Auschwitz. Last summer, I spent four days in Krakow, including a day trip to the Auschwitz memorial. I missed my connection in Katowice on my way to Budapest. Thus, I spent a night in Katowice. It's an evocative old industrial town that I enjoyed having a layover in. Of course, you could spend the night in Oswiecim. Tripadvisor lists a couple places. Cheers.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Yes, Zoe, there are lockers at the station according to the website. The station is a poster child for the communist era--sterile, drab, and grey--but that's a non-issue. I just wonder about security at night. Thanks to all who wrote. I'll look into Katowice, too.
Posted by
Paris
9667 posts
Just do it as a day trip from Krakow. It's a harrowing day anyway, you don't want to be out there waiting on the train at 11:30 at night.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
OK. Thanks.
Posted by
San Francisco
14570 posts
Hi,
In 2001 my day train stopped at Katowice on the way to Berlin. It was the first stop from Krakow. I assume the station is now modernized than what it was 15 years ago. You'll most likely see box cars of coal (which that area of Upper Silesia is especially noted for) sitting on train tracks at the Katowice station. That was what I saw. There is a night train going Vienna to Gdansk and vice versa and Budapest to Krakow.
Posted by
Chicago
507 posts
Fred, I was in Katowice last year, and you're right: The train station is modernized. I wish I had seen boxcars of coal instead!
Posted by
San Francisco
14570 posts
Thanks ...good to know. I'd be glad to get back there..Katowice and Krakow..