Five Weeks in Poland

On Language
Being primarily western European travelers, and having solid French, Italian and Portuguese, I was a little nervous venturing into the unknown land of Slavic languages. I made a daily effort for a few months to master the vocabulary and phrases in the book and added a few of my own, to wonderful effect. The simplest things used in appropriate situations earned an appreciative reply. Learning other phrases like “My grandfather came from Poland”; “You are very kind”; “I love Polish food” (true, I ate my weight in pierogis during our vacation); “Good/ok/fine”; “Your English is better than my Polish.”; and “The food was delicious.” really enhanced our visit. My pathetic attempts even elicited a smile from a very grumpy checkout lady at a milk bar. I also found that stringing simple phrases together also had a good effect (I’m sorry, I don’t understand. I don’t speak Polish. Do you speak English?) I think it’s very important to show respect when visiting other cultures. It was obvious that I was trying.

To the list in the book, I added times for dinner (6, 6:30, 7, 7:30) because if you call to make a reservation in Polish, they are going to answer you in Polish. Bad time to change to English. Days of the week and counting to ten also came in handy. I’ll never master more than marginal tourist Polish, but the time spent was well worth the effort.

On Money
Many people never use cash when traveling, but I’m old school and sometimes prefer it. My credit union sells hard currency at commercial rates with no commission or delivery fee, so I always take some and then use bank ATMs as necessary. In some countries, I use it for small purchases at mom & pop stores. In Poland, I used cash for tipping Walkative guides, paying for the photo tour in Krakow, buying my way out of the Malbork train dilemma, bathrooms, and a few restaurants and grocery stores. Charging one banana at the Zabka didn’t seem appropriate, although I don’t think the clerk would have minded.

On Transportation
We prefer not to use public transportation, as going up and down steps and little time for my husband to find a seat before the bus/tram starts moving again, is hard on him. We started out with Bolt, but after a few annoying glitches, I gave up and switched to Uber. Bolt would accept and confirm/pay my ride request but then fail to send the all-important code, leaving me and the drivers in a very awkward situation that neither of us could resolve. I ended up canceling the ride requests and, in one case just paying the driver off the books. So, the tech problem was costing me twice the price. Has anyone else had this problem? I had no problems at all with Uber.
We took trains to change cities in all but one case, Bydgoszcz to Torun, where we went with FlixBus, which was really inexpensive ($4 each) and easy. True to my language-insecure self, I took my typed-out little chart with routes, dates, times, seat preferences, senior discount (red in Polish, black in English) to the train station the day after we arrived. Having everything in writing made purchasing all the tickets quick and easy. My agent didn’t speak very much English, and I think we both were happy to have it all in writing.
There was one hard-learned lesson, though. Coming back from Malbork Castle, I bought our tickets for the next local train. (Not knowing how much time we would need there, I decided on two one-way tickets.) Both the agent and I thought that the 1527 was the local. We got on at 1527 as planned only to find that our tickets were not valid. I didn’t connect the dots quickly enough to realize we got on an ICC train and not a local train. The ticket taker was not sympathetic, so we ended up paying an additional 88 zloty for tickets for a 5 minute ride back to Gdansk, plus paying a few dollars for the original tickets. The money was negligible, my problem was that the agent and I both made a mistake and I didn’t catch it.

If you qualify, investigate the “seniors ride free” public transportation options. It can save you a good bit of money.

On Accommodations
We had Airbnb apartments in Krakow, Warsaw and Gdansk, our longer stays. For a longer stay, we enjoyed the spaciousness and appreciated communicative hosts in Krakow and Gdansk. Both were well-located, and the Gdansk apartment was a one-minute walk from the newly opened Montownia food hall. The Warsaw experience was less than hoped for. It had a stinky elevator (elevators are a requirement for us, but not the stinky part), but the description failed to mention that it was accessible only after walking up a flight of 16 poorly-lit stairs. The apartment was billed as “cozy”; I expected small and it was, but the shower was microscopic. I should have known better. There were no photos in the listing. You literally could not turn around in it and it was located about 4 inches from the washing machine, making the entry tricky and dangerous. On the up side, there was no risk of falling. You could barely turn around in it. Word to the wise!

Wroclaw - Korona Gold Hotel is a medium-sized, modern business-like hotel. I booked it on booking.com. It was a comfortable, spacious room with a walk-in shower centrally located on the pedestrian main drag. (Its location required about 1 ½ block walk in from the taxi drop off spot.) A tasty and varied buffet breakfast was included. The staff was helpful. I had trouble with the wifi for the first day, but IT was able to address the problem and fix it within a couple of hours. It is located about 1 km from the Wroclaw Glowny train station.

Bydgoszcz - Rezydencja Sowa. We loved this place. Big room with a queen bed (despite the “small double” price), fantastic shower, a generous breakfast buffet with lots of meats, cheese, and fruit, and/or cooked to order (you can have both if you want, and there’s prosecco and mimosas for no additional charge) breakfast for the buffet price of about $12. If you go, try the French toast with vanilla sauce, which is a crème anglaise. And, bonus, it has a sauna. Location was less than 2 minutes from the Rynek, and well located for other sites. We walked everywhere. We didn’t use it, but it has parking. It is about 1 km from the train station.

Torun – We chose the Solaris based on RS tour use and forum reviews and because it has an elevator. They were great in the reservations process. But on arrival, we found a tiny, shabby room. I left with a variety of bruises from bumping into the desk. We didn’t need it, but we tried out the AC; it worked great. The shower was very small compared to hotels in Wroclaw and Bydgoszcz, but average for a small European hotel. Breakfast was adequate, but not much more. The location was great (the prison is around the corner and less than a 5- minute walk to the Rynek; our Uber driver brought us right to the front door) and the staff was lovely. I had a great discussion with the night receptionist about what you can do with a college degree in international relations in Poland (not much apparently), learning English with non-native speakers and Polish, and American politics, but this hotel was not on the standard of those in Wroclaw and Bydgoszcz. The costs were comparable.

Krakow
Krakow, 10 nights, was the first stop on our holiday, and in several ways, I’d say it was probably the best. We started the visit with a photography tour with David McGirr, a Scot who has been living in Krakow for many years. He was flexible in scheduling (including breaking our tour into two separate days), and not only took us to great photography spots but also coached me on composition and lighting.

We spent two full days in Kazimierz, following the RS walking tour, and just exploring on our own. The photography tour also included a couple of stops that we had not covered. Sadly, we did not make it to the Old Cemetery or the Pharmacy Under the Eagle, but overall we were happy with our museum and synagogue visits.

I tried to get individual tickets for Schindler’s but waited too long (they were sold out at least six weeks before our proposed date), so I was forced to book a tour with Discover Cracow. The guide was sort of off-hand in his descriptions as he shuffled us along (it was clear that he was on the clock) and it was so crowded that even if we were without the tour group, I doubt we would have been much more successful to stop anywhere to read and/or contemplate exhibits. Had I been able, I would have returned to do a deeper dive, but reservation availability was limited and we didn’t want to wait in a long line in hopes of getting tickets late in the day.

Being of Polish ancestry, I was particularly interested in the Ethnographic Museum, and we were not disappointed. Covering two floors, it featured a reconstruction of a mountain home in the Tatras that matched up with a small model of the entire house in the hallway. There were also rooms illustrating a schoolhouse, and some trades. The people who worked there were very happy to share insights and answer our questions. The exhibits also included rooms on clothing, musical instruments, and farming and trapping/hunting. The museum wasn’t crowded at all and made for an enjoyable few hours.

We took the train to the Wieliczka salt mine for a few hours one day during the visit. It is a very short walk from the station to the mine entrance. I had pre-purchased “tourist route” tickets which was a good idea as the lines were long and group size was limited. Although the groups were fairly small (about 30 people), it was often hard to hear the guide when we weren’t right up front. She was very kind in offering my husband an elevator ride down the first 150 stairs or so (I didn’t even realize that it existed – it’s not the same one you use to ascend to the surface at the end of the tour), and kept him at the front of the pack so he could hear not get left behind by the rest of the group. I would have liked to have a few more minutes at St. Kinga’s Chapel, but it was not to be. If you have fluency in French, Spanish, German or Italian you might consider booking one of those tours, as the groups seemed a bit smaller. However, those tours are offered fewer times during the day/week.

We engaged the services of a Tours by Locals guide to spend the day with us in Nowa Huta. I was fascinated by the origins and story of Nowa Huta and its residents, and I wanted more than a 1-2 hour tour. Monica’s grandfather actually built part of the ‘village’ and she lives there now, so her insights were particularly interesting to us. We spent 7 hours in public and former state sights including a bomb shelter and command center that she had arranged for us to tour privately.

Krakow Continued
As far as castles go, Wawel Castle was one of the better ones we’ve seen throughout Europe. The church hosts the remains of St. Jadwiga, and like every other church in Poland, a Pope John Paul shrine, chapel and/or chapel. No photos were allowed, but have no idea why. Neither of us found the garden worthwhile. It required navigating a steep hill to find only some manicured bushes and a few flowers. It was so steep that I could not control husband’s wheelchair going downhill or push it back up, I have taken him down and up at Pont du Gard in France, of course I was a few years younger then. Luckily a few visiting Brits bailed me out.

I went to Auschwitz alone since we felt it would be too difficult for my husband to navigate at the speed required by a group tour. I went with Mr. Shuttle, as our photography tour guide recommended them and gave me a discount coupon, assuring me he didn’t get a cut although he did know someone there. It was an early (0630) pickup at our apartment. I decided to use a ‘tour’ because I didn’t want to hassle with public transportation and securing a ticket for myself. For the difference in the price, it was worth it to me not to have to deal with the details. The onsite guide provided expert descriptions and information, but the pace was quick and there were enough stairs to make it difficult for someone who is not too light on their feet.

We also employed a Tours by Locals guide for a very full day of the John Paul II sites. We went more than 2 hours over due to our lingering at the museum and stopping for my husband to participate in the rosary, but Alex didn’t bat an eyelash. He was gregarious, knowledgeable and interesting, and it was one of our best days of the trip. I thought the museum was very well done. I particularly enjoyed the photos and the rooms of the apartment where Karol and his father lived when he was young. Nothing is under or behind glass, so you get a real feel for ‘living’ there.
Generally, for the ‘big sites’ – large museums, salt mine, etc. I only schedule one event per day. But, there were a few days when we were able to combine visits, for example we covered the Rynek Underground Museum, Czartoryski, the Barbican, and Florian Gate in one day. We were disappointed with the Rynek Underground Museum. We gave it a good shot and spent about an hour waiting for it to impress, but it didn’t. Right before leaving, we passed a series of small exhibits about various craftsmen who worked in the cloth hall, and I thought that was more interesting than other parts of the museum. I found it dark and difficult to navigate, kind of disorganized, and pretty crowded. Despite all the hype, we didn’t spend too much time there.

Wroclaw
We took the train to Wroclaw, the only 2nd class ticket we had; I didn’t buy our tickets early enough. Previous trip reporters were right. Second class was hot, cramped, and overly full, with people standing in the aisles for the entire trip.

I really enjoyed the Raclawice Panorama. The story was so beautifully illustrated that, had we been able, we would have stayed longer to enjoy it in more detail. There was a bit of climbing over and around the large number of people making phone videos, nevertheless, we thought it well-organized. We weren’t in Wroclaw long enough to use the same ticket which gives you free entry to the National Museum, Ethnographic Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art. On the day we were there, there were long lines for tickets and our group of about 30 people was sold out. It might have had a bit to do with the rainy weather, but I’d still book ahead.

Wroclaw continued
We did our own walking tour and enjoyed the “Gnomes and Communism” Walkative tour as well. Our group was fairly small and despite the rain it was a lot of fun. We were only there for 2 ½ days and could have filled a couple more. I was disappointed that we didn’t see the evening lamp lighting or the neon alley. It was raining both evenings and I didn’t have the energy to get soaked and dried out again.

Warsaw
We spent five nights in Warsaw. While we covered most of what we wanted to see, the pace felt rushed. We saved some time by using Uber to go from place to place. Considering the inexpensive fares, it didn’t pay in terms of time or energy to use public transportation. Regrettably, the timing of our other activities didn’t allow us to see the free concert in Lazienski Park.

Unfortunately, the Neon Museum was in the process of moving locations and had not yet reopened when we were in Warsaw, but the Life Under Communism museum was a good, albeit completely different, alternative. It was amusing to see life in the “good old days”, although I’m sure it wasn’t amusing at the time. The displays of radios, TVs, a car, household appliances and clothing were interesting and the black and white film was also worthwhile. I enjoyed it as much as a similar museum in Berlin.

We spent a full day, open to close, at POLIN with a break for lunch. Of course it was interesting and well done, as we found nearly all Polish museums to be, but again, arriving at the opening probably wasn’t the best time choice.

I’d highly recommend the Cold War Museum. Be aware that it is a basement museum with lots of stairs and no elevator. The website gives a very good summary of the contents, so I won’t go into that here. It’s about a minute walk to the Museum of Warsaw, which made a convenient combination with a stop at the Rynek for coffee and dessert, aka the lunch of champions.
The Warsaw Uprising Museum was fantastic. I had done a lot of preliminary reading, so I had a good understanding of the story, but even with it, I got a lot out of the exhibits. The featured movie conveyed the destruction of the city in the most impactful way imaginable. Explanations were good, but if you want to absorb everything, plan to spend at least a few hours there. Like nearly every museum we visited, it was packed. Maybe it first thing in the morning was not the best choice. Perhaps later in the day would be better, although it was as crowded when we left around 1 as it was when we entered at OOB.
The monument to the uprising, located behind the Ministry of Justice I believe, is moving and especially nice at night as it is well lit. Cross the street and go into the little park to find a much smaller, 3 statue monument honoring the women of the uprising.

Bydgoszcz and Torun and some Gdansk

Bydgoszcz
We were looking for a ‘vacation from the vacation’ stop and Bydgoszcz fit the bill. We spent two days mostly just wandering around the city using information from the city’s excellent website, complete with history, maps and suggested walking tours. We could have used an extra day there, too, as we didn’t have time for the canal cruise which I think would have been fun. The museum highlight of Bydgoszcz for us was the Museum of Soap and the History of Dirt. It’s not big, but the tour was good, and they didn’t take themselves too seriously. It was a nice break from the often heavy content of other museums. And, you get to make a bar of soap to take home. Guided tours are required to visit. You can’t go in/through it alone. They told us there’s only one English tour a day, so book ahead.

Torun
We were looking forward to Torun, and it was pleasant enough, but I thought overrated. We spent a day and a half, and we more than covered everything – churches, museums, the Rynek and just wandering around. I very much liked the Museum of Torun Gingerbread, but we skipped the demonstration. Elementary school-aged kids filled the room that day, so good choice. The Museum of the History of Torun was well done and has a pretty good movie (ask them to play it if the door isn’t open). It was sparsely visited the day we were there. We got the feeling that the staff was happy for the company.

Gdansk
We spent 10 days in Gdansk and filled them all. We spent the first day and a half just doing the walking tour in two parts. Later in the week, we spent an entire day at the Solidarity museum, which turned out to be one of my favorites of the entire trip. There’s a lot to unpack there, and well worth the effort. I think RS hit the nail on the head for the WW2 museum. It should be called the Story of Poland in the Second World War. My husband was particularly unhappy with it as it pretty much ignores the value of the US and allies’ contributions to the victory which he so vividly remembers. This may not meet with much approval here, but I have to say that by the time we got here, I had really had my fill of holocaust-related and World War II museums, history, stories, and monuments. I understand that Poland’s history has been fraught, and that the nation was essentially born out of World War II only to be occupied again, but the war message and the story of the holocaust were covered repeatedly in so many of the museums we visited on our five week trip. I’m glad we went, but unlike other museums we visited, I wouldn’t go again.

On the flip side, the Museum of Emigration in Gydnia was great. I am biased since I could envision my grandfather’s voyage through the family story told in the exhibits. Seeing that, I now have a lot more respect for what he and his father endured to get to America. Being illiterate and extremely poor subsistence farmers, I came away with the feeling of how overwhelming it must have been for them and renewed appreciation of his journey. Even if you’re not got Polish ancestry, I think it’s definitely worth a visit. The emigration story of the Poles has been repeated worldwide, with variations of course. We spent about 4 hours there. It was easy to take the train and pick up an Uber at the station.

Gdansk Continued

Malbork Castle was fun and the audioguide was fascinating. It really gave a good idea of the history of the place. Many of the rooms had furniture, furnishings, and textiles, making it more interesting than your run-of-the-mill European castle. The entry was chaotic, and we didn’t have pre-reserved tickets, so it was challenging to get in in a reasonable amount of time. Tickets are timed-entry. If you come without, the app that allows you to buy tickets without waiting in line but it was not working the day we were there. Most people didn’t realize that you could also buy tickets from the machine in the ticketing area instead of waiting in line for an agent. Unfortunately, neither did I until I inched along enough to see that there was a machine. There are challenging bits of the tour including stairways without railings, uneven floors and thresh holds and crowd bottlenecks in the Castle and the amber museum. While we saw a couple of wheelchairs parked in the courtyard, I can’t imagine how their occupants survived the tour (the part that was accessible), cobblestone courtyard, and/or eating at the restaurant (It had very steep, narrow stairs, a turn and a couple more stairs.) without ending up with a scrambled brain. The menu of the café, up a much easier staircase didn’t look that appetizing. We passed on both.
St. Dominic’s fair opened the last weekend we were in Gdansk and I enjoyed walking around for a few hours. There are parades, music events and lots of food and crafts stalls. One food option really stood out – -real French bread and pastries. Delicious. The Fair goes daily from the end of July well into August, but start dates are flexible. They have a very good website where you can get details.
A chunk of our last touring day was spent with a Walkative guide learning about the battle of Westerplatte. Unfortunately, she told us that the tour is only offered once a summer. Too bad because the story remarkable week of resistance by a small group of soldiers at this military transport depot, despite dive bomber attacks and naval shelling deserves to be told. On September 1, 1939, the Germans assumed that the garrison at Westerplatte would be able to hold out for a few hours. Their story is revered as a symbol of resistance that resonates with Poles even today. Over the past few years, the government has done some restoration work, built an enormous monument, prepared grave markers and established a resting place for recovered remains. It has also shored up one or two up bombed buildings (some people go in, but it's not encouraged. The site has a bathroom and the day we visited, two small food trucks were operating. You can still get a lot out of a visit without a guide, as there are several information sources/signs/explanations throughout the site. Westerplatte can be reached by ferry or a “pirate ship” excursion, and there are rest rooms and a couple of food and souvenir options at the ferry terminus, but busses 600 and 606 run twice an hour from Gdansk Glowny; the trip takes about 20 minutes. The 106 and 138 also run, but the trip takes twice as long.

Wrapping up....

The cost of travel in Poland helped me plan a more extended trip than our usual 4 weeks. We found that across the board, accommodations, restaurants, admission prices, and transportation were all less than most, if not all, cities we have visited in the past. The only possible exception was grocery store prices. Puzzling since the cost of eating out was disproportionately less expensive.

To a large degree, we are city/museum travelers, rarely journeying to smaller cities. This time we tried to expand our horizons by visiting Wroclaw, Bydgoszcz and Torun. With the exception of Torun, I would have been happy to add a day or two to each, but probably not at the expense of the big three. There is just so much to see and do in each of them, I wasn't ready to leave when it was time. That said, 5 weeks is a long time to be away, at least for my husband. I could be happy never coming back to America, alas, that is not to be. I'm back and planning our fall 2025 and spring 2026 trips even as we speak.

What a great trip report, with wonderful details and valuable personal observations. I really enjoyed reading it!

What a trip! I greatly enjoyed reading about it all; thank you for sharing! I'm going to get to Poland eventually; I'm especially interested in Wroclaw, so really appreciated hearing about your time there (and that you could've used more!). What's next up on your travels?

Thank you so much for posting such an interesting and thorough trip report. We are heading to Poland soon and I appreciate all of your tips.

You mentioned long lines at opening time for POLIN in Warsaw? Any suggestions for a better time choice?

Thanks for this great trip report, Wanderlust58. Bookmarked.

Up next (October) is 3 weeks in Rome, 5 days in Lucca, then a transatlantic cruise home. In April, we’re back at sea with an eastbound transatlantic then some time, yet to be determined, in Sardinia. I’m campaigning for a fall trip to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, but no decision so far.

As for POLIN, I wish I could be helpful, but what time to arrive is a hard call. OOB wasn’t great, and the crowds were consistent no matter where in the building we were during the day. I think I’d recommend figuring out how long you’d like to stay in the museum, what else you’re planning for the day, which is a higher priority, and go from there. For these blockbuster museums, there might not be a “best time”. They were always crowded.

I’m campaigning for a fall trip to Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian, but no decision so far.

Oh, I hope this happens and that you write a trip report!

Thank you, Wanderlust58, for the heads up on the POLIN museum and others in Poland. I'll be sure to book advance tickets.

I really enjoyed this TR. Getting flattened by successive armies marching through and annihilating the population has always depressed me. But you've helped move it up on the list, especially Gdansk. I SO remember the Gdansk shipyard strikes and the rise of Solidarity.

3 weeks in Rome that's fantastic!! So much to see in and around Rome....

Really appreciate your very thorough TR! We hope to get to Poland in 2027. Bookmarking!

I enjoyed your trip report! I must say I don’t think I could have lasted as long as you did with such somber subjects. I have been to Dachau twice and I don’t think I can do any more.