Partly a work trip: Budapest/Krakow/Warsaw

I felt that the RS guide really oversold the Szechenyi Baths. Entry is now around $30. They no longer rent towels, which may make sense because of covid, but you now go through a little shop before you enter, where I spent something like $25 on a cheap, very non-colorfast towel, only to then go through the entrance turnstile and downstairs, and find that they're selling plain towels for much less down there (which they conspicuously did not inform me upstairs). I was traveling light and had to buy flipflops as well. When I got into the baths area, I found the view of the pool surrounded by the classic yellow buildings attractive, but as a bath, it's pretty lackluster. More like a community pool with a few different temperature options than the kind of baths I've visited in Turkey or Germany. I stayed less than 90 minutes and it cost me about $65 total.

I'm afraid that this part of my report comes off like a lot of complaining but I enjoyed walking around and the ambiance--it wasn't oppressively crowded anywhere--and the conference organized some cool stuff for us that I'm not covering since it's not generally available.

POLAND
I decided to add Krakow to my trip before realizing that the flight that formerly existed between Budapest and Krakow no longer does. So I had to do two legs via Warsaw which seemed wasteful, but it turned out to be worthwhile because I usually love medium-size university/cathedral cities and this was no exception.

I stayed at the Hotel Wawel and thought it was great. Very helpful staff and a nice breakfast. Good location, and it's easy to orient yourself to central Krakow in a day. My room was over the restaurant courtyard which worried me noise-wise since I was there Friday-Sunday, but it was not a problem.

I had a great dinner at Restauracja pod Aniolami, which is right near Hotel Wawel. Everyone there seemed to be a tourist but the food and service were both good. Among the restaurants on the square, a friend had recommended Chopin on the north side, where I had a good pierogi lunch.

Be aware that the Czartoryski Museum (Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich) is open again and it's spectacular! Maybe the highlight of my whole trip. I guess I'd describe it as a combination of my favorite things about the Morgan and the Frick in NYC. They've put a glass ceiling over the courtyard with a beautiful entrance and cafe and all the exhibits seem completely renovated with good English labels and everything beautifully arranged. Even the hardwood cabinets used for many of the displays seem like themselves works of art. The collection includes: paintings, clothing and other textiles, armor and weapons, china and decorative arts, books, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Some of it is heavy on the "Unknown Dutch Artist" but these collectors had a good eye. Da Vinci's beautiful "Lady with an Ermine" is in its own room, where I lingered with a total of five other people--which would be a shock to anyone who's been to the Louvre lately! Just try to resist buying one of the adorable stuffed ermines they're selling in the shop.

I also especially enjoyed the Rynek Underground Museum, which reminded me a little of Jorvik in York. I did buy that ticket several days in advance. I took a nice run around the Planty one morning. St. Mary's Church was well worth it for the altarpiece but it took several tries to go in since the hours were erratic. The old (farmer's-type) market north of the Barbican was surprisingly fun to see. The views from the Wawel castle grounds were good but as the guide suggested, I only went in the Cathedral up there.

Some Auschwitz practicalities. I arranged for Czeslaw (Marta Chmielowska's husband, both recommended in the guide) to drive me for the day, but it was Marta herself who showed up. The current price was 550zl which I thought was fine given the amount of time the trip took. I booked a ticket for one of the 3.5 hour tours well in advance. This was one place I visited that was crowded and as a result, my group did not do everything described in the RS guide, but it was overwhelming so I didn't notice until later. The second part of the tour, in Auschwitz-Birkenau, has very little shade and the day I visited was extremely hot and sunny. Marta had handed me a black umbrella when I set out, which helped, but be aware of this--and bring water, which seems to be okay (food is not). You may also want to bring a snack to eat in parking lot area, where eating is allowed--there are a few vending machines but there was a long line for them.

I'm sure everyone's response to Auschwitz will be unique but I appreciated how they balanced the history and memorial aspects. They send an email a few days after your visit to follow up which I found very thoughtful.

WARSAW
The train ride between Krakow and Warsaw was 2.5 hours, about $41, and had beautiful scenery and a cafe car with a lot of choices (sandwiches, hot meals, coffees, etc.) Great little break in the trip.

I was only in Warsaw for a little over a day. I stayed 2 nights at Hotel Indigo which had a good location but was one of those places where design took precedence over convenience. I got a room rate that included breakfast but it was not a buffet. It was okay but I would try a different place next time.

I had one dinner at Bibenda, which was stylish, fun, and inexpensive. Also largely vegetarian, which was welcome by that part of the trip. There was a long wait for outdoor seating for groups but none for 1-2 people at the bar.

I used my few hours on Monday to see the Warsaw Uprising Museum. It was quite crowded and while all the signage is translated into English, it doesn't have the kind of overview you might need to get oriented as a foreign visitor. Read up beforehand! Also, I think the advice in the RS guide to do the museum in the order of first floor, third floor, second floor is incorrect. I suspect that what's going is that there are two stairwells and you see part of the middle floor going up and part going down--but don't take my word for it, try following the posted arrows carefully. I learned a lot and it made me want to read more about it. At the end there is a 10-minute 3D film that's a digitally created flyover of 1945 Warsaw. It was okay but seemed more meaningful to visitors who know Warsaw geography intimately. If there's a line, I wouldn't bother waiting to see it.

One highlight for me, also recommended by a friend, was the Warsaw University Library garden. This a roof garden so big you can get lost in it and the whole design has a kind of mad genius air. The upper part on the actual roof (which makes it work the trip) is apparently only open April-October but it's free and open long hours so a nice thing to do early or late when other sights are closed. Pictures don't do it justice.

The Warsaw City Museum is no longer free on Tuesday but was worth seeing. The 23 rooms are organized by type of artifact and your level of interest may vary from room to room. The photo gallery and film about the wartime experience described in the RS guide were not in evidence but there is a currently a worthwhile special exhibit (costs extra, but worth it) about the post-war efforts to remove rubble and rebuild the city.

The Chopin Museum made a good last stop since it's near Hotel Indigo. The whole business with the electronic card mentioned in the guide is no longer there, but it's still heavy on touchscreens and I'd say I only moderately enjoyed it as a classical music nut, so the guide is correct that you shouldn't bother if you're not.

OVERALL
Frankly, this is the second time I've been to Budapest and thought "Eh, it's all right." But I loved Poland and would love to see more of it at a less breakneck pace. Also, I had a free plane ticket because of the work event, but I prefer to visit Europe in April or September/October rather than summer and some aspects of this trip (the mess at Frankfurt, the sunburn I gradually developed despite religiously wearing sunscreen), made me want to go back to that habit.

Thanks for the detailed and insightful report! Love the format. Super helpful for when I am next in Warsaw and Krakow :)

Frankly, this is the second time I've been to Budapest and thought "Eh, it's all right." But I loved Poland and would love to see more of it at a less breakneck pace.

I totally understand the feeling, there are some major "must visit" cities in Europe that feel the same to me, like Prague or Paris for instance.

Good thing Poland has a lot more to explore beyond Krakow and Warsaw, from the mighty and wild Tatra Mountains, to the quaint red-bricked medieval town of Torun, to the historic waterways of the Masurian Lakes District, and architectural eye candy of Wroclaw (my favorite Polish city)... all relatively undiscovered by mass tourism.

Da Vinci's beautiful "Lady with an Ermine" is in its own room, where I lingered with a total of five other people--which would be a shock to anyone who's been to the Louvre lately!

That was exactly my experience too, only me, da Vinci, and the security guard. And some people on this forum say there is nothing worth seeing in central-eastern Europe ha!

Lovely report. When I read about cities I’ve been to it always brings back good memories. And I agree with you both, Poland is a fantastic country to visit, very diverse and easy to get around. We spent 3 weeks there in 2018 and wish we had time to visit again. Maybe we will one day as our bucket list is getting shorter. Just need our health to hold out.

Bradament: I get it. No one panics faster than me when dealing with new systems. Once I get rattled I get tunnel vision and you could scream the instructions and I would still not get it.

But for the next visitor, the public transport company does have a pretty good page with all the details. https://bkk.hu/en/

And if you got a single ride ticket, it's just one ride. There are timed tickets and transfer tickets though. Too confusing even for me which is why I buy a pass for the duration so I dont have to figure it out.

And the inflation has been staggering. Still cheaper than most of the EU, but not like it once was. I go into price shock every time I pay $6 for breakfast or $2.5 for a beer.

And here is a link to the pools at the Szechenyi bath house. https://www.szechenyibath.hu/pools in case someone wants to check whats available. And here is a link to most of the rest of the baths. They all have something different https://www.spasbudapest.com/baths

I loved your report - especially because I love all of these cities. I will be back to Budapest in the fall for just a few days, but I know at some point I will end up back in Krakow and Warsaw: Krakow because it appeals to me and Warsaw because I underestimated it my first time. I think it’s wonderful you were able to add time for Poland after work. Free plane tickets are the best! 🤣

Thanks for your trip report and some of the details about Warsaw, where I'll be for a week in August. I have added the Warsaw University Library garden to my itinerary, great tip as I love seeing gardens during my travels. And I appreciate the heads up about the Rising From Rubble exhibit, which I'd like to see at the Museum of Warsaw.

I'm also bookmarking to take notes for my (2nd) trip to Budapest in the fall.

Thanks for your trip report, very interesting and informative. I’m going to Budapest the end of Oct and the reason to buy a metro pass was well explained. Thanks for that. I’ve got it now. Also for your thoughts about going to the baths. I’ve been thinking it wasn’t something I’d want to do no matter how much it is so much part of the Budapest experience.
But I loved hearing about Krakow. The ‘Lady with an Ermine’ is such a beloved painting to me and very high up on my bucket list; to be in the same room will be an honor. And to compare the museum to the Frick and Morgan Library makes it sound even better.

Just a note for others: The bookstore/toilet area at Birkenau sells water and other beverages, and you can buy water at Auschwitz. There is, in fact, a cafeteria in the Auschwitz support-buildings, if you need something to eat. I noticed that some Nazi-Gedenkstätte facilities in Germany and Belgium also had food. No political comment intended, just talking about tourism needs.

"I get it. No one panics faster than me when dealing with new systems."

Sorry, but I don't think this is it. I work in IT and am usually the first to try out a new system. But this one is really badly done.

• Have to create an account. Okay, but I had to try several methods (Google, Apple) multiple times before something worked.
• Have to add your credit card--no connection to Apple pay. Takes you to a page only in Hungarian IIRC. Doesn't work quickly and you have to wait for a test transaction to go through. (In my case, while standing in the sun with 5% battery left.)
• Have to add your home address. Not relevant...
• Have to buy a ticket. Also not an immediate transaction.
• Have to pull up your ticket. Also not immediate. If you have multiple people, you'll need to use separate phones to have enough time.
• On the tram, you access the ticket by scanning a QR code (!) on the outside (!!!) of the vehicle. So people bunch at the doors trying to do this, and then trying to crush through the door before the driver closes them
• But on the metro, there's a different procedure! You can't scan at the door, you have to scan a small QR code at the top of the escalator. When I missed that and went down to the platform, and asked one of the ticket checkers where/how to scan, his first inclination was to tell me I'd be fined for not having a valid ticket. But I hadn't ridden yet and was trying to ask how! His partner talked him out of it.

I'm sure you could get used to this if you lived there but if you don't, don't bother.

Hi Tim, how recently were you there? As Marta pointed out to me, the visitor center at Auschwitz is brand new. https://www.auschwitz.org/en/museum/news/new-visitor-services-center-at-the-auschwitz-memorial-change-of-the-place-of-arrival-and-entrance-from-15-june,1614.html

There's something on the map labeled as a restaurant but it was clearly still under construction and not operational as of my visit. Maybe there was food someplace else, but I didn't see it. You're right that they sell water at A-B, but we didn't have a chance to go in there until the end of the tour. At about 87 degrees and sunny, it was hot enough that I'd drunk a whole bottle I brought with me before that.

Great report. You have me putting Poland on my bucket list.
I do have to say the Skenazi( can't spell) baths were a highlight for me and my dad...maybe because it did feel like a community pool. We loved the pool with the current and watching so many different age and nationalities giggling in it.
We did a similar bath in St Petersburg in our hotel which probably was nicer but not as much fun.