Trip to Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, and Warsaw!
The Republic of Poland is a country located in Central Europe. Here you will find charming cities such as Wrocław, Gdańsk, the former capital Krakow and the energetic Warsaw current capital of the country and of urban entertainment. Diversity in cultures shaped by its geography and societies: in the north the Baltic Sea and many interconnected lakes, and in the south the Tatra mountain which forms a natural border with Slovakia. Tatra is the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains, you can hike in the Tatra National Park. A territory which has been conquered by several kingdoms and empires over the centuries. But also the people who have fought for their freedom.
People were always kind, helpful and sharing sandwiches with us on the train, even if most of the time we could not speak the same language. People dress in a very good taste in fashion despite the very cold temperatures in winter, it can go down to -20 degrees.
Country facts:
- Capital: Warsaw
- Currency: Polish złoty (1 Poland złoty equals 0.22 Euro)
- Population: 37.97 million (2019) Eurostat
- A member of the European Union since 1 May 2004
- Language: polish (it is said to be one of the hardest languages to learn)
- Famous people: musician Frédéric Chopin, physicist and chemist Marie Curie, Pope John Paul II, Nobel Peace Prize Lech Walesa, film director Roman Polanski, Nobel Prize in Literature Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska, Mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus…
- Famous dishes: Oscypek smoked cheese, pierogi Christmas dumplings, tartar, sausages, herring, pork knuckle and sirloin, potato dumplings and cabbage, sweet and sour cabbage soup and polish cauliflower with breadcrumbs.
- Religion: 90% catholic
- Polish Polka dance and vests
Getting around:
The Interrail Poland Pass is your ticket to explore the country with unlimited travel on the Polish railway network for 3, 4, 6, or 8 days of your choice within a 1-month period. It is the best way to visit Poland’s major cities and see the countryside along the way!
We bought 4 days within a month and visited Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, and Warsaw. I purchased my Youth ticket in Spain with Renfe three months before travelling, it cost me €60,00.
There are two types of tickets to consider: Continuous and Flexible. An Interrail Global Pass and Interrail One Country Pass.
Continuous 15-day, 22-day, 1 month, 2 months or 3 months.
Flexible 5 days or 7 days within a month, 10 days or 15 days within two months.
Maps of the cities and train trips:
Kraków to Wrocław:
Wrocław to Gdańsk:
Gdańsk to Sopot:
Gdańsk to Warsaw:
Kraków
Krakow is the soul of Poland, university, culture and tourism capital, here you can visit the Kazimierz Jew neighbourhood, Remuh Synagogue, Saint Albert's Church, Town Hall Clock, Saint john's market is their most important celebration, it is when they celebrate the beginning of Summer. Find views to the Tatra Mountains, visit the medieval biggest square of Europe, take a tour to the Salt Mines, up to Zakopane in the mountains or to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
The city was not destroyed during the second world war. It was always an important territory with an advantageous location. Cracovians proudly celebrate their traditions, reviving their medieval past and keeping their special identity.
Krakow was the home of Karol Wojtyla or Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa during their childhoods.
Kraków old city centre:
Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow and surroundings
Auschwitz Memorial and Museum
The Auschwitz concentration camp was a complex of about 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland in Oswiecim town during World War II and the Holocaust from 1940 to 1945. It was actually the largest and deadliest concentration camp. People were sent to Auschwitz to work and had to leave everything behind, but they never expected that they would be killed in a crematory oven. 1.3 million people mainly Jews, Roma people, homosexuals, the mentally challenged and soviet prisoners of war.
You can book the transportation to the Memorial at a Kiosk or shop in Kraków. And then I recommend you book a guided tour at the entrance.
When I was a teenager I read my first book about Auschwitz: Man’s Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust by Viktor E. Frankl. A Viennese psychiatrist before the war, observes how he and his inmates coped with the experience of being in Auschwitz, how they found meaning. Reading that book gave me an idea of how their lives were and how their goodness was the biggest source of happiness.
There are many ways to learn about this place without actually going. But I was in Krakow and finally decided to go. For me, this was the hardest day trip I have ever taken and the coldest place I have ever sensed. And though I do not regret it, it is a museum for human desperation and you will not have fun here. Among other exhibitions, you can see two tons of hair cut from the female inmates and destined to fill in mattresses, travel cases with names and addresses written on them showing that all those people expected to leave one day. This tragedy should not be forgotten.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
- George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain — 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy): Philosopher
Birkenau
The victims would arrive by train from the cities ghettos to this other camp of Auschwitz which had more space and was composed of barracks and stables. At the end of the war, the Nazis tried to destroy evidence but the ruins remained.
Wrocław
Wrocław was our second stop on our Interrail trip in Poland. Is the historical capital of Silesia and Lower Silesia with a medieval origin, governed by Prussia, Poland, Germany, Bohemia and again part of Poland since 1945.
The polish Venice was built over 12 islands. Old university history and activities, the Polish are very studious people, so much that 12 Nobel Prize laureates studied in the University of Wrocław. Leopoldina Lecture Hall is a part of Wrocław University and it is the biggest and the most important baroque style rooms in the world.
Wrocław is today the 4th biggest city in the country. It has grown a lot over the years due to international investment and software companies.
In the region, you can visit the Lubiaz Monastery where Mickael Jackson lived in 1997 or the Zsiaz Castle and learn about the legend of the Nazi’s gold, when it was an SS quarter.
Wrocław Rynek:
The Old Town Hall of Wrocław stands at the centre of the city’s Market Square in the centre of the city called: Rynek.
The town hall started to be built in the 13th century, but only finished 250 years after, that is why many styles have converged to such a unique building's facade. In these very balconies, they would read the death sentences .
Wrocław Cathedral
Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia
Trojmiasto or Tri-City is a metropolitan area in Poland consisting of three cities in Pomerania: Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot. With a population of 748,986.
Gdansk is the historical centre, Gdynia one of the cities with the best quality of life of Poland with modernist style and Sopot it is a famous holiday resort and has the longest wood pier of Europe with 515 meters long, built in the 19th century. Montecassino street at Sopot is a place for entertainment.
80% of the world´s reserves of Amber are found here, it is a fossilised tree resin much admired for its beautiful tones, uses in decoration and folk´s medical beliefs, for example they say it is good for the circulatory system.
Some activities and tours you may take include:
- Kartuzy town and Kashubian Lake District
- Black Pearl — Ship tour
- European Solidarity Centre Museum dedicated to the history of Solidarity, the Polish trade union and civil resistance movement, and other opposition movements of Communist Eastern Europe. The party founded by Lech Walesa and the shipyard strikes which began the anticommunism movement in the area and definitely led to the end of the system. And that is the reason why Gdansk is known as the City of Freedom.
- Oliwa Park
- Malbork Castle
Gdansk:
Trade connections with the Netherlands led to a cultural and architectural exchange that can be seen throughout the city. The city is located 5 km from de Baltic Sea and lies at the mouth of Motława River.
80% of the city was rebuilt after the 2nd World War.
National Maritime Museum
Sopot and Gdynia
Warsaw
A vibrant and colourful city, completely rebuilt following the detailed paintings of Canaletto during the fifties after the 2nd World War. Today UNESCO protected. The city was born in the 11th century but only capital five centuries later.
Warsaw is a very extended city, without limitations to its growth, with lots of green areas and big parks, home to 1,708.00 people.
Chopin was born 60 km from Warsaw, but it was here where he developed his music works in 1810. Classical music is very developed and appreciated in Poland.
Find a terrace with views to the Vistula river, visit Praga´s district, eat a waffle like a local or party at Novy Swat Street bars.
Palace of Culture and Science
The Art Deco building has a height of 237 metres it is the tallest building in Poland, the 5th-tallest building in the European Union. It is located in central Warsaw. A gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland built in the fifties, but the dedication to Stalin was revoked. Nowadays is a place for cultural institutions. Formerly a symbol of communism, today surrounded by modern skyscrapers which started to appear during the nineties and for some a symbol of capitalism and modern consumption and lifestyle.
Budget Hotels to Stay
Krakow:
Wroclaw:
Gdansk:
Warsaw:
10 Best Places to Visit in Poland Video
“My most ardent desire is that my country will recapture its historic opportunity for a peaceful evolution and that Poland will prove to the world that even the most complex situations can be solved by a dialogue and not by force.”
- Lech Walesa (Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate)
To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.
- Nicolaus Copernicus (Renaissance-era mathematician)
Tailor your holiday:
Other destinations:
- I want to thank my colleague Paulina for inspiring me to travel to amazing Poland
