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| Poland | |
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| Topic Started: 27 Oct 2008, 10:56 AM (39 Views) | |
| High Priestess | 27 Oct 2008, 10:56 AM Post #1 |
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I had expected Poland to be a cross between Germany and Russia and my expectations were bang on. Aside from the many tall churches and synagogues, most of the buildings were three-storey's high. I stayed in Kazimierz, a once largely Jewish community before the war years. Trams are in abundance, some lines segregated from the main flow of traffic and running directly down the middle between fences. Most of the houses have shop fronts and the accommodation entrances tend to be towards the back of the terraced buildings, accessible through gates where a small alleyway takes you into a small courtyard. Cafeterias and restaurants are plentiful and most offer excellent food which is very reasonably priced. The service is excellent. In fact the one thing I noticed about all services in Poland was the punctuality. If you book a taxi, it will likely arrive 5 minutes early as opposed to10 minutes late. Dotted around the streets are kiosks selling cigarettes, newspapers and toiletries. Cigarettes work out to about £1 a pack. In fact, I was hard-pressed to spend £100 in 5 days in spite of paying for meals and coffees etc. The local currency is the Zloty. Roughly, there are around 6 Zlotys to the pound (Sterling). Driving tends to be a bit erratic and pedestrians don't seem to have any right of passage on the zebra crossings as we soon discovered! There are many monuments to see, mostly of religious figureheads and the Polish eagle emblem is shown on many buildings of interest. If you like architecture, you will like Krakow. If you visit the castle as we did, there are some tremendous views of the city, punctured here and there with beautiful dome-shaped roofs so typical of this country. The main square (Rynek Glówny) is well worth a visit. It has been Krakow's main commercial and social centre for centuries. At 200sq metres, it is one of Europes largest medieval squares. From here you can take a tour of parts of the city either on a small train or via the most beautiful horses and traps. In the three whole days I spent in Poland I came home with a real feel for the place and it's friendly people. I did of course spend one whole day visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp so will be writing about this on it's own as it so deserves to stand. Lo, the merry traveller 
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4:47 AM Nov 29
