Still thinking about planning a trip to Poland? My last post gave some itinerary help. Today is about some other logistics to account for as you start putting the wheels in motion. The other two big things to figure out when putting a trip together is transportation and accommodations. Here’s what we did, and learned along the way.
Read morePoland Wrap-up Part I: Make Your Own Poland Itinerary
Poland was an amazing country to visit, and truly one of my favorite trips I’ve taken during my three years living in Europe. But you know what the funny thing is? The trip almost didn’t happen. I have always wanted to visit Poland because when I look at my varied European ancestry, I’m more Polish than anything else. I’ve always wanted to step foot in Poland and connect to my roots on some level. But each year, for some reason the trip seemed daunting to plan, so we kept putting it off. Until Michael just put his foot down and booked round trip airfare to Krakow, knowing that this commitment would motivate us to pull it together.
If you’re interested in going to Poland but are in the same boat, I want to encourage you to put your reservations aside and plan a trip! The hardest part for me was putting together an itinerary that captured the highlights of this large country. Here are some ideas to help give you a head start.
Read moreAn Insider's Guide to Poland: Guest Post by Joanna of "Me and My Itchy Feet"
If you’ve been following along for the past few weeks, you know that I’m in middle of doing a series on Poland. I loved my time in Poland last year and have been having so much fun reliving the trip and sharing all about it. But the reality is, as much as I did and experienced, I was only there for 16 days. So today I’m happy to introduce you to Joanna, who I have bonded with over Poland. Joanna has spent MUCH more time in this country than me, so I asked her to give an insider’s perspective on where to visit while in Poland. So without further ado, I’ll let Joanna take it from here:
Hi. My name is Joanna and I’m Polish, living practically all my life in Poland (apart from a semester in Finland followed by a few months in England). I’m a wife and a mother of two (six year old boy and almost two year old girl), trying to show the diversity of the world to our kids. I love discovering new things, be it discovering new places, new tastes, or something else. My first trip abroad without any members of my family was when I was almost eleven. London and Oxford were the places we got to see. And that’s how it all started. “It” meaning my love for travel (though previous trips with my parents also added a lot to it). I married a wonderful guy who shares my passion or, at least, is willing to follow me. Now, together with our little ones, we’re trying to discover the world our way, what I’m describing on my little piece of the Internet – Me and my itchy feet.
Oh boy, that’s a long introduction and you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here on Sara’s blog. As you have probably noticed, Sara is writing a series of posts on her trip to a not-so-well-known European country, yet one that is so close to my heart: Poland. Sara asked me to write a few words on Poland as a sort of insider’s view. And I was over excited to do it, because I truly believe that Poland has a lot to offer. Sea, lakes, rivers, higher and lower mountains, historic spots, lowlands, dessert (yes, we have one). You name it – we’ve got it. Ok, I’ve gone a bit too far here, but there is a wide variety of things you can see, do, and experience in Poland.
Read moreExploring Medieval Toruń, Poland
I’ve come to learn that in any trip of considerable length one needs some built-in downtime to recharge and relax. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m not the crazy hardcore sightseer I was in my early 20’s. Or maybe it reflects the slow shift my travel tendencies have made towards visiting every possible museum to sampling all the noteworthy local food and drink spots.
At any rate, in our 16-day trip through Poland, Toruń was the halfway point. And after running around Krakow and Warsaw, a change of pace was certainly welcomed and needed. Luckily Toruń was next on the itinerary. It is a medieval town that boasts two things besides overall cuteness: being Copernicus' hometown, and for producing gingerbread. What better place for my science-minded hubby and his foodie wife to explore?
Read moreThis Week - Poland's Lesser-Known Destinations
Bon lundi!
February has arrived and I still have lots more to share about Poland! After exploring and eating my way through Krakow, I took a three hour train ride to Warsaw. But I'm going to go a little out of order and take a short break before sharing about another of Poland's well-known cities.
This week we're going to go to some smaller spots in the country. First up is Toruń, a picturesque medieval city with a claim to fame for being the hometown of Nicolaus Copernicus. Perhaps it isn't a secret as I did decide to go after reading about Toruń in my Rick Steves' guidebook (of course), but it is certainly not as visited as the other two major cities.
And then I will be featuring some native Polish bloggers who will be sharing on some real Polish gems. If you ever wanted a Polish friend to ask where to visit (besides the obvious cities), this is your opportunity!
Toruń at night is even more serene with all the day-trippers gone!
Stay tuned for more this week!
The 10 Most Memorable Experiences in Poland
I just got back from a two-week trip traveling throughout Poland. Yup, you read that correctly. Poland. I've gotten many quizzical looks, and even questioning natives asking why I chose Poland for a long vacation. The short answer is I have always wanted to go due to my largely Polish ancestry. That, coupled with my mounting desire to explore more of Eastern Europe after I fell in love with Prague (my only prior experience in the general area), led Michael and I to book a 16-night adventure in this country. These ten moments/places/things left an impact on me and convinced me that Poland is such an underrated destination for tourists. So when are you planning to visit Poland?!
Here are the top ten things (in no particular order) that stood out to me on my trip:
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