POLAND

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Location: Wroclaw, Krakow, Oswiecim aka Auschwitz, Warsaw, Poznan
Length of Stay: 5 Days
Cost per Day: $55

This was a pleasant surprise... and turned out to be a fantastic country to visit...
Loved the Polish... they are super, super friendly... its makes such a difference to ones whole experience...

Summer has finally officially arrived as of June 1... coming in on the train from Prague, it was a Saturday and quite funny to travel through the countryside, past peoples back gardens, farms etc and see them out in their jocks, boxers and mismatching bra and panties sunbathing and doing the gardening... nice to see the locals enjoying themselves...

Krakow is the darling superstar of Poland... it was once the Royal capital and came through WWII relatively undamaged...
It was a small former Eastern Bloc city, which until a few years ago was a quaint and forgotten old town lost somewhere in Central Europe... then someone discovered it and it has been gaining momentum ever since... they say it is the new Prague of Europe... here's someones thoughts...

* Restless souls have been looking for the new Prague since Prague itself was overrun with tourists and expats alike. Krakow just might be it. The city is now bursting with hip bars, stylish locals, tons of students, artsy neighborhoods, cool galleries, and, the most important ingredient to any bohemian lifestyle: cheap food and drink *

Krakow is also the nearest base for exploring Auschwitz...

It is unlikely that you will come across anywhere else in the world that will move you more emotionally than Auschwitz and Birkenau... It was pretty incredible... I did a tour here, but would probably recommend doing it on your own, as the tours are so rushed...
There is so much information out there on Auschwitz... basically it was established in 1940 using disused army barracks and continued to expand to eventually become the largest centre for the extermination of European Jews... Two more camps were subsequently established nearby...Birkenau - known as Auschwitz II and Monowitz - Auschwitz III.

Quite a few notable Poles have made significant contributions to the world in various fields of endeavour... Frederic Chopin, Marie Curie, Roman Polanski and Pope John Paul II... btw... his real name was Karol Wojtyla...

Best go, as I have a train to catch to Germany... Berlin will be the 1st stop... Have to go check out Hitlers bunker... Take care x

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Photos

POLAND
The Polish president and his wife...

POLAND
R.I.P...

Comments

[Brian]

Good for you Nic!, in widening yer horizons and visiting places ye'd never have thought of.....Poland: Doesn't have a great footballing reputation though they'd probably beat Scotland. I couldn't visit the horrors of WW2

[EDNA]

[e-mail]
Nic Your scribblings about each of the countries you have visited on this marvellous adventure of yours are simply delightful.I go back often over them at odd moments and am totally distracted by your photographs! You certainly have painted an interesting picture of Prague, Poland and Slovenia which are places I would never have previously considered visiting but are now on my Bucket List. Stay well sweetie and best wishes always.........Edna