See Poland in 5 Days

To Poland?!

This is the response I received every time I spoke about my holiday plans, followed by “and why there? ”

It’s certain that Poland is a fascinating country, full of history in every corner and with a vitality that leaves nobody feeling indifferent.

So, after giving thousands of reasons to my family and friends, we packed our suitcases and headed for Krakow.

Before leaving

It’s important to have a few basic ideas about the country we’re going to go to, such as about its culture. These were some of the questions I was posed before leaving:

• What language do they speak in Poland? Although the official language is Polish, the majority of the population speaks English, to quite a good level. Also, the people are very hospitable and don’t hesitate in helping foreigners when they seem lost.
• Do they use the euro? No, Poland has its own currency (the zloty), which has a lower value than the euro. This brings us to the next question.
• Where can I change my money? Undoubtedly, one of the questions that ate away at me the most. My recommendation: don’t change your money in Spain. The banks offer a terrible exchange rate (they offered me 3. 5 zlotys for 1€, being an exchange rate of 4. 20). In Poland, there are bureaus de change (kantors), but not all offer a good rate nor are they reliable. The best option is to exchange a small amount in the airport (around 20€ for the bus and in case of emergency), and then change at a kantor.
• What’s the weather like in Poland? Poland is a cold country, or so I thought before arriving in mid-September and finding myself in 33 degree hear. If you go around these dates, never forget to pack shorts and some short-sleeved t-shirts, since I was searching in all of the shops for something cool to wear and in September they already have the clothes for the autumn-winter season.
• How do you geta round in Poland? In Krakow, there’s a good tram network, which is what we used the most. Differently to Spain, you don’t buy a ticket from the driver, it’s your responsibility to buy it in advance from a machine outside of or on the tram (which only accepts change). The driver doesn’t ask for your ticket, but sometimes there are inspectors. In Warsaw we used the bus more, and the system is the same.

My journey

After looking at dates and hoping to find a good price, we bought tickets from Ryanair:

- Outward: Malaga-Krakow, for 40€.

- Return: Warsaw-Madrid, for 30€. We returned from Madrid to Malaga with AVE (train) for 50€.

I have to say that it’s not necessary to take a large suitcase, because Ryanair lets you take hand luggage and a rucksack for free, and for five days this is more than enough.

As for hotels, we decided to stay three days in Krakow and two in Warsaw.

- In Krakow, we stayed in a lovely apartment (I’m completely in love), located right in the centre, for 75€ each (my partner and I) for 3 nights: http://mikolajska5.pl/en/.

- In Warsaw, we found an offer on Booking.com for a two star hotel for 70€ for two nights in a doublé room: https://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chmielna-warsaw.es.html?aid=303946;label=warsaw-QmPgcIJTyJsts9anBOBkxgS90309717263%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1920%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atiaud-146342138710%3Akwd-4927530089%3Alp1005419%3Ali%3Adec%3Adm;sid=f0779c75b6d381f295906896c9d1ca1c;dcid=5. El hotel está bastante bien situado, aunque es un poco difícil de encontrar porque está metido en un callejón.

Krakow (15th to 17th September)

15th September

After getting off the plane, we went to draw some money out from a cash machine (they charge a ridiculous fee) for the bus. We took the bus that takes you to the bus station in Krakow and takes around 40 minutes. Both the bus station and the train station are next to a big shopping centre called Galeria Krakowska. There, we bought the train tickets from Krakow to Waraw for the 18th (which costed 35€ and we paid by card). In the same shopping centre, there’s a kantor that offers a good exchange rate. It’s black and is located next to the entrance of Carrefour (on the second floor if I remember rightly).

After buying the tickets and changing money, we went directly to the apartment to leave our suitcases.

We dedicated the first day to seeing the centre of Krakow and we went into a museum: the Museum of Archaeology. You have to pay to get in, although they do offer student discount (and they don’t ask for student ID, so if you’re young they’ll give you the discount, even if you’re not a student). There are several museums in the city centre, we found out about them on this page, where everything is well explained: https://www.cracovia.net/. We wanted to go in the Aviation Museum, but it closes at 5pm and we didn’t have time (it’s outside of the centre, you have to take a bus or a tram).

The apartment is very well located, which means that in the evening you can have a walk through the Market Square or have something to drink there, where there are some spots to eat or drink beer.

16th of September

On this day we scheduled our visit to Auschwitz. We booked the visit on this page: https://www.cracovia.net/actividades/excursion-auschwitz-birkenau. It costed 30€ each, but it’s worth it because they explain everything in several languages and it includes transport to the concentration camp.

For me, it’s an unmissable visit if you go to Poland. The visit takes place in the two concentration camps and lasts all morning. At lunch time, they leave you in Krakow, in the same spot that they collect you from.

We dedicated the rest of the evening to seeing this area: the Barbacana, the Planty and what remains of the city walls.

17th of September

We decided to leave the Wawel Castle and the Jewish District for our final day in Krakow. They’re a little far from the centre, but we decided to walk there in order to see more of the city.

Wawel Castle splits the visit into parts, which you pay separately for. This way, you can decide whether to see all of the castle or just the most interesting parts. The visits are the following: The Royal Private Apartments, Lost Wawel, State Rooms, Crown Treasury and Armoury and the Museum of Oriental Art.

Furthermore, outside of the palace are the Dragon’s Den and Wawel Cathedral. We visited the State Rooms, the Dragon’s Den (the only cool area of the day) and the cathedral.

Afterwards, we went to the Jewish district and had something to eat there (the best hamburger that I’ve ever eaten). We passed through Schindler’s Factory, but if you’re not thinking of going in the museum, it’s not worth going all the way there. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend spending the night in the Jewish district. Instead, I would have enjoyed visiting the Salt Mines or doing an excursion to Zakopane (a small village in the mountains).

Warsaw (18th to 19th September)

18th of September

We left the apartment early to hand in the keys and take the train to Warsaw, which takes 3 hours. There’s a brutal contrast between here and Krakow, leaving behind that lovely medieval city. Warsaw is enormous, so the distances on the maps have nothing to do with those in Krakow.

We spent quite a while finding the hotel, which meant we lost the morning between arriving and dropping off the cases. The hotel is close to the Palace of Culture and Science, so we went there first, and there’s a tourist information point. They give you a map there, so we decided to follow the map to the city centre/old town (Stare Miasto), passing lots of monuments and highlights.

Warsaw is beautiful, it’s full of gardens and parks and the centre is pretty. The town hall is surrounded by buildings of different colours, very different to my city (Malaga). There are thousands of souvenir shops and cafes where you can have a snack.

19th of September

We wanted to dedícate this day to the Lazienki Park, recommended by the girl at the tourist information point. It’s a huge park, almost impossible to see the whole thing. As a fanatic of green areas, I have to say that it was what I liked the most about Warsaw.

In the afternoon, we went back to the centre to buy a few things with our leftover money, since changing it back in Spain isn’t worth it because of the commission.

The return from Warsaw-Madrid

Our plane left in the morning. In Warsaw there are two airports, but Ryanair only flies to and from Modlin airport (further from the city). We found a bus on the internet that takes you directly to the airport, leaving from the Palace of Culture and Science, for 8 zlotys. We decided to buy this in Spain, in order to not have problems there. The website is: https://www.modlinbus.pl/en//.

Now it’s your turn to fly to Poland and count the thousands of reasons why it’s worth visiting this place!

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