Poland

Introduction

Situated in the heartland of Europe, Poland has been both a bridge and a front line between eastern and western Europe. Today, free from outside interference, Poland is the place to go if you're interested in seeing how a nation picks itself up off the floor and tries to reinvent itself. It's a multifaceted country where the capital and medieval old towns are coddled by contemporary city slickers and where horse-drawn carts negotiate country lanes in areas where the 20th century appears to have got lost somewhere down the road.

Facts for the Traveler

When to Go

The tourist season runs roughly from May to September, peaking in July and August. At this time the Baltic beaches are taken over by swarms of humanity, resorts and spas are invaded by tourists, Masurian lakes are crowded with thousands of sailboats, and mountains can hardly be seen for walkers. Perhaps the best time to come is either late spring (mid-May to June) or the turn of summer and autumn (September to mid-October). These are pleasantly warm periods and there are plenty of cultural activities going on. During winter it's cold and dark (as you'd expect) and many camp sites and hostels are closed, but its still a good time for visiting Poland's cities.

Events

With a strongly Roman Catholic population, Christian celebrations are of huge importance. This is particularly evident at Christmas and Easter, but any Sunday is a good Sunday for getting a taste of Polish devoutness and religious fervour. All the churches (and they are truly in good supply) fill up beyond their capacity during the Sunday masses.

Among the musical highlights, Kraków hosts the Music in Old Kraków Festival every August, and Wroclaw follows in September with the Wratislavia Cantans, replete with oratorios and cantatas. Warsaw is a thriving cultural centre, with contemporary music showcases in autumn, including jazz in late October. The Warsaw Theatre Meetings in January review the achievements of the best Polish theatres over the past year. The Polish Film Festival in Gdynia in November is the foremost presentation of Poland on celluloid.

Small local feasts, fairs and contests, often dependent upon local folklore, occur throughout Poland, with a pleasing glut in early summer and early autumn.

Money & Costs

Relative Costs:
Meals

Though not the bargain it used to be, Poland is still a cheap country for travellers. If you are accustomed to rental cars and plush hotels, you can spend almost as much as you would in western Europe. However, if you can get by with cheap hotels, medium-priced restaurants, bus or train travel, a few beers, the odd museum and occasional taxis, you should be able to get by on around $30 a day.

However you carry it, your money will generally be safe while you're travelling in Poland. Cheques are reasonably easy to exchange wherever you go, but you'll get a slightly better rate with cash. Credit cards are becoming more useful - you can use them to pay for up-market hotels and restaurants, car rentals and long-distance transport. You can also get cash advances with the major cards.

Attractions

Although founded late in Polish history (at the beginning of the 14th century), centrally located Warsaw has been Poland's capital on and off since 1611. Long a cultural and industrial centre, Warsaw was one of central Europe's most beautiful and sophisticated cities until it scooped the prize for worst-ravaged in WW II. Warsaw is essentially a postwar product in both appearance and spirit. Its handful of historic oases have been meticulously reconstructed, but most of the urban landscape is modern. This new face of Warsaw is impressive for the resolve with which it emerged, if not for its Stalinist edifices and uninspired prefab concrete suburbs.

The city is divided by the Vistula River into two very different parts. The western, left-bank sector includes the city centre proper and the Old Town to the north. Almost all attractions, as well as the lion's share of tourist facilities, are on this side of the river. The right-bank part of Warsaw, the suburb of Praga, has no major sights and hardly ever sees tourists.

The Old Town was rebuilt from the foundations up because after the war it was nothing but a heap of rubble. The monumental reconstruction, which took place between 1949 and 1963, aimed at restoring the appearance of the town in its best times, the 17th and 18th centuries. Every authentic architectural fragment found among the ruins was incorporated in the restoration. In 1945, the Old Town Square was just the walls of two houses sticking out of the rubble, today it is a harmonious blend of Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic elements. It's alive and atmospheric, doesn't feel contrived, and is replete with open-air cafés and art stalls. The Historical Museum of Warsaw occupies the entire northern side of the square and screens a startling documentary about the destruction and reconstruction of the city, as well as displaying its charmingly presented collections from Warsaw's earlier history.

Warsaw's main north-south boulevard is the Royal Way, running from the Royal Castle to Lazienki Palace, the royal summer residence. This is one of Europe's grandest stretches of road, with churches, palaces, galleries and museums lining the route. Halfway down, point your nose east, quash your aesthetic sensibilities and bustle towards the drab and repellent exterior of the National Museum to enter a treasure house of art from ancient to contemporary, the highlight being an impressive collection of frescoes from an early Christian cathedral in Pharos, Sudan, dating from between the 8th and 12th centuries. There's also an amazing display of Coptic crosses.

Warsaw offers a wide variety of ethnic cuisines and you can eat and drink late into the night. There's an extensive and swiftly growing array of restaurants all over the Old Town serving traditional Polish and international food. Student clubs along the southern portion of Royal Way offer a variety of cultural activities, including recitals, poetry, cinema, theatre, and rock, folk and jazz concerts, but weekend nights are usually reserved for discos.

Cheap places to stay are scattered throughout the city, sometimes a long way from the centre, and usually lacking in style and atmosphere. There are a couple of good hostels near the university though, and private rooms are available through agencies (ask at the information centre opposite the Royal Castle). There is a small camping ground near the central bus terminal.

As Poland's capital, Warsaw is a busy terminus for flights, trains and buses, both domestic and international. The main train station is centrally located, the bus station is just west of the city centre, and the airport is on the southern outskirts of the city, about 10km from the centre.

The Tatras are the highest of all the Carpathians and the country's only alpine range. It's a region of towering peaks and steep rocky cliffs plunging hundreds of metres into glacial lakes. Winters are long and summers are short and not steamy enough to melt all the snow. Late spring and early autumn are the best times to visit as they straddle the happy valley of good weather and few visitors.

To the north, at the foot of the Tatras, lies the Podhale region, speckled with dozens of small villages maintaining traditional highland lives. There are countless possible walking paths, picnic-size, jaunt-size, or mountain-maniac-size. One of the most spectacular walks is to the Zawrat Pass in the eastern reaches of the range. It's accessible via cable car to Mt Kasprowy Wierch, and then there are various routes along the ridge.

Zakopane is the tourist hub of the Polish Tatras. It's a pleasant town, especially out of the summer and winter holiday periods and is a good base for skiing or hiking in the mountains. There is a daily train to Warsaw and several buses daily to Kraków and other regional centres.

The royal capital for half a millennium, Kraków has witnessed and absorbed more history than any other Polish city. Moreover, it came through the last war unscathed, so it has retained a wealth of old architecture from different periods. The tallest structures on Kraków's skyline are not skyscrapers but the spires of old churches, the 20th century's impact having been confined to acid rain. Yet Kraków is not a silent memorial to bygone events: it's a city alive with character and soul.

Ringed by parkland, the Old Town is compact and utterly charming. The Main Market Square is flanked by historic buildings, museums and churches. St Adalbert's Church is one of the oldest, dating back to the 10th century. If you catch an enthusiastic priest at his most generous he might open the coffins in the Church of the Reformed Franciscans enabling you to reconfigure your lunch with a gawk at some mummified bodies. One of the best museums is the Czartoryski Museum, with an impressive collection of European art, as well as Asian handicrafts and armour. Kraków was Oscar Schindler's stamping ground and there are tours tracing the steps of his story and some of Mr Spielberg's film locations.

The central part of Masuria has the biggest concentration of lakes in Poland, with over 15% of the area under water. The main lakes, the Sniardwy and the Mamry, are linked by rivers and canals to form an extensive system of waterways. Needless to say, the whole area has become a prime destination for yachting enthusiasts and canoeists. Towns are dotted around the lakes' perimeters, with Gizycko and Mikolajki the largest. Mikolajki is the best option for accommodation and gastronomical offerings, but most places close out of season. Cycle touring is a feasible way of seeing the lakes area, especially given the parlous state of regional public transport. Trains run nightly from Gdansk to Gizycko; otherwise you can get to the southern lakes town of Ruciane-Nida from Bialystok and Warsaw.

Hardly an attraction in the normal sparkly sense, Oswiecim is a medium-sized industrial town 60km west of Kraków. The Polish name may be unfamiliar but its German rendering, Auschwitz, is tragically evocative. In 1945 the retreating Nazis destroyed part of what was their largest concentration camp, but what's left of the death factories in this quiet rural area is more than enough to show the magnitude of the holocaust. Four million people, 2.5 million of them Jews, were killed in Auschwitz and the linked complex at nearby Birkenau. Both are open to the public, and remain basically as they were when abandoned by the Nazis. The stories which live in the gas chambers, crematoria, barracks and barbed wire make this a haunted and shocking place.

Off the Beaten Track

Two hundred kilometres south of Gdansk, Torun is the birthplace of Copernicus, the man who 'stopped the sun and moved the earth'. It's a beautiful town dating back to the 13th century when the Teutonic Knights set about transforming it into one of their early outposts. The town became a Hanseatic port in the 1280s, garnering wealth which spurred the construction of the elegant Gothic buildings you can see today. If you spend a few days wandering around munching on the local gingerbread your only problem will be OD-ing on picture-postcard perfection.

Designed in its entirety four centuries ago, Zamosc was built in one swoop at the behest of Jan Zamoyski, the chancellor of the time. Zamoyski intended to create a perfect city which would be an important cultural and trading centre and an impregnable fortress. The experiment proved successful, since the town was situated at the intersection of major trading routes, and it soon attracted capital and immigrants, and developed a vigorous intellectual tradition. The town also proved capable of defending itself, being one of only three Polish cities to withstand a Swedish siege in 1656. Today it's a charming place, well off the tourist trail, but with reasonable cheap accommodation and some good bars and clubs. Transport links are mostly through Lublin, 120km north-west.

Hidden in the Sudeten foothills, Glogowek is one of a number of small medieval towns which have preserved their original layout complete with town square, church and old houses. The black Virgin Mary with Child in the replica Italian shrine here is a magnet for pilgrims. There is a small hotel and a youth hostel which opens in summer. Trains connect through Nysa to Kraków and elsewhere.

Activities

Hiking is the most popular of outdoor activities, and not without reason. The most popular hiking routes are those in the Tatra Mountains but the Pieniny, the Bieszczady or the Karkonosze are all options. Canoeing is possible on most waterways, though the main rivers are pretty polluted. The Krutynia and Czarna Hancza rivers, both in Masuria, are almost untouched and have some of the best kayaking in the country. The Masurian lakes are ideal for sailing and, not surprisingly, they are crowded with hundreds of boats in summer. It's possible to hire a sailing boat in Gizycko, Mikolajki or several other Masurian resorts. Poland has about a thousand caves, mostly in the uplands near Kraków and in the Tatra Mountains. For those unwilling to plunge into uncharted blackness, a handful of caves are adapted for the spatially-sane. The most spectacular of these are the Bear's Cave near Klodzko and the Paradise Cave near Kielce. Skiing is mostly concentrated in the Carpathians. Zakopane at the foot of the Tatra Mountains is without a doubt ski bunny warren numero uno, with Szczyrk in the Beskid Slaski also popular.

History

There's obviously something about the borders of Poland that say 'Hey, come and get it'. All of the great (and many of the lesser) European empire builders have been bingeing and purging here since the Polanie ('people of the fields') parked themselves in the 10th century. The unrelenting incursions have ceased only recently with the waning of Soviet influence.

But war and subjugation is not Poland's only story. One of Europe's cultural powerhouses, as well as its erstwhile granary, Poland has flourished under some enlightened and energetic rulers. Casimir III the Great (1333-70) was a monarch of some renown, bestowing one of Europe's first universities on Kraków, and an extensive network of castles and fortifications on the country at large. Through the ensuing centuries of territorial expansion and contraction, and of wealth and poverty, the infrastructures bequeathed by Casimir held firm - most of Poland's troubles blew in from outside.

Internal stability faltered in the 17th century. With the parliament crippled by a stipulation that any legislation could be vetoed by any one member, decades stumbled by without one law being passed and Poland was frustrated into dissent. While the nobles took things into their own hands, usurping political rights and ruling their vast estates as virtual suzerainties, foreign invaders systematically carved up Poland. Russia exerted the most influence but telling battles were also conducted with Tatars, Ukrainians, Cossacks, Ottomans and Swedes.

By the late 19th century, Poland was in disarray. Four million people had succumbed to war, famine and bubonic plague, and Russia, Prussia and Austria were experimenting with various ways of splitting the Polish booty. Despite steady economic recovery on paper, poverty was still very much the go in rural areas and about one fifth of Poland's 20 million people emigrated, mostly to the USA.

Just when it seemed like Poland was a working definition of 'worst', history kicked in with WW I. With Poland's three occupying powers at war, most fighting took place on territories inhabited by Poles, who were often conscripted into opposing occupying armies and forced to fight one another. The loss of life and livelihood was staggering. In the confusion following the war, particularly Russia's preoccupation with the October Revolution, Poland was able to consolidate its bedraggled selves into a sovereign identity and attempted to build up its nation and nationhood practically from scratch. This monumental project was going along pretty well until WW II when Germany, and then the Soviet Union, gobbled up Poland, viciously subduing the population at large - Nazis paying particular attention to the Jews.

The Polish government in exile slipped into a de facto relationship with Stalin, a sordid alliance with little to offer Poles still in Poland. Particularly charming was the Soviet trick of sending underequipped Polish bodies to soak up Nazi ammunition, then sending in the Red Army to clean up, grab the glory and a bit more Polish territory in the process. By 1945, Poland was ruined (again), having lost over six million of its population, half of whom were Jews. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin decided to leave Poland under Soviet control (yeah thanks guys) and Poland became a site of repression and victimisation Stalin-style. Poles never embraced Stalinism (well, it wasn't so cuddly), and the communist period featured waves of strikes.

As hopes for prosperity dwindled, labour organisation increased, backed by a committed intelligentsia. The triumphal visit of Pope John Paul II to his homeland in 1978 dramatically increased political ferment. The organisation and articulation of the labour movement became superior to that of the demoralised Communist government and, by 1980, the government was no longer in a position to use force against its opponents. Initial demands for wage rises soon took on more general political and economic overtones. Poland's workers' delegations convened under the Solidarity trade union banner, led by Lech Walesa. Solidarity had a dramatic effect on the whole of Polish society, garnering a membership of 10 million in its first month, a million of these coming from Communist Party ranks. After more than a generation of restraint, the Poles launched themselves into a spontaneous and chaotic sort of democracy. Although the government had ceded to the workers the right to organise and the right to strike all this was proving a bit much to take: martial law was introduced in 1981, Solidarity was suspended and its leaders interned, including Walesa. The brutalities of martial law were gradually relaxed but Solidarity was forced to operate as an underground organisation until Gorbachov-instigated perestroika filtered through to Poland.

Semi-free elections were held in 1989 and Solidarity succeeded in getting an overwhelming majority of its supporters elected to the upper house of parliament. Walesa became President in 1990 but his rule was a gradual decline from euphoria to disillusionment. There were no economic miracles, no political stability and Walesa's presidential style and his accomplishments were repeatedly questioned by practically all political parties and the majority of the electorate. Former communists Aleksander Kwasniewski and Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz tipped Walesa from the presidency in late 1995, holding office until late 1997 when Jerzy Buzek's Solidarity-led coalition took the reins. But it wasn't long before Aleksander Kwasniewski, running for the Democratic Left Alliance, recaptured political control and, to top it all off, he was then re-elected for a second presidential term in October 2000 - in the same elections, the once-revered Walesa won less than 1% of the vote.

The new Poland is garnering international credibility as it capitalises on its material strengths - it became a full NATO member in 1999 and is now striving towards inclusion in the EU.

Culture

Poland's first cultural crop was tended by Sigismund I the Old (1506-48). Through his cultivation, Latin was gradually supplanted by Polish, a national literature was born and architectural expertise blossomed. Scientific endeavour was also a feature of this period. In 1543, the patently bonkers Nicolaus Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, proposing (poor chappie) that the earth moves around the sun. Poland's next king, Sigismund II Augustus (1548-72) continued his father's patronage of arts and culture, and the two reigns came to be referred to as Poland's golden age.

Sculpture and painting in Poland is typically religious, with Gothic and Renaissance representations of the Madonna and Christ evident in most churches. Ornate tomb decoration was a particular specialty of Polish stone-workers, their anonymous artistry also evident in the bas-relief facades of many Renaissance houses. Secular work has been largely documentary, even until well into this century. Zdzislaw Beksinski is an exception. Born in 1929, he is a creator of a striking and mysterious world of dreams and is thought by many to be the best artist Poland has produced.

Artists in Poland today are still shaking off the hideous legacy of Communism under Stalin. During this period, Socialist Realism became the dominant style, bequeathing an abominable body of visual arts, architecture, literature and music. Poland has spawned fine fiction writers, many of them emigrants like Isaac Bashevis Singer, whose work recreates in Yiddish the vanished milieu of Jewish Poland. Among the current prominent exponents of Polish culture are writers such as Ryszard Kapuscinski, and the composer Henryk Gorecki, whose third symphony achieved world-wide success a couple of years ago.

Polish food is hearty and filling, with thick soups and sauces, abundant in potatoes and dumplings, rich in meat but not in vegetables. Characteristic ingredients are dill, marjoram, caraway seeds and wild mushrooms; favourite dishes include bigos (sauerkraut and meat) and barszcz (beetroot soup). There are four daily meals in Poland: an early breakfast, a light snack for second breakfast, a substantial lunch taken after work, and a small supper before bed. Tea and vodka are the favoured Polish beverages, both consumed with fervour, but to somewhat differing effect.

Environment

Poland is roughly square, reaching a maximum of about 680km from west to east and 650km from north to south. It's bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north-west, by Germany to the west, the Czech and Slovak republics to the south and Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia to the east. The northern part of Poland is varied and gently undulating, relatively well forested and covered by several thousand postglacial lakes. The flat central belt is the main agricultural area, watered by Poland's longest river, the Vistula, which, like all Poland's rivers, runs towards the north, draining into the Baltic Sea. Moving south, the terrain rises, culminating in the west with the Sudeten Mountains and to the east with the Carpathian Mountains which run along the southern frontier. The highest peak is Mt Rysy (2499m) in the Carpathian's Tatra Mountains, Poland's alpine range.

Forests cover just over a quarter of Poland's territory, and are populated by hare, deer and wild boar, mostly in duplexes. Some brown bears and wildcats live in the mountain forests and elks can be found in the woods of the far north-east. Several hundred European bison, brought to the brink of extinction early this century, live in the Bialowieza National Park. Airborne creatures have proved more resilient in urbanised and polluted Europe, as a cursory glance at the Polish sky will attest. Storks, which build their nests on the roofs and chimneys of the houses in the countryside are much loved. Poland's national parks are scattered evenly throughout the country, with a concentration in the mountainous regions of the south-east. 'Landscape parks' can be found throughout Poland; these are scenic regions but not so strictly preserved.

Poland's climate is influenced by a continental climate from the east and a maritime climate from the west. As a result, the weather is changeable, with significant differences from day to day and from year to year. Winter one year can be almost without snow, whereas another year heavy snows can paralyse transport for days. Generally, central Poland is the driest, while the mountains receive much more rain (and snow in winter). Summer is usually warm and the most pleasant time to visit, but the plentiful sunshine is interspersed with heavy rains.

Getting There & Away

There are direct flights to Warsaw from major European destinations, as well as from US cities such as New York and Chicago with large Polish communities . There is no departure tax. Train and bus fares from some European destinations can be as expensive as discounted air fares, unless you have some kind of transport pass. Road connections with Poland are good and getting better, but there are still border delays, especially when crossing from other eastern European countries. Many border crossings to Germany and the Czech Republic have been closed since terrible floods in July 1997 damaged bridges. There are sea connections from the UK and Scandinavia to Gdansk, Gdynia and Swinoujscie. Most services have car-freighting facilities.

Getting Around

Forget about flying within Poland unless you're trying to launder money. The trains are pretty good and where they don't go the buses do. As well as the plodding government service, private bus companies undercut each other viciously on many intercity routes. Driving your own vehicle around Poland is by far the most convenient option, but don't bring your spiffing new Jaguar, even if you forewent the walnut trim: it's gonna get ripped off. Fill up your tank every time you see a petrol station and carry some spare thingummy ratchets and dooveywacker belts otherwise you'll be waiting around a couple of weeks for them to arrive from Germany. Rural Poland is quite conducive to cycle touring, being mostly flat and relatively quiet, but the urban areas are bike-unfriendly with few dedicated paths and many hostile motorists.

Further Reading