Postcard from Poland - 27th May – 1st June 2015

On Wednesday afternoon I met up with my friend Sue at Heathrow and we had a good flight to Warsaw. We had a smooth transition from the airport to the Sofitel Hotel and, after checking in and unpacking, met up for a drink.  We then took ourselves out for a very nice Polish dinner.

On Thursday we spent the morning on a City Tour so that we then knew where we were so to speak.  After some soup with a vodka [of course] and tonic, we did a bit more walking around the Old Town before going back to our hotel, which is very centrally based.  In the evening it was a light supper around the corner before an early night as we had a long day ahead of us.

On Friday we were picked up at 5am and were on a train to Krakow by 5.30am.  We had a few biscuits and chocolate in our bag to keep hunger at bay!  Three hours later we arrived in Krakow and we almost immediately transferred to Auschwitz in a very small bus with 18 others.  That was the worst part of the journey.  Once in Auschwitz we had an excellent guide who used a walkie-talkie, and she took us around for an hour and a half.  We were then driven over to Birkenau where the same guide took us around that camp for another hour and a half.  Some of the sights in Auschwitz in particular were pretty dreadful, but on the other hand both camp tours were done very well indeed.  After that another squashed journey back to Krakow.  Once there, around 4pm, we met up with another guide who took us on a private tour of Krakow which lasted just over three hours.  Our feet were getting tired, but we did enjoy that incredible city, especially the cathedral, castle and market square. We then caught the 8pm train back to Warsaw, arriving at 11pm!   A rather long and tiring day!

On Saturday we took it a little easier, and took ourselves to the top of the Palace of Culture for a view of Warsaw, and then spent an hour or so in the Chopin Museum, which was absolutely wonderful.  After some vodka and dumplings for lunch we went back to our rooms to catch up with ourselves! 

Majdanek

On Sunday Sue and I caught an early train to Lublin and were met on arrival by my friends Kate and Jarek whom I had met in Greece.  They gave us the most wonderful day in Lublin.  We started off by visiting Majdanek Concentration Camp, and then went into the Old Town for a great lunch in a Polish restaurant.  After lunch we walked around the town for an hour or so before taking a train back to Warsaw. 

We finished our holiday with a great evening at our favourite Polish restaurant in Warsaw, Dawne Smaki, not far from the hotel with some excellent potato pancakes and a glass or two of wine. 

An exhausting but fascinating five days in Poland!