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Poland 2002 - Some Useful Information  Trains
Always factor in plenty of time when traveling by train. Once, when travelling between Warsaw and Krakow, we came to a stop on the tracks. We sat for about an hour. Another train pulled up alongside us. We were all asked to switch to the other train. The drop from the train to the crushed rock was about five feet. We didn't see any frail little old ladies—everybody fended for themselves. Nobody seemed to complain. I suspect the Poles are used to these sorts of things. You can buy train tickets at Krakow's train station. But if your command of Polish is not so hot, you might want to try Bocho Travel's small ticketing office on Stolarska Street (near the Poster Gallery shop). Doing so will allow you to avoid harassment from taxi cab drivers who aggressively patrol Krakow's train station and speak English well enough to annoy the living hell out of you. Warsaw's train station is actually pretty easy to get around. There are only about four platforms, so there's little need to arrive particularly early.  Trams
Trams could be described as the Polish equivalent of buses, although several U.S. cities use them, too. One buys tram tickets at a kiosk near a stop (the kiosk usually sells magazines and other stuff as well). You can buy them for any number of time frames (the ones we got in Lublin were for one week of unlimited travel). Write your name and place of residence (in my case, I was told "U.S.A." was sufficient) on the ticket right away. When you board the tram for the first time, you will see a small, red, plastic object affixed to one of the poles (it looks like a golf ball washer—something I know only from reading "Peanuts"). You validate your ticket in that by placing it, as the arrow on your ticket indicates, into the feeder. The validator pulls the ticket in, validates it, and spits it back out to you.  But disregard all of the above if you're in Warsaw. There, the public transportation situation is wonderfully simple. At any metro (underground or subway) station magazine shop you can buy a single little card that grants you unlimited travel on both the metro and the trams. A three day one goes for 12 zlotych, which in October 2002 equaled about $3. Not a bad value.
If 12 zlotych is too much for you, you might opt to play a bit of Russian roulette and not buy a tram ticket at all. When you board a tram, nobody checks to make sure you have a ticket. So how are the rules enforced? Officials board trams occasionally to check and see that everyone on board is an honest passenger. So, you might never get checked (we weren't). But if you're unlucky, we were warned of mysterious, unnamed dire consequences. Where tram cars join one another there is a circular pivot point that's a lot of fun to stand on, especially if you're drunk. We didn't use public transportation in Krakow; our feet were sufficient for taking us to where we needed to go, and the whole center of town is tram-free anyway. Buses You can take buses from city to city (this is how we got from Lublin to Warsaw). In Lublin, the bus station was a bit chaotic; without a Polish speaker to help us I doubt we would have been able to locate our bus. Travel from Krakow to Auschwitz and back again is best done by bus. This is easily managed once you know where the bus is (in the back of the Krakow train station, on the other side of the tracks away from the center of town). You pay when you get on board, so no ticket is needed in advance. The tourist information bureau can help you out, here. Tourist Information In Krakow, we got excellent help from the tourist information office located in the square on the outside of the Cloth Hall. The employees speak good English and will happily assist you.  Phones
Public phones utilize phone cards. Phone cards are credit card-sized and are sold at a number of different locations; I got mine at an Internet caf� in Krakow. Public phones have instructions printed on them with handy drawings illustrating the proper procedure for using the card. Internet Access Internet caf�s are everywhere in Polish cities. We had the ability to check our e-mail every day in Krakow, Lublin, and Warsaw. Of course, just knowing that we always had that option took a bit of the adventure out of traveling, but sometimes it's good to know you are just an e-mail away from home—and worried moms appreciate reassurance. Currency, Exchange Rate, and Your Basic Travel Expenses The Polish currency is called the zloty (the "l" is actually written with a small slash through it, indicating that it should be pronounced as a "w," so, "Zwahtee"). The exchange rate in October 2002 was about 4 zlotych to each American dollar. A brand new compact disc costs about the same in Poland as it does in America (but bootlegs go for around $2.50 each). Hotels were not appreciably cheaper, but hostels are very affordable, running under $20 a night for a room (all you surrender in a hostel is a private bathroom, a TV set, and room service, an easy sacrifice). Americans will most appreciate the exchange rate when ordering food and drink. You can get fantastic meals for around $5, and decent stomach filler for just a buck or two. Beer is poured into half-liter glasses and goes for about a buck each. Tipping is not done at bars or at many restaurants. However, if you have an actual wait person taking care of you through the course of your meal, you should tip at least 10% as courtesy. "English, please?" One thing that surprised me was the general reluctance of Poles to speak English. Paula tells me that many Poles are shy about their English language ability, and prefer to profess complete ignorance of our language. As always, it's a good idea to master a few handy Polish phrases and several nouns one can easily subtitute into them. I found a few phrases of spoken Polish to be fairly easy to learn, but writing Polish is another matter. You will find very little Polish on these Web pages. Introduction to our Poland trip Krakow (1) Kryjowka, Krakow Auschwitz Lublin (1) Lublin (2) Warsaw The Park, Warsaw Some interesting information Some useful information
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