The Last Neighbor

I have already visited every country bordering Germany except one. It is about high time I went to Poland! Read more

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Trip start
August 1, 2022
The Last Neighbor Traveler
Träwelling wiz ze Deutsche Bahn
August 1, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
As energy and fuel prices soared in 2022, the German government decided to introduce a public transportation pass valid across the entire country for only €9 per month during summer.

The catch: You can only use it on local and regional trains. Also, it can get extremely crowded on weekends and public holidays and the increased demand has driven the railway infrastructure to its limits.

It has been great to move around town and go to nearby cities such as Erlangen, Bamberg, and Würzburg. And since business tends to be slow in summer, meaning I usually have some time on my hands, I decided to put this pass to the test and use it for longer distance travel.

The first leg of the trip is taking me to Berlin in seven hours on four trains - compared to the direct sprinter train that would have gotten me there in three hours. Wish me luck! 🤞🍀Read more
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Stuck in Elsterwerda
August 1, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
It was just too good to be true. The trains weren't chock-full of people. The air conditioning worked on all of them. In the first two I was able to observe a couple and their dog (who'd start barking anytime anyone passed by) discuss the bark-activeness of their pet. I even got bumped to first class in the third one.

But then, the last change before reaching my destination for today: 10-minute delay, the connecting train gone. Stuck in Elsterwerda, 8400 souls. For two hours.

About 20-25 people, all with the same 'kinda lost' look on their faces, forlorn on the plattform of a train station where freight trains were a more common sight that passenger trains.

But the small train station in the middle of nowhere had a bar (and nothing else) and I soon found myself at a table with two retirees from Regensburg, drinking beer and listening to their stories from post-war Germany and life in the 70s and 80s. Later, an old sailor on his way to Stralsund joined our group and more and more people joined in on the conversation.

By the time the next train to Berlin finally arrived, a handful of strangers that had bonded over the shared experience continued their journey with a light buzz.Read more
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Goodbye Berlin - Hello Poland!
August 2, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Having arrived in Berlin much later than planned, I called it a night and went straight to bed.

Early the next morning, it was time to head east and cross the border to Poland.
Enjoy the time there. [Karin]
8/2/22Reply
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Another day on the train
August 2, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
The train from Berlin arrived late in Poznan (obviously), so I was happy I had booked the next train an hour later than the schedule had proposed. That gave me enough time to successfully navigate getting lunch in Polish (one + "points at it" please and thanks) and find my way to the right platform. Only to find that the Polish train was 20 minutes late too.

Since by this time none of the announcements were translated into English, it took my fullest attention and power of observation to keep track of what was going on by reading people's reactions and body language:

General sighs of disappointment and groans, hectically checking their apps, sigh of relief (apparently still the same platform), nervously keep checking it and a collective sigh of relief as the train finally arrived.

So while this aspect of the trip was business as usual, one big difference to Germany was that trains are much cheaper in Poland. So much so, that I could book first class without breaking the bank.

Then again, first class in this train (or in Poland in general?) meant you got to sit in an air-conditioned compartment with five other people and had access to a power outlet vs. having to stand in the narrow hallway, where, if you were lucky, you could at least sit on a small fold-down seat.

This meant that walking up and down the train every now and then to get some blood circulation in the bottom half of your body was a bit of a squeezy challenge. So I leaned back and finished reading my book over the course of the next couple of hours. Just as I started to get worried I might get butt sores, we finally arrived at Krakow.Read more
🙈 [Ma]
8/6/22Reply
Traveler😃😃
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Taking it reeeaaaal slow
August 3, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
I spent most of the morning chit-chatting with the other guests of the small, quiet Evergreen Hostel, which basically is a large apartment with three dorm rooms and an ample kitchen with living room area. I had decided to take my time during this trip and not rush from one activity to the other.

Following this motto, I headed out in the search for brunch and found Franja Café, which serves breakfast all day, has free WiFi and laundromats in the back room - something that would probably come in handy in a couple of days.

For now, I enjoyed a sunny meal with poached egg, baguette with olive-tomato paste and cream and a Greek salad.Read more
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Wawel Hill
August 3, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
The closest attraction (apart from the ARCADE GAME AND PINBALL MUSEUM - which I took a mental note of, but didn't feel like spending the day indoors) was Wawel Hill.

Legend says that a huge dragon (Smok) used to live under this hill, which now carries Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral.

The castle, at least from the outside, was rather underwhelming in my opinion. But the cathedral immediately caught my eye with it's varied architecture. So much so, that I decided to find a spot to sit (on the ground in the shadow of a small wall) and spent some time just people-watching and sketching.

On the left of the cathedral's main entrance, keen observers might notice three gigantic bones hanging from chains. These were found in the Vistula river at the bottom of the hill and we're believed to be the bones of the dragon. In fact, as is known now, they were the fossilized remains of a whale, a whooly rhinoceros, and a mammoth.Read more
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The Dragon's Den
August 3, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
After some geocaching on Wawel Hill, I took the exit through the Dragon's Den. For a fee of 9 zloty you can descend a spiral staircase in the outer fortification wall of the complex into the cave system that was said to be the dwelling of the mighty dragon.

It was refreshing to feel the cool cave air, so I stayed a couple of minutes before stepping out to the summer heat. Right outside the exit, there was a dragon sculpture that actually breathes fire every now and then. I'm sure that an unsuspecting pigeon resting on the statue must have had it's tail feathers burnt to a crisp at some point or another.

I found myself on the bank of the Vistula river, with strips of green grass, trees, benches, and even a walk of fame. A bit further down the river was a ferris wheel and a tethered hot air balloon, with which people could float up into the air to have a view of the city from above. Behind them, the massive, grey shape of an abandoned hotel, which now is the largest food court of the city. Not feeling hungry at the moment, I decided to make my way back to the hostel, passing by the supermarket to get some groceries for the next couple of days.Read more
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Local Cuisine Part I: Pierogi 🥟
August 4, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
What to eat in Krakow? Well, I have a few things on my foodie bucket list for this trip and started with some traditional pierogi. Nick, the hostel owner, had e-mailed some recommendations and I picked a place called "Pierogi Mr. Vincent" in Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter.

When I entered the small establishment, I gasped in delight: Mr. Vincent was actually van Gogh! The entire place, down to the smallest detail, rendered hommage to the artist.

The menu offered a variety of savoury and sweet pierogi as well as a (very) small selection of other regional favorites. They might not look like much on the plate, but as a fan of tortellini, dim sum, and the like, pierogi are right down my alley. And I wasn't disappointed.Read more
I love van Gogh! And I heard that pirogi - the real ones - are delicious. I'm glad you had a good start. Enjoy ,,,💞 [Karin]
8/6/22Reply
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Jewish History Tour
August 4, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
In the afternoon, I joined a Walkative free walking tour of Kazimierz and the former ghetto, which are, contrary to what I had thought, not one and the same.

Over the course of three hours, our guide gave us a very comprehensive overview of Jewish history:

From when they where pushed out of other European and found refuge first in Krakow, then in Kazimierz (they used to be two separate settlements) to the atrocities of WWII (which is when they were forced to move to the ghetto across the Vistula river), the 1960s and the present-day Jewish community.

I've included some tidbits of information in the captions of the pictures.Read more
Very interesting! [Ms. Dresel]
8/6/22Reply
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Local Cuisine Part II: Zapiekanka
August 4, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
According to our tour guide, Kazimierz in the early 90s was very run down and one of the quarters to avoid unless you wanted to get mugged or were involved in some semi-illegal activity.
After Schindler's List, tourists started to come to see the locations of the movie and the events that inspired it. Today, it is a popular place to get some street food, a drink or two, shop in quirky vintage stores, rummage through flea markets or meet friends at a café.

It is here that I went (after recovering from the tour) to grab a snack. Word on the street is that zapiekanka was invented as an alternative to burgers behind the Iron Curtain and that the best place to try it is Plaza Nowy. Originally, this was a Jewish market, where they'd get their kosher meats from the round building in the middle.

Every single window is an individual vendor and they all sell zapiekanka. There's no way of determining which one is best. The tried and proven tactic: Just choose any one at random. The menus, prices, and quality are mostly identical.

What I didn't expect was that I'd literally get half a full-size baguette, not a small hand-sized one or only a part of it. The snack was instantly upgraded to dinner. I wasn't expecting much from it, as it's 'just' baguette with cheese, mushrooms and chives. But it was surprisingly good and I can definitely see how it can taste like a heavenly gourmet meal if you're heading home after a night out.Read more
Have a great day 😙 [Meee again]
8/6/22Reply
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Day trip to Zalipie
August 5, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Once upon the late 1800's, a lady in a the faraway village of Zalipie was decorating her chairs and dining table with floral patterns, as was customary in her region. She liked it so much, that she started to paint her cutlery, dishes, pots, pans, teakettle, and everything she could find in her kitchen. But why stop there? Don't the oven, her bed, and even the walls deserve some folk art love too? As the years passed, her whole house and her shed were covered in flowers - inside and out. The other women of the village watched in awe and wonder. They too wanted to have beautiful homes! So they all started painting flowers on everything they deemed worthy until the entire village was in perpetual bloom. Except for the cat, who just wouldn't have it.

The tradition of painting houses, pottery and just anything, really, and of making flowers of any material imaginable still is alive today, as can be seen in the community hall and the church. Many facades around the village still have their floral patterns. The original house now is a museum honoring the woman who started the tradition.

There was no way of getting here by public transportation, so I rented a car at the airport and drove towards Tarnow before turning onto a country road. At one point, I had to cross a river l but there was no bridge. Instead, a small cable ferry would transport two cars at a time across to the other side.Read more
Awwh! [Gsichti]
8/9/22Reply
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Wieliczka Salt Mine
August 7, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
After a rather disagreeable night at the new hostel (Evergreen's was fully booked for the weekend), I had a relatively early start on Sunday to head to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, an UNESCO heritage site. One of the oldest salt mines in Europe, it started to operate in the 13th century. According to legend, Princess Kinga from Hungary had asked for a dowry of rock salt instead of gold and jewels. Her father gave her the largest salt mine of the kingdom, but she didn't know how to transfer it to her new home, Poland. So she threw her engagement ring into a mine shaft and prayed. Not long after, she ordered miners to dig in a particular spot and when they hit rock, she recognized it as salt. They broke the rock apart and her engagement ring appeared, meaning her dowry had miraculously been brought to Poland.

Today, about 1% of the mine can be visited - a tour of no less than 3 hours. Apart from learning about the history and methods of salt mining throughout the centuries, we marveled at the spacious halls and chapels that had been dug underground. They were home to impressive salt sculptures the miners would carve after their long, sun-deprived shifts. Some of these halls were reminiscent of Tolkien's Khazad-Dum and the Dwarven city within Lonely Mountain. I wouldn't be surprised if they served as an inspiration...Read more
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Local Cuisine Part III: The Milkbar
August 7, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
I emerged from the mines quite hungry, so I directed my steps towards an establishment that had been recommended to me by several people: Bar Mleczny Targowy - the Targowy milk bar.

What sounds like a reference to A Clockwork Orange, actually is one of several remaining milk bars from communist Poland, in which workers could get affordable, government-funded meals. From what I saw today, they are now frequented by students, retirees, young families, and frugal backpackers.

The eatery is a no-frills, simple establishment with a traditional, home-cooked menu, no English spoken at all. The ladies working there could be described as austere grannies with a determined, 'no nonsense' air about them.

I managed to order some Borscht with beans and Ukrainian pancakes - quite a filling meal for only €4.Read more
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An Evening Stroll (& Local Cuisine IV)
August 7, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
As the sun started to set over the city, I took an evening stroll to the center. The well-kept main market square, lined by restaurants and leisurely, kind of relaxed hustle and bustle stands in stark contrast the more gritty, character-laden district of Kazimierz.

First I gravitated towards a Pączki shop to try a Polish donut, which looked more like a German Krapfen to me - not really expecting much of it - and looked for a nice place to sit and absorb the surroundings.

The mood was nothing short of magical, with the perfect lighting, horse-drawn carriages passing by, and the voices of singers wafting across the plaza. But when I unpacked the fried, glazed pastry with raspberry filling and sunk my teeth into it, my pupils must have dilated to the size of my own head. It. Was. Heavenly. With a capital 'H'. Sorry Krapfen, Pączki (at least those from this store) most definitely sent you packing.

I will be telling you more a the city center and some other goodies I found there towards the end of the week ;)Read more
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The Hostel in the Mountains
August 8, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Zakopane was a destination many travelers had been telling me about. In particular, they were holding a torch for a particular hostel named Good Bye Lenin, so I decided to check it out.

I hopped on a bus on Monday morning and arrived at Zakopane around noon. I had been expecting a peaceful, sleepy mountain town but instead found myself on the rather busy and crowded main street.

My laptop power cord had given up on me a couple of days ago and I needed to get some work done. I wandered the town with my backpack for about two hours until I finally found a shop that sold the right replacement before heading out to the hostel.

It was a wooden cabin built in the traditional style of the Tatra mountains, about 3km away from the busy center and right at the edge of the national park. I was greeted by a one-horned goat, which turned out to be one of the hostel pets (in addition to two cats). The receptionist was a Mexican girl named Aleah, who was on a work & travel program.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the cabin's porch, befriending one of the cats, and checking out a nearby wooden chapel.

Later on, as we were talking about travel experiences, Aleah and I found out she knew my high-school bestie and traveling friend Ingrid from when she was in Serbia. What a small world!Read more
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The Eye of the Tatra Mountains
August 9, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Having only one full day in the Tatra mountains and not having packed any appropriate hiking clothes and shoes, I decided to do the most easily accessible hike (17.5 km): Morskie Oko, or the 'Blue Eye'.

To get there, you need to take a minibus from Zakopane or any of the stops along the way. The buses are very frequent and were so full I had to stand all the way. I wondered how many people would be on the trail today.

The hike up to the lake is fairly easy terrain. It is a wide paved road winding up the mountain. It isn't too steep either, but the incline is constant. Those who cannot (or don't want to) walk, can take a horse-drawn carriage instead.

As I set out to walk up the mountain, Pablo, another guest from the hostel, caught up to me and asked if he could join me. I warned him I was a slow hiker, especially uphill, but he was ok with that. In fact, he turned out to be quite pleasant company and we made good conversation as we followed the winding road.

If we had expected a walk through forest trails with nothing but nature around us, we soon stood corrected. All the way to the lake, the infrastructure was designed to support crowds. There were porta-potties every half hour or so and even a restaurant with ATMs half-way up.

When we finally reached the lake, there was another restaurant and such a huge crowd of people trying to take selfies on the narrow shore that I first felt walking all the way up here had really just been a waste of time.

It wasn't until we walked around the lake and the crowds thinned that we could really appreciate the scenery - with the murmur of the masses at the restaurant barely audible in the distance.Read more
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No Cheese for Me in Zakopane
August 10, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
I was surprised to find that my leg muscles were only slightly sore this morning. Nevertheless, I had development a severe case of chafing, so another hike definitely was out of the question.

Instead, I hung out at the hostel finishing up work before checking out and heading down the hill to Zakopane.

There was a museum where you could see how the local smoked cheese was made and even make some yourself. However, when I got there I was turned down as they no longer offered demonstrations in any foreign language. When I said I didn't mind, that I'd be content with just seeing the process, they told me that most of the demo was theory, so I'd probably be bored out of my mind if I couldn't follow in Polish.

I thanked them for their honesty and tried to figure out what else I could do that wouldn't take me too far from the bus stop and didn't involve a full day tour. But I didn't find anything that really spiked my interest. I also wasn't very keen on going to the crowded center with my backpack again to get some local cheese. So instead, I found myself a nice park with a fabulous view of the mountains.Read more
Sehr schönes Bild [Y.F.]
8/14/22Reply
Traveler❤️
8/14/22Reply
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Krakow Old Town
August 11, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Sometimes it takes being in another country to finally meet up with a friend you haven't seen in a while. Aga is a fellow graduate from Germersheim (where I completed my Master's) and she happened to be visiting her family in the vicinity of Katowice about the same time I was in Poland.

I returned from Zakopane to Krakow and met up with her and her beau Dominic at St. Florian's Tower. It is here that we joined another Walkative free walking tour, this time of the old town. It gave us further insights on Krakow's history as well as the Polish perspective of current events. We also learned that in the art museum, you can come face to face with a real DaVinci: Lady with an Ermine. Apparently, the portrait represents Lady Gallerani with her lover, the Duke of Milan. Since it was too scandalous to portray him with his mistress, DaVinci painted the ermine to represent him. Whether the choice of animal was a compliment or not, well, that's something our guide Tomasz left to our own speculations.

Afterwards, I was very eager to show them a very special (or should I rather say magical?) café I had spotted during my evening stroll a few days earlier...Read more
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A Very Magical Evening
August 11, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
While wandering the streets, I had spotted a rather inconspicuous sign out of the corner of my eye. A post with a wooden owl and a board that read 'Leaky Cauldron'.

We entered the passageway between the buildings and found another sign that led us down a flight of stairs to a brick wall (wallpapered door), which opens up to yet another set of stairs flanked by portraits.

Under their watchful eyes, the three of us descended, down and around a corner, to the Leaky Cauldron café.

Soon we felt like Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Hogsmeade, warming our fingers on mugs with delicious Butterbeer. Around us, others were doing the same, enjoying some cake or sipping elixirs from bubbling, smoking goblets.

We felt like rounding off the evening with some muggle beer, so we went to a nearby bookstore. Yes, you read that right: a bookstore.

Of course, at this hour it looked dark and very much closed - but you could still open the door. Which we did, cautiously. After looking around carefully, feeling we were doing something slightly forbidden, we spotted a friendly old man among his books reading under a dim light.

He acknowledged our whispered greeting with a nod as we climbed up a flight of stairs towards the sound of music and leisurely chatter. It is here we found the not so secret secret student's pub, where we could, indeed, get some beer. Cheers! 🍻Read more
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Local Cuisine V and a Full Train
August 12, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
The last day in Krakow had arrived and it was time to start heading back west via Wroclaw and Dresden.

I met up with Aga and Dominic to check out the crafts market next to the Cloth Hall before heading to the train station. Here, I finally got to try Oscypek, the Polish smoked cheese. We got it right off the grill, as it is intended to be eaten (not cold, as I had assumed) and it was a bit salty, but I liked the strong smoky flavor.

I had only booked the train the night before, so it wasn't possible to reserve a seat, no matter whether I chose first class or second. Maybe the only difference between them is the price after all? 🤔

Anyway, the train was very full and I braced myself for having to stand, squeezed between people and luggage, for three hours straight.

Luckily, by the time we reached Katowice, quite a few people got off. I still didn't get a spot in the compartment or even on one of the fold-down seats, but at least I could sit on the floor. I wrapped my travel pillow in my cloth tote to improvise a cushion, so it was a bit more comfortable at least.

After a while, I started to notice that some of the seated passengers would offer their seats to the less fortunate ones while they stretched their legs. This way, pretty much everyone in my wagon, including myself, got to sit normally for at least half an hour of the trip.Read more
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Neon Side Gallery
August 12, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Exhausted and slightly dehydrated, I finally arrived in Wroclaw having learned the lesson: Book your trains well in advance and bring twice the amount of water you think you need.

After checking into the hostel and resting for a bit, I headed out with my new bunkmate Carla, from Argentina, to explore the city.

The first impression I got, is that Wroclaw is very colorful and pretty, wealthy, a business hub, and has an attractive network of waterways as the Oder river forms several islands as it passes through the city. But I also noticed run-down neighborhoods, quite a bit of litter, and a handful of drunk (and unfortunately quite smelly) vagrants.

When Carla decided to go on a sightseeing boat ride, I continued exploring on my own. Nearby the hostel, I stumbled upon the Neon Side Gallery, tucked away in a back alley. A lively spot with a collection of old neon signs and street art.Read more
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Wroclaw
August 13, 2022 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Today it rained quite a bit, but that didn't keep me from having a closer look at Wroclaw's historic city center.

With its gothic churches, baroque university edifices, 19th century brick edifications, early 20th century houses, and modern buildings, it is a treasure chest of European architectural styles.

Lining the main square, and to some extent in the streets and alleys surrounding them, you'll mostly find buildings from the late 1800's and early 1900's in their full decorative splendor... including colonialist representations that would surely spark controversy nowadays.

Peppered throughout the entire center, you'll find an immense variety of places to eat, drink, or just have some coffee. From traditional Polish cuisine to hip eateries, and internacional culinary experiences.

I also got a sense that art and culture abounds, with several small galleries and a variety of literature and music cafés. Later, I found out that Wroclaw had been declared the European Capital of Culture for 2016.Read more
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Gnomes Everywhere!
August 13, 2022 in Poland ⋅ 🌧 22 °C
One of the things I enjoyed most about my day in Wroclaw was... searching for gnomes!

All over the city, but especially on and around the main square, you'll discover little gnome statues pursuing all kinds of activities.

There are several theories about these fun little figurines. The most popular is that people started placing them during the early 80's as a form of peaceful protest against the communist regime.

Other stories tell the statuettes honor the gnomes that drove the mischievous Oder River Imp out of the city or that the gnomes have always been there, helping the inhabitants of the city as some sort of protective spirits.

I found 20 of these little fellas during my visit. There are more than 500 gnomes in Wroclaw, with more being added on a regular basis. They even have their own, dedicated holiday in September!Read more
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Poland Cost Summary & Practical Info
August 14, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
I left Wroclaw early in the morning and spent another full day traveling by train to Nuremberg via Zgorzelec/Görlitz, Dresden, and Erfurt. After a series of delays to get to Dresden ('Schienenersatzverkehr' must be among the most terrifying German words), I decided to splurge on a faster, more comfortable ICE for the rest of my journey.
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In total, I had budgeted about €500 (+/-100) for two weeks and ended up spending a little below €800. This includes splurges like the ICE (€60), the rental car (€50 + €27 for gas), an occasional goodie, and replacing my power cord (€25) - which can't really be counted as a travel expense.
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*Hostels*

Krakow: Evergreen Hostel

A large apartment with three dorms, privately owned and run by Nick. He renovated it and built all the furniture himself, so it has a bit of a DIY feel, but everything works perfectly. Quiet enough to decompress and relax, sociable enough to make friends and exchange travel experiences.

Krakow: Atlantis

Huge, commercial hostel, loud. Didn't really like it here, just a place to sleep, eat and go.

Zakopane: Good Bye Lenin

Also a great stay, small enough to make you feel at home and connect to other travelers. Nice location, surrounded by trees and nature, with a porch and a garden to hang out in. It is a bit far from downtown, so get groceries and cash before coming up to the hostel.

Wroclaw: Hostel Mleczarnia

It was difficult to find affordable accomodation on short notice in Wroclaw. The Mleczarnia was ok - great staff and nice, shabby chic interior. Spacious rooms with high ceilings, as the building is from the 1900's. However, WiFi doesn't reach all rooms and since it is located in an outdoor dining area it can get loud. Also, the power plugs were not accessible from the top bunks. Perhaps staying in a smaller dorm or private room would be a better experience here.
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Staying fed:

While there are Zabkas (small convenience stores) literally everywhere, Biedronka supermarkets are better if you're cooking yourself. I usually bought ingredients for breakfasts (muesli, joghurt, fruit) and dinners (e.g. tortellini salad with tomato and cheese).

When eating at restaurants, expect to spend between €4-€15/meal. Naturally, touristy areas can be more expensive.
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Transportation:

I booked all my Polish trains on polishtrains.eu and Omnio or Flixbus are the go-to websites for buses between cities. For local public transportation, download the app 'Jakdojade'.Read more
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Trip end
August 14, 2022