PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Books on Travel

Zenon — Tue Dec 15, 2015 12:02 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2015 12:02 am

Donna,

You will find a lot of practical advice on our guests' blogs here: http://blog.polishorigins.com/ . How is your Polish In one of the messages from July you mentioned that you started to learn it. You also wrote that you didn't have any contacts with relatives in Poland. Have you been able to contact you them since then? If you need any help in that please let me know

Re: Books on Travel

Sophia — Thu Dec 10, 2015 6:14 pm

Author: Sophia

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 6:14 pm

Oh! Wow! To have a rental car and to be so close to the Wooden Architecture Route! http://www.drewniana.malopolska.pl/?l=en
Not all the buildings on the Wooden Architecture Route are churches, as you will see on the website. It has a great map to show what would be close to where you will be.

Excellent that you are arriving in Poland after a cruise. That certainly will soften the effects of time zone changes that can be a real problem after a flight, especially in the west-to-east direction.

All best wishes for a wonderful trip!
Sophia

Our trip to Poland

dgawell — Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:42 pm

Author: dgawell

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:42 pm

Hi Sophia,
My answer is "yes" to all the above. We are flying into Warsaw after a two week transatlantic cruise. We couldn't resist a $479pp two week trip! Cheaper than airfare!

We will go to Kolbuszowa to see the town and the folk village and then to visit with recently discovered cousins. I hope to have the chance to look for records at the church and tour the ancestral villages of Niwiska and Trzesn. We then hope to go to Lutcza to visit my husband's ancestral village then over to the closeby village of my DH's ggrandparents to see the amazing wooden church there. We hope to visit Lancut castle and may go to Gdansk before we head back to Warsaw to visit a day or two.

I have lots of writing and genealogy projects in the works after my visit. One will be to finish a narrative story of my Polish grandparents and to publish it on createspace and then to begin a short story novel on my grandmother. So, I have many goals, but mostly genealogy and family.

BTW- my DH got his international driver's permit today.

Re: Books on Travel

Sophia — Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:19 pm

Author: Sophia

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:19 pm

Is there some aspect of the trip on which you want specific advice? Are you going just to see the sights and get into the culture, or are you going as genealogy tourists to visit archives or churches or meet up with family?

Re: Books on Travel

dgawell — Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:23 am

Author: dgawell

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:23 am

Keep the good advice coming! We both learned on manual transmissions as did many people back in the 1960's. The only time we chickened out was in England with the "opposite side of the road and car issue" on top of a manual transmission. I think we will try for the automatic but are prepared for a manual in case that is all they have.

Really, your help and advice is so helpful! I would have never thought of putting the instructions when we order online in Polish!

Re: Books on Travel

Elzbieta Porteneuve — Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:02 am

Author: Elzbieta Porteneuve

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:02 am

May I add that most of cars in Europe are not automatic ones (the rule in the US).

Either you know how to manage manual gearbox, or you better learn it quietly before your trip.

Or be specific and rent automatic car "wynajem samochodów z automatyczną skrzynią biegów".

Bon voyage!
Elzbieta

Re: Books on Travel

Sophia — Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:50 am

Author: Sophia

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:50 am

Hi dgawell,
While this does not answer your question directely about travel books, I did want to respond to your plan to rent a car. Great idea! You will have much more flexibility in your travel. You probably already know that you will need an International Drivers License and those are easy enough to obtain at an AAA (assuming you are in the U.S.) before your trip. What is much less easy, in my opinion, is adapting to the signage on the roads. PLEASE familiarize yourself with it ahead of time! There are lots of websites that show the type of signs that are used in Poland and elsewhere in Europe. Some will seem intuitive, but in particular the signs that govern parking rules will take some study. Also, familiarize yourself with the types of gas ("petrol") and how these are marked at gas stations, and be aware that there are a lot more diesel cars available for renting than you might find in the U.S. so be sure you know what you are getting.

Best of luck with your trip!
Sophia

Books on Travel

dgawell — Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:27 am

Author: dgawell

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:27 am

Do you have a recommendation for a book on traveling to Poland? I have seen Rick Steve's eastern European book already. We will be based more in eastern Poland and are venturing out on our own by rental car. Thanks!