Traveling by car gives tourists ample opportunities when choosing a vacation spot and route. During such trips you can visit several resorts and even countries. Therefore, every year there are more and more fans of road routes. Our compatriots confidently travel not only around their home country, but also throughout Europe. Sometimes, during one vacation, motorists manage to travel around almost the entire European Union and they usually begin their journey from Poland.

This country is located closest to the border with Russia, and there is also something to see in the capital itself and in small provincial towns that have retained their authenticity. However, traveling to Poland by car, despite its simplicity and low costs, has a lot of pitfalls that a first-time tourist may not be aware of. We will reveal all the secrets of choosing a route, crossing the border, as well as specific requirements for a vehicle and many other important nuances for travelers. So, let's start preparing for a trip to Poland by car from the Russian Federation.

Selecting a route

Traveling in your own car gives you incredible freedom of movement. The tourist can afford to plan the route as he pleases, and, if desired, change it at any time. In addition, a couple of weeks of vacation by car gives you a unique opportunity to explore in detail the country you are going to, and not just one of its corners.

What to see in Poland by car? You need to take care of this while still at home and draw up a detailed itinerary for your future trip. This will make it easier for you to navigate using maps and a navigator in a foreign country. Naturally, every tourist who crosses the border with Poland for the first time strives to get to Warsaw and begin getting acquainted with the country from the capital. It is best to immediately drive to the territory of the old city. However, keep in mind that all parking there is paid and you will have to walk a little to some places.

In the old town there are two of the most beautiful squares in Warsaw: the Castle and the Market Square. On the first is the Royal Castle, which tourists are always recommended to visit. Most of its rooms are open to guests and are of great historical interest. The entrance fee ranges from seven dollars per person.

The Market Square is home to numerous cafes, restaurants and taverns. By the way, Polish cuisine is very tasty, and the portions are large. The average bill per person is from three hundred to five hundred rubles. The National Library of Poland is also located here. Even if you are not interested in old books, we still advise you to look into this building. On its roof is the largest and most luxurious garden in Europe. In addition, the view of the city from here leaves an unforgettable impression.

If you came to Poland by car, then your next travel destination should be Krakow. This city is rightly called the ancient Polish capital. Here you can also visit the Old Square, where handmade amber products are sold. This stone is considered a symbol of Poland, and the dragon, depicted everywhere in the city, is the mascot of Krakow.

After the noisy, it’s time to walk in nature, and here the town of Zakopane will be on your route. It is surrounded by mountains and lakes; a tour of local attractions will cost twenty-two dollars. You can also stay overnight here; all local hotels are quite colorful and inexpensive.

The route we have described is designed for approximately a ten-day trip. For a first visit to Poland by car, this time and impressions are quite enough. But in the future the route can be changed, because there are still many interesting and unusual places in the country.

Usually our compatriots go to the Polish borders from Moscow. Since from here it is only a few hours by car to Poland. However, keep in mind that only Kaliningrad borders this country. In other cases, tourists will have to travel through Ukraine or Belarus.

By car, according to experienced travelers, it is simpler and easier through customs control points in Ukraine. However, due to the political situation, this path is still closed to Russians. Therefore, the only option is to travel through Belarus. If you don’t make unnecessary stops and are lucky that there are no queues at the border, then taking into account the departure from the Russian capital at seven in the morning or even earlier, by the evening of the same day you will already find yourself in Warsaw. We have given the route along which motorists will travel below.

Despite the desire to get to Europe as quickly as possible, which all travelers without exception have, such a forced march should only be undertaken if there is a person nearby who can replace you behind the wheel. Otherwise, there is a high risk of getting into an accident.

Typically, during a car trip, it is recommended to stop every two and a half hours and get out of the vehicle to stretch your limbs. During these breaks you need to have a snack and drink hot coffee from a thermos. With this approach, you will not feel tired and will maintain a high concentration of attention.

Features of customs control: choosing a checkpoint

When choosing a route to Poland by car, you must take into account the checkpoint through which you plan to cross the border. The speed of completing all formalities will depend on this, because at some points there are traditionally queues of vehicles.

Usually our compatriots use six checkpoints in Belarus to cross the border (they are marked on the map). However, one of them (“Kozlovichi-Kukuryki”) does not work with passenger vehicles. If you end up here by mistake, the border guards will turn you around and send you to another point, since only trucks are accepted here.

The most crowded checkpoint is Brest-Terespol. The main flow of tourists from Russia goes here. Therefore, the wait sometimes takes several hours. But the neighboring ones - “Domachevo-Slavatyche” and “Peschatka-Polovtse” - are not so busy. Sometimes there are no queues at all. But if you want to cross the border quickly and surely, then arrive at the checkpoint at four in the morning or after midnight.

Requirements for the technical condition of the car

If you are planning to travel to Poland by car, then make a diagnosis of your vehicle before traveling. The Poles pay increased attention to this issue and, due to a minor malfunction, may well not allow you into the country.

Take care of the headlights first and take a set of spare bulbs with you. The fact is that you can only move around Poland with your low beams on. Therefore, its breakdown will always be of interest to local highway guards. Also, at the checkpoint they may be denied entry into the country due to cracks on the windshield and chips on the body. The integrity of the vehicle is an indispensable condition for the safe crossing of the border.

Don't forget to put a first aid kit, a spare tire or repair kit, a hazard sign and a fire extinguisher in the trunk. There must be vests with reflective stripes in the car interior. Moreover, their number must coincide with the number of travelers. Even if you have an infant traveling with you, he must have his own vest. At night outside the city, you can only travel along the highway wearing them.

By the way, winter travelers should know that in Poland you cannot drive on studded tires. In order to overcome ice, you need to put wheel chains in the trunk.

Keep in mind that the radar is best left at home. It is prohibited in Polish territories, so either do without it or hide it carefully.

Traveling to Poland by car: documents

Customs officers will check the package of documents at the border very carefully, but by and large it is considered standard. At checkpoints they know that many Russians travel by car through Poland to other European countries. But all responsibility for the documents falls on the shoulders of Polish customs officers. What will interest them when crossing the border?

Regardless of your age and make of car, at the checkpoint you will be asked for foreign passports with a Schengen stamp (whether you fly by plane or drive, you will still need a visa to Poland), medical insurance for each traveler and international-style insurance for the vehicle. Naturally, you must take with you on the road a full package of documents for the car, a Russian driver’s license and, if available, a driver’s license in the established international form. Usually in Poland they are not interested in their presence, but they will not be superfluous.

Experienced travelers are advised to take copies of all documents with them, including confirmation of hotel reservations and Russian passports. It would be a good idea to store copies in electronic form on a regular flash drive or a specialized Internet resource.

Goods prohibited for import into the country

On the Polish side, customs control is leisurely and thorough. However, some types of products may be confiscated from you. For example, the import of meat and dairy products and chocolate into Poland is prohibited. However, if necessary, customs officers can leave them in your car. Milk will definitely not be taken away if a child is traveling in the car (people also work at the border control).

As for alcoholic beverages and alcohol, there are clear restrictions for them. One person can carry a liter of spirits and two packs of cigarettes. But, as experienced tourists say, these points are not always thoroughly checked.

A few words about gas stations and gasoline prices

Our compatriots do not always imagine how much money they will have to spend on gasoline on a road trip. Therefore, it is difficult for them to calculate the travel budget. In fact, you can do this at home if you know that on average one liter of Polish gasoline will cost you just over one euro. Some people are scared by these prices, and they try to save money by refueling as much as possible on the territory of Belarus. In addition, the rules for entering the country allow the presence of a canister of gasoline with a volume of no more than ten liters in the trunk of a car. By the way, keep in mind that at Polish gas stations you can only fill up with gasoline grades 95 and 98. The 92 fuel, so beloved by many of our compatriots, simply does not exist on sale.

If we begin to describe gas stations, then we must say the main thing - they cause great delight among our tourists. The area around is clean and well-groomed, toilets are free, rest areas for drivers are equipped, and children's playgrounds are located everywhere. Usually there is also a good cafe at the gas station. Moreover, such establishments are usually chains and offer food at the level of an expensive restaurant, but at quite reasonable prices.

Buying a car in Poland

Some of our compatriots cross the Polish border for one purpose - to drive a car. You can bring quite good vehicles from Poland to Russia, because the country borders Germany, from where used cars of various brands in good and excellent condition come to it.

Therefore, driving yourself a car looks like a very tempting offer. However, this can only be done by carefully weighing the pros and cons and finding a suitable vehicle in advance via the Internet. There are quite a lot of websites where sellers offer cars from Poland for sale. All the necessary information and often even the VIN number is indicated here. Therefore, it will not be difficult to check the car you like in various databases for theft and accidents.

To avoid scammers, do not leave a deposit with the seller. Discuss all the issues with him over the phone (you may need a translator) and only then go to Poland. It is most reliable to purchase a car from large dealers who have been in this business for several years.

After completing the transaction, the seller must provide you with a purchase and sale agreement and a registration certificate. You must obtain insurance for your car and issue transit license plates. This will delay you somewhat in Poland. However, many Russians leave the country with existing license plates. They are not bothered by the fact that there is a fine for license plates belonging to another country (Germany, for example). However, it is low and only slightly exceeds the cost of purchasing transit license plates.

In a brand new car, the journey from Poland to Russia takes several hours. But at the border you may be delayed by issues of customs clearance of your vehicle. And it’s good if they don’t bring unexpected surprises.

Cost of a car in Poland

Quite low prices for cars in Poland attract Russians. However, few of them approach the transaction thoroughly and accurately understand how much money they should have on hand.

So how much does a car cost in Poland? If we take only the car itself, then the prices are really low. For example, a fresh “Beetle” at the age of four years will cost a little less than one hundred and fifty thousand rubles. And for three hundred thousand rubles you can become the owner of an almost new German luxury car. But don’t rush to rejoice ahead of time, because this is not all the costs of purchasing an iron friend.

A significant expense item is customs duties. For a car less than three years old, they will be about half the price of the car. Plus, a rate for engine power is added to this. On average, for each cubic centimeter of its volume you will need to pay from two and a half to twenty euros.

To all of the above items you need to add the costs of living in Poland, travel, food and visa processing. The final cost may even exceed the price of a similar car on the Russian market. Therefore, think twice before going abroad to buy a new vehicle.

Review of traveling with three children in my own car in Poland. Review of Old Towns, travel tips, interesting places and photographs.

Preface

Four of us went on the trip: me and my three children - two adults (17 and 15 years old) and one little one (2 years old). Everyone has different interests, so I wanted to take into account the wishes of each family member. The budget allocated for the trip was small - about 30,000 rubles for 5 days, including travel, accommodation, food and entertainment.

I planned a trip for mid-August 2017, but until the day of departure we were not sure that the trip would take place. For this reason, I booked hotels on the Booking website so that I could cancel the order at the last minute. The deciding factor when choosing a hotel was the price - we booked separate triple rooms in hostels.

Finally, on August 13, we finally got ready to set off. Our car is not the most economical 1995 Opel Vectra. We filled the tank full (60 liters) and took a 10-liter canister with us - that’s how much gasoline you can take with you across the border. We got ready for the trip to Poland.

We crossed the border at the Mamonovo-Grzechotki border crossing, and we had to stand there. You never know in advance how long you will have to wait, and you need to be prepared for this. After 3 hours we finally found ourselves in Poland.

On the road I used the Maps.me application. From time to time he built a strange path - some places could be bypassed, some shortcuts could be taken. However, I give him 5 stars because, even while paving a long road, he never took us into unknown territory. Thanks to this application, I saved some money because I was able to avoid toll roads.

First stops: Ostróda and Torun

Finally, we stop in the first Polish city of Ostróda. There is a unique Elblag Canal, along which an unusual ship floats - it moves not only on water, but also on land. The embankment of the beautiful Lake Drwięckie, which is part of the Masurian Lake District, is the cultural center of the city - there we refreshed ourselves and moved on.

The next stop was the city of Torun. My older children and I have been there several times already, and we couldn’t deny ourselves the pleasure of looking here for at least a couple of hours. This time there was no time for a cultural excursion, but I can recommend the Copernicus House Museum and the Gingerbread Museum. Prices: children's ticket - 12 zlotys, adult - 17 zlotys (200 and 270 rubles, respectively). In the last museum you can make your own delicious and aromatic gingerbread according to an old Polish recipe.

This time we didn’t have time to get anywhere, but we walked along the streets of the old town located in Torun. We admired the street sculptures, of which there are a huge number, and had a picnic on the banks of the Vistula.

Torun. Old city

Let's move on. At about 22:00 we arrived at the booked Hotel Gosciniec in Wloclawek, a triple room cost us 1,700 rubles. The website indicated that registration was possible until 23:00, but when we arrived at 22:00, we found the administrator already leaving at the door. I don't know if anyone else would have registered us if she had left.

Quiet and cozy Wloclawek

We were given a triple room with comfortable beds, clean linen and a comfortable bathroom. The kitchen was small and dark, but we found everything we needed to prepare dinner. Having spent the night comfortably, we headed to the old city. It was Monday, so the museums were closed. We just walked along the narrow streets. The old town of Wlocławek lacks luster and can be said to be abandoned. There are practically no tourists here, which, in my opinion, is a plus.

Wloclawek - Old Town

We visited the beautiful cathedral and moved on.

Gothic architecture and amazing stained glass windows of the cathedral

Lodz - a city within a city

The next destination in Poland was the city of Lodz. Preparing for the trip, I looked for various information and reviews about the country. I learned that the main attractions of the city of Lodz are the Manufaktura shopping center and Piotrkowska Street. We visited these two places. Manufaktura is a truly huge complex in a former textile factory with shops, cinemas, cafes, museums and even a beach.

Beach in the center of Lodz

Then we got to Piotrkowska Street, ran along it and rushed on. Lodz gives the impression of a large industrial city with rare but beautiful architectural islands.

Fragments of Old Lodz

We arrived in Krakow at 22:50. We were in a hurry to get to the hotel, since the website indicated check-in time until 23:00. We made it, but I think that even if we were late, we would still have been accommodated in Dom Studencki Atol. We had to spend three nights there, for which we paid 5,300 rubles. The hotel is a student residence, but we are not picky tourists who only need an overnight stay, so this option suited us.

A small drawback is the lack of dishes, but the watchmen took pity on us and let us use the pan. This was very useful, since my children love to eat, and let me remind you, the trip is on a budget, so we didn’t plan to constantly have a snack in a cafe. A stone's throw from the hostel are Lidl and Biedronka (Polish chain supermarkets), as well as a small convenience store. There was no shortage of products.

History come to life - Krakow Old Town

On the first day in Krakow, we decided to go to the Old Town, about which we had read many admiring reviews on the Internet. On August 15, the Polish Army Festival takes place in Poland - keep this in mind if you are planning a trip in the summer. On this day everything is closed, as on any other public holiday. The city seems to have died out, but there are very, very many people in the historical center.

Crowded tourist Krakow

The old town is very beautiful - there are many interesting buildings, both preserved and restored. Interesting facts about this place can be found at the information points. One of them is located right on the main square of Krakow. A tip for all travelers - find the tourist information office straight away. It is usually located in the city center. There they will give you a tourist map, help you build a route, give you discount coupons, tell you about promotions, etc. In all European cities I do exactly this, in Russia it is a little more difficult. Souvenirs can be bought in the cloth hall building in the very center of the city; there is a very large selection to suit every taste and budget.

Model of cloth rows in Krakow

We walked around the very center, went into the church and looked at the festive service - it was a very beautiful event, there were flowers and bouquets everywhere.

Festive ceremony

Further along the narrow streets we headed to the pearl of Krakow - the Wawel Royal Castle. We had a snack on the way - even in the center of the Old Town you can eat relatively inexpensively. On average, a check in a cafe costs 200-250 rubles per person, and the portions are served very large - you won’t leave hungry.

The castle is located on Wawel Hill, so you have to climb the mountain. It's worth it, because at the top there is an amazingly beautiful view of the city.

View of Krakow and the Vistula from Wawel Hill

Admission to the castle's courtyard is free, but to the chambers there is a fee, as there are exhibitions dedicated to the Polish kings and a painting exhibition.

Inner courtyard of Wawel Castle

We didn’t go inside, but decided to visit the legendary dragon cave. We stood in a short line, bought tickets from the machine (you need to have cash with you), paid three zlotys per person (about 45 rubles), went downstairs and headed to the car. Tip: In the evening and on holidays in the Old Town you can park for free in many places. I didn’t know this, so I parked the car a little far from the place.

We went to the largest amusement park in Poland called Energylandia. Tickets cost 109 zlotys (1,744 rubles) for adults and 59 zlotys (944 rubles) for children under 18 years old (height must be less than 140 centimeters). For children under three years old, entry will cost only one zloty (16 rubles). In total, this pleasure cost us 5,300 rubles.

There are many attractions here, but there are no less people. Extreme entertainment is popular, so the queues are long - you will have to wait at least half an hour, but it is worth it. There is a cafe on site, but it is expensive, so we took food and water with us. It was very hot, but the park has a large water area where you can cool off. In addition, there are water sprayers everywhere, which are also very refreshing.

Energylandia has a large area for children, where there are practically no queues. It’s still better to arrive before the opening to get plenty of rides. We didn't have time to visit everywhere.

Energylandia - a fairy tale for children and adults

Museum "Schindler's Factory" in Krakow

The next day was my last in Krakow. Near our hostel there is a small but clean lake with a large recreation area. We spent the whole morning there.

A good place to rest and relax before a long journey

Then we went to the Schindler Museum, which is located in the building of Oskar Schindler's enamel factory. Ticket prices are 24 (adult) and 18 (reduced) zlotys. The queue is long, but small children are allowed to go ahead. If possible, it is better to buy tickets online.

The exhibition is interesting - you unnoticeably dissolve in the atmosphere of historical Krakow from 1939 to 1945. The annotations are mostly in Polish, but even without knowing the language, everything can be understood. Another tip: watch the movie "Schindler's List" before visiting the museum.

Oskar Schindler Museum

Not far from the museum, there is a fragment of the wall that separated the ghetto from the main Krakow - that’s where we headed. This part of the city is not as colorful as the center.

Fragment of the wall of the Jewish ghetto

Wieliczka. Salt caves

The next point is the Wieliczka salt mines. Tickets cost us 46 zlotys per person, we paid a total of 2,200 rubles.

Descent into the caves is permitted only with a guide. We went with a Polish guide, but you can choose a Russian one, but the ticket will be more expensive. We waited for the guide for about half an hour, after which everyone was given headphones and told to go down the stairs. The path is quite long, and it is difficult to walk with a small child. The temperature in the caves is comfortable, you should wear comfortable shoes. Here we found beautiful halls in which everything is made of salt, as well as a salt river and a lake.

At the end there was a souvenir shop and restaurant waiting for us. The whole excursion took us about 2.5-3 hours.

The largest hall

Salt crystal chandelier

Warsaw. Relaxation in the botanical garden

From Wieliczka we went to Warsaw. We booked a room in advance at Hey Chang Hostel, which cost us 1,600 rubles. The hotel is a private house with separate rooms. By the way, here we were provided with a free separate bed for a small child. In the morning we went to the Outlet, which is located nearby. There are many branded stores and a good selection of products - a great place for shopping.

Warsaw was a transit city for us, which we had visited more than once before. It was 32 degrees outside, and we had almost no energy left, so we decided to visit only the university library, and we were not at all wrong with our choice. This place is perfect to end your trip to Poland. Entrance to the library is free.

Interesting landscape on the library grounds

Naturalistic art objects

Great view of the city

Having left Warsaw, we went home. At the Bezledy-Bagrationovsk border we again stood for several hours and, tired but happy, returned home.

Costs of traveling to Poland

Let's calculate all expenses:

1. Gasoline - 5,000 rubles (we drove 1,500 kilometers, spent 100 liters of fuel).
2. Accommodation - 8600 rubles.
3. Entertainment and museums - 10,000 rubles.
4. Food and souvenirs - 7,000 rubles.

When we went to Poland by car, in this amazing and extraordinary country, we were able to see a lot, although it is impossible to see all the sights and fully enjoy its atmosphere. Therefore, this article will contain only our small experience, which, I hope, will be useful to the readers of this resource.

We live on the border with Poland, in the city of Brest, so our interest in this region is very understandable. Particularly attractive for all tourists and for us, in particular, are cities such as Warsaw and Krakow - two capitals, but we didn’t want to spend our holidays only in the city, so we could not ignore the city of Zakopane with its mountains and lakes in our choice . And of course, I wanted to see how ordinary average cities in this republic live. To do this, we chose a town comparable to the Belarusian Brest both in area and in population - the city of Radom, which is one hundred kilometers from Warsaw. This is how our travel route was born. to Poland by car, namely: Brest-Warsaw-Radom-Krakow-Zakopane. But any trip to the Schengen countries begins with obtaining a visa.

How to get a visa to Poland

Obtaining a tourist visa to Poland is not difficult at all. The first thing you need to do is register the date of submission of documents and fill out the visa application form on the consulate website. The next step is to collect documents for submission. Their list is no different from other countries participating in the Schengen area: passport, completed application form, proof of funds, health insurance and documents confirming the purpose of your visit to the country. We had a reservation from booking.com. You will receive your visa in hand within 10 working days, i.e., on average, within 14 calendar days.

What surprises await you at the border and after crossing it?

The main surprise at the Belarusian-Polish border is the queues and meticulous border guards. Standing at a road crossing for 8 hours is a very possible prospect, so it is better to take food with you.

The roads in Poland are good and meet European standards. Only if they are located outside the city, they usually have two lanes, i.e. only yours and the oncoming one. But this does not interfere with the convenience of movement: everyone moves at the speed of the flow, the speed limit is not violated, and in most cases there is no point in overtaking. Also, Polish roads in many places are equipped with photo and video recorders, so I don’t recommend driving recklessly in Poland: it can hit your wallet with a very specific amount. Please also note that already at the entrance to Krakow, or rather already 100 kilometers from it, the terrain begins to be hilly, and in some places even mountainous, there are also so-called “serpentines”. The road will be like this all the way to Zakopane. The cost of a liter of gasoline in Poland is 5 zlotys (1.7 dollars).

As for places to stay, Poland is simply a paradise of roadside service. Therefore, after you have crossed the border, you can eat and relax at any motel. The only peculiarity is that if you get here on a holiday, everything will be closed. This is their principle: if there is a holiday, no one works. Therefore, in order not to find yourself in an awkward situation, check the calendar of public holidays in Poland before your trip.

What is Warsaw like?

Warsaw, like almost any capital city, is quite arrogant. Especially for Russian-speaking tourists. Maybe that’s why the capital of Poland didn’t make a strong impression on me. In my opinion, only two places here are worth spending your time on: the Royal Palace and the National Library.

By the way, all parking in the historical center of the city is paid, and tow trucks work really well: if you left the car in the wrong place, five minutes later it was no longer found there, try to remember this to avoid unpleasant situations. The cost of parking depends on the time for which you leave the car. On average, for 6 hours of parking you will pay about 30 zlotys (10 dollars).

The first place I advise you to visit is the Royal Palace. It is located on one of the two squares of the old city - on Zamkova. This attraction has a constantly updated official website (http://www.zamek-krolewski.pl), which I would advise you to visit before your trip: here you can find information about upcoming events. The exhibition in the palace is permanent; of all the halls, spend more time on the Knight's, Marble and Throne rooms. Each exhibit has signs with descriptions in two languages: Polish and English. Entrance costs 22 zlotys (7 dollars). The day off at the Royal Palace is Monday; on Sunday it is open from 11 to 16, on other days from 10 to 16.

After leaving the palace, take a walk to another square - Market Square. There you will find many catering facilities, many of them very colorful. In more expensive ones, try Tatar - a national Polish dish, which is prepared from raw meat with the addition of mushrooms, butter, onions, pickled cucumber and raw egg. This dish must be made from the freshest, highest quality meat. I tried it at the Barbican restaurant, and I don’t regret it at all. If you are not ready for such experiments with your stomach, the restaurant chefs will offer you other dishes of both Polish and European cuisine. On average, lunch here will cost you $20. I should note that the Poles cook very tasty, and their portions are as big as the Bulgarians’ - Slavic hospitality, apparently.

The National Library of Poland is a 10-minute walk from the Market Square. I would recommend visiting it for two reasons: the collection of this library is rich in old books, and its search engines are among the most effective in the world, so finding some ancient book that you have long dreamed of is quite possible here; the second reason is the luxurious roof garden - one of the largest in Europe. From the bridges of the garden there is a wonderful view of the city. In short, the National Library is truly amazing.

If you decide to visit other places in the Polish capital, consider the entrance prices: Lazienkowski Palace - 10 zlotys (3 dollars), 13 zlotys (4 dollars), Wilanow Palace - 20 zlotys (7 dollars).

I wouldn’t recommend staying in any hotel in Warsaw: it’s very expensive, it’s better to spend the night in the suburbs. We chose the city of Radom for these purposes.

How life is in the Polish hinterland

We settled in for the night in the Fantazja apartment, a double room of which cost us $22. From the outside, this place is not impressive, but the rooms are quite cozy, and a very hearty and varied breakfast is included in the price.

In Radom we decided to go shopping and did not regret it: there is a large shopping center “Sunny Gallery” (Galeria s?oneczna), where you can find stores of brands such as Zara, CCC, NewYorker and many others. Prices for branded items are two to three times lower than ours. The city has a small park and an old church behind it. These are all the attractions of Radom.

In a word, the Polish town turned out to be a quiet, clean and cozy place. It’s probably good to raise children here and live as a happy family, going on weekends to Warsaw or Krakow, which we just went to.

Krakow - the ancient capital of Poland

When you get to Krakow, you immediately understand which city should be the capital of Poland. He charms you, captivates you at first sight, and after that he doesn’t want to let you go.

The main attraction of Krakow is Wawel Castle. It is surrounded along the perimeter by a high stone wall. Not far from the entrance there is an iron statue of a dragon - the symbol of Krakow; be sure to take a photo here. Behind this statue there is a hole in which, according to legend, this dragon sat. Entrance there is paid, but there is nothing inside, just a hole, so if you pay for a visit to the hole (it costs about a dollar), you’re just throwing money away. Instead, visit other exhibitions: the personal and working apartments of the kings, the treasury, the chapel (where many Polish kings and the last president of Poland are buried). I also advise you to come here on weekdays, then there are fewer tourists here. Entrance prices to different sections of the castle are quite high (from 10 to 20 dollars), but it is worth it.

When you've had your fill of walking around Wawel, visit the cloth stalls on the Old Market Square. Here you can choose jewelry made from amber, which is considered a symbol of Poland, at a fairly affordable price. Nearby, by the way, stands one of the five monuments in the world to Adam Mickiewicz. Walking further along the streets of Krakow you will find many amazing and ancient temples that will undoubtedly impress you. Therefore, for a visit to Krakow you need to set aside a whole day, and if you love urban culture, then two.

Staying overnight in Krakow, as in Warsaw, is very expensive. Choose a motel outside the city.

Zakopane

Zakopane is the city that will welcome you warmly. There is everything you need for a good holiday: mountains, fresh air, lakes, local color. By the way, about him. The indigenous people of this area are called highlanders. You can see many of them in national clothes in restaurants, performing their ancient songs.

In Zakopane, be sure to take an excursion to the mountains along some route; choose its difficulty depending on your physical fitness. However, be sure to visit the Valley of Five Lakes. These are alpine lakes of amazing beauty. There is also a house nearby where you can stay for a rest or to wait out bad weather - the locals call it “chronisko”, staying in it is free. Don’t go to the mountains yourself, you risk getting lost, and besides, there are bears here. The average cost of excursions is 70 zlotys (22 dollars). Also, ride horses on paved paths, go up the mountains on a ski lift (it costs 28 zlotys (9 dollars)), and just enjoy nature.

The hotels here are all good, without exception. The average cost of a double room ranges from $70 to $120.

In a word, Poland is a very colorful region. During our 10 days in this republic, it was as if we had visited three different countries, in which, for some reason, they speak the same language. And we are sincerely grateful to Poland for this, as well as for the fountain of emotions, experiences and feelings that it gave us.

Golumbievskaya Victoria Belarus,
Brest, 23 years old

This part of the report is about how we crossed the Belarus-Poland border without a queue and practically passed through the first European country in transit. How much does gasoline cost, where can you drink coffee and eat sandwiches? And some sights of Lodz.

Day 2, continued. Border Belarus - Poland

We decided to break into Europe by car from Belarus. Namely, in Brest, cross one of the most “slow”, according to many forum members, the Warsaw Bridge checkpoint, connecting Belarus and Poland. BUT! The devil is not as scary as he is portrayed to be. The Belarus-Poland border is crossed the fastest on Sunday evenings. But even this “fastest” usually lasts for a couple of hours. They make a terrible noise, deliberately piss them off, take away meat, cheese, nicotine, rifles and marijuana for themselves (and, as luck would have it, this is exactly what we carry when we go to Europe by car).

We were scared, and we arrived at Brest, the last city in Belarus, exactly in the evening of the last day off - we wanted to get to Poland as quickly as possible (the hotel was booked in advance). We didn’t have time to finish the meat, we hid all the most forbidden things and drove up to the “Warsaw Bridge”...

The Belarusian border was unexpectedly crossed in 10 minutes. A stern border guard of about 25 years old peered into my face for a long time and looked for 10 differences with the photo in my passport. I had to apologize for some cosmetic procedures performed on my own face after the passport was made. 10 differences were found, a stamp was given and we were released from the former USSR. Now this part of our autotrip could easily be called a “trip to Poland” if this country were not planned exclusively as a transit country.

On the Polish border, the tail of cars pleased with the final visibility. To be precise, there were three autotails. One is for EU cars, two are for the rest. The EU tail on the Belarus-Poland border (as on any other border) moved faster, and disappeared after half an hour. And - miracle of miracles! — the Polish border guard waved to us and moved us from the “Russian” line to the one where the starry sun should be present on the license plate of the car. They took our passports, asked how many liters of gasoline were in the car, for the sake of decency they asked us to open the trunk..... And that’s all!

So we had no reason to be afraid. It would be possible to carry out drugs and weapons. But those who stood outside the European corridor were clearly looked at longer than us. And tomorrow we have a whole day of traveling around Poland by car... We are preparing fifth points and remembering the leisurely traffic on Polish roads in 2011.

Day 3. To Poland by car – impressions of the country

The third day of our summer road trip has arrived. Woke up in the hotel Hotel Mixbud(an ordinary hotel for an overnight stay, with good plumbing, the ability to buy breakfast, comfortable beds and excellent wi-fi). We woke up, got ready and went. The entire third day of the trip we planned to drive and look at Poland from the car window.

Poland, with the exception of obvious tourist cities, is not very attractive. Neat, lots of flowers in the courtyards of two-story houses. Lots of storks. A lot of cars. A few people. The country is not distinguished by strong originality - we noticed this five years ago.

The roads in this part of the Polish land are good (we can safely recommend them for starting a trip around Europe by car), but the abundance of settlements reduces driving speed. What came as a surprise was that we were stopped by the border service to check our documents, although we were already relatively far from the border.

We are driving along E30 (A2 or M1) to Warsaw. Although we don’t need Warsaw, essentially. Gasoline prices in this part of Poland range from 4.44 to 4.57 zlotys (about euros). In the Cafepunkt cafe we ​​drink coffee (espresso 60 ml for 4.5 zlotys, all other coffees 5.99 zlotys for 300 ml). There are even more cars in front of Warsaw, and we are trundling along at a speed of 50 km/h. The houses on the sides of the route are neat, with occasional churches, but by and large the gaze doesn’t stop at anything.

We drive through Warsaw quickly thanks to new junctions, we never get out of the car and see the outskirts of the city exclusively from the window. Stalinist glass makes Warsaw look like the Vyborg side of St. Petersburg, and modern glass, as expected, kills any beginnings of originality and completely depersonalizes an already not very beautiful city.

Our butts were a little tired, and we decided to let them warm up in Lodz. First we continue to drive along the E30, which after Warsaw has become wide, fast and multinational. Having driven about 40 km from Warsaw, we drink tea and sandwiches in a large parking lot. There is a toilet, three sheds with benches and a water pump. After another 10 km there is a gas station, parking and McDonald's. And then again. And further.

If your route to Poland by car goes along this route, you will truly enjoy it. We have never seen roads like these anywhere else in Europe. This is a well-renovated new autobahn, with a speed limit of 140 km/h. After the turn to Lodz and all the way to Germany, the highway becomes toll-free, but we passed through the free section.

We turned onto A1 and stopped in Lodz. We didn’t have time to see all the sights of Lodz, and we only managed to walk a couple of streets.

Sights of Lodz

Sights of Lodz for us is Piotrkowska Street. We went through it completely, capturing only separate parts of the other streets. Piotrkowska (also Googled as Petrovskaya or Piotrovski) is one of the longest shopping alleys not only in Poland, but throughout Europe. Lots of funny sculptures, an area with personalized street tiles, lots of cafes and shops. If you take pictures everywhere, you can get stuck for a couple of hours. And if you get here during a festival, which is not uncommon here, you will be stuck for half a day.

Bench of Julian Tuvim at 104 Piotrkowska St.:

Avenue of Stars:

On the stars are the names of directors and filmmakers. The stars stretched from the intersection of Monyushka Street to the Rubinstein passage (houses 78-80).

Arthur Rubinstein's piano near house 78:

Monument to three factory owners near house 32:

These are famous Polish manufacturers of the early 20th century, Israel Poznansky, Ludwik Grohmann and Karl Scheibler, who had a hand in the prosperity of Lodz.

Part of the pedestrian area paved with personalized tiles:

Polish Lodz is a good city. A mixture of Kyiv and the Petrograd side in St. Petersburg. We went for a run, got caught in the rain and moved on. The clock says 16:00, we still need lunch, take E 67 (S 8) to Wroclaw to find a sculptural composition missed in 2012 and come to Germany to spend the night at a campsite.

We looked into Wroclaw, found sculptures of people going into the earth and emerging from it, and rushed to the village along E 40 (in Germany, route No. 4). We entered it already in the dark, and along the way we were again caught in local downpours a couple of times and once even in hail the size of a walnut.

We stopped overnight at a campsite near Bautzen. But this is another part of the report – German.

All our posts about this trip around Europe by car:

- practically a “transit” part of the report, but after reading it, you will learn several important points about the trip to Belarus and what to see in Polotsk, where we spent the night.

Part two – Poland- you read it now

(part of the 2016 auto trip report)

A country where there is nothing to do for more than a couple of hours. But maybe this is purely our opinion. Read this part of the report and decide for yourself!

8 days, 9 cities, mountains, gorges, villages and waterfalls. Quite a busy route. And prices in Switzerland in 2016.

Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Lucca, Cittadella and even the center of Padua. And a couple of hours in San Marino

Post Views: 483