Text by Baden Carlson

Just like anywhere else in Europe, rail travel in Poland is a civilised, comfortable, safe and environmentally friendly mode of transport. PPK, Poland’s state rail service, has an extensive railway network with InterCity, express and regional services reaching all parts of the country with reliable time keeping and relatively cheaper fares compared to the United Kingdom. Standard class fares are a bargain, and first class travel is an easily affordable and comfortable way to experience much of Poland in a short time. Speeds and carriages are improving all the time; for instance, the journey time between the main tourist destinations of Warsaw and Kraków is about 2 ½ to 3 hours with trains departing every hour. There are four international trains a day between Warsaw and Berlin, including a sleeper service. InterCity and express trains have catering facilities with friendly staff. Rail staff are courteous and helpful, as are fellow Polish passengers, although stations and trains in built-up areas have their share of thieves, just like in Western Europe, so it is wise to be aware of your surroundings – a rule that applies pretty much everywhere else in the world.

Great Rail Journeys, the specialist tour operator that arranges travel by train, currently follows a route which enters Poland from Berlin en route to Wrocław; then on to Kraków before journeying onwards to Warsaw; and finally across the great plain, back to Berlin. These cities illustrate Poland’s chequered and dramatic history, and travelling between them by rail enables visitors to see a great deal of Poland's people, countryside, industries, towns and villages.

On leaving Berlin we head southwest crossing the border, the River Oder, on route to Wrocław. Over the border, and into the Śląsk region, commonly known as “Silesia” in English, the tour enters a historical landscape as this area was German territory up to the end of the Second World War. This is apparent from some of the old station signs, which show the Polish, and the old German names. One of the stations, Zagen, bore the name “Sagan” when German, and it was not far here that the notorious prison camp was sited that became the subject of the film, the Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen. It was on the platforms of this station that desperate and hopeful allied servicemen attempted to board trains to freedom but were later arrested and taken back to captivity and worse.

Not many railway stations can claim to have been the scenes of such drama and pathos, but one of the delights of rail travel is that stations generally are places of the drama of everyday life. Stepping out to stretch your legs, you become aware of the little dramas that are taking place around one: lovers with their tearful meetings and partings; beloved grandparents being welcomed by adored grandchildren; soldiers going off to duty; families hurrying to load their precious cargoes; people off to work and go shopping. Then the dramatic scene closes as the guard, in his characteristic Polish cap, blows the whistle and the train moves off to the next scene.

As the pleasant scenery flashes by, it is obvious, that Silesia is - and has been - one of the centres of Poland’s heavy industry. As with other countries, much of this is in decline, and one cannot help but sympathise with the Polish people’s struggle to come to terms with this problem which was made worse by the after effects of communist central planning. Wrocław, Silesia’s ancient capital and the fourth largest city in Poland, is entered through its unusual neo-Gothic station in the form of a castle. Built in 1857, when it was renowned as the largest railway station in Europe, it also boasted a cinema which, when it closed in 2007, was the last of its kind in Europe.

On arrival, the traveller transfers to the trams which, as in most Polish cities, connect main stations to the city centres. Great Rail Journeys tours are met by a local Polish guide who relates the chequered history of this gem of a city as the group travels by coach to a hotel.

Earliest records show that Wrocław was founded by Slavs on the banks of the River Oder in the 9th century, although the Romans may have got here before them. Thanks to Austrian, Prussian and German (hence its old name of Breslau) and other influences, it is not surprising that the city has a cosmopolitan feel to it. Its architecture ranges from the gothic, renaissance and baroque, with dashes of art- noveau, to the modern and functional; all of which, with Wrocław’s hundred bridges, make for a townscape of delightful vistas and quarters. It is difficult to believe that much of what one sees has been reconstructed after the maelstrom of destruction visited on the town at the end of the Second World War. At its centre is a vast Rynek or market square with its imposing town hall surrounded by charming Flemish Renaissance style buildings now shops and restaurants. Add in Wrocław’s cultural scene of theatre and museums and you have a very sophisticated city. Its bustling Rynek is always alive with music and street theatre, but the Great Rail Journeys’ guide knows the quiet places, such as the gas lit cobbled streets of Ostrów Tumski island, leading to the oldest part of Wroclaw where stands the gothic cathedral and other ecclesiastical gems. Boat trips on the River Oder provide another vista of this town of islands and spires. If your taste is baroque confection then the university must be visited, with its stunningly ornate lecture hall, the Aula Leopoldina (which escaped destruction during the Second World War), or the music chamber where Mozart, Chopin, et al have performed.

Assuming anyone would want to move on from Wrocław, regular trains connect to the large interesting city of Poznań, an historical trading centre with its varied, rich architectural heritage; or go southwest along the scenic line to Jelenia Góra or Karpac the Karkonosze Mountains and National Park.

Whilst Wrocław is an increasingly admired a gem of city, the treasure house of Kraków calls, and it’s time to board the train and continue the adventure.The 4 ¾ hour journey is enlivened by the scenery, which becomes more varied and hilly as not far to the south, where the stunning Tatra mountains rise up and stretch along the border with the Czech republic. Travelling through farming areas, you get to see close- ups of villages, churches and the small farms with their traditional buildings and farming methods. In autumn, you can still see corn stacked in sheaves and often horse drawn carts loaded with the harvest. These memory snap shots of this fascinating land build up a mental picture album to be viewed later as one reflects on the holiday.

The old royal capital, Kraków, does not disappoint expectation - everything said about it is true and its wonderful, massive square surrounded by beautiful buildings is a delight whether viewing it by day or when floodlit in the evening. The vast royal castle on Wawel Hill towering above the River Vistula is matched by Kraków’s many beautiful churches and university famously associated with Pope John Paul II who lived and studied there. Almost the whole city centre escaped the destruction because the Nazi army made a quick retreat after a sudden Red Army surge. Among Krakow’s many museums and places of interest are the dark reminders of that time. A short tram ride will take one to the former Gestapo HQ and prison that now houses a resistance museum. A tram ride in the other direction leads to the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz where Schindler had his factory. Much of the area remains where the resurgence of Jewish life can be enjoyed in its Jewish restaurants entertained by Jewish music. By no means exclusively Jewish, the area adds to the rich cultural and social life that makes Kraków such a magnet to visitors from all over the world.

Many visitors to Kraków make a pilgrimage to Auschwitz (now “Oswiecim”). Most go by coach although the train journey takes only 90 minutes. The train stops at the innocuous town station and the camp is a walk or bus journey away. At the death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the notorious train track through the gates and into the death camp remains as a memorial to the victims.

There are many other trips that can be made around Kraków, but if time permits, a journey to the town of Zakopane for a sight of the beautiful Tatra Mountains is well worth it. It’s quicker by bus but who would want to take it when there is such a scenic railway journey to experience?

Boarding the Kraków to Warsaw train for a journey of just under three hours, one is struck by the civility of the Polish people. If you long for a more polite and considerate society, observing Polish people boarding a train is a pleasure. Passengers greet one another with “Dzień dobry”, which means “Good day", and men will help the women and the elderly with their heavy luggage. Looks and smiles are exchanged as seats are sorted. Often, an attempt at “Good Morning” in Polish will result in conversation as the foreign accent is recognised and responded to with warmth.

Met at Warsaw station by a welcoming guide, the Great Rail Journey’s tour group is taken on a city tour including Chopin’s memorial statue in Łazienki Park. It says something about a country’s soul that its people can revere its composers so much even to the extent of being led, at one time, by a prime minister, Paderewski who was both pianist and composer.

Poland never ceases to amaze, and Warsaw is no exception. Standing in its seemingly ancient old town square surrounded by period buildings and beautiful churches, or at the Royal castle overlooking the River Vistula, it is astounding to realise that the whole scene was resurrected from rubble after the war. No less amazing is the resilience of the Polish people who, after that other tragedy, the dead hand of communism, have created such a vibrant capital, Warsaw.

The local guide in Warsaw has shown the tour group so much that it is difficult to know what to visit during a free afternoon. A Saturday walk along the Royal Route with its grand buildings, coffee shops, restaurants and elegant shops – all activities that are well worth doing. The many and beautiful churches are full of wedding parties, which are a perfect opportunity to glimpse at the religious side, of Polish life. It’s also a chance to test Napoleon’s assertion that Polish women are the prettiest in Europe!

The last leg of our journey, Warsaw to Berlin, is under dramatic skylines and across the vast flat countryside of fields and forests that characterise much of Poland. As our fast, comfortable train races along, the lack of hedges make it easy to see the frightened deer racing for cover whilst the imperturbable storks hardly stir or, at most, lift languidly into the sky. More mental snapshots to take away and recall with pleasure.

Beautiful scenery is just one of train’s many advantages. Not least among these is the opportunity to learn the history of, and to meet and observe a country’s greatest asset and treasure; its people. From the window of the train one can see into Polish gardens and living rooms without invading privacy. In the carriage or the dining car, a smile and a “Dzień dobry” will often tempt these, seemingly reserved, people into conversation thus bringing the traveller closer.
 

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