Polish travel advice anyone?

[dillydally]

Do they love toddlers?
It looks very pretty / cheap, especially Krakow

I am expecting a tumble weed style zero response on this one.

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i'm half polish but have never been to poland!

but all the ones i know (esp the ones from poland rather than born here) are fantastic with ds (aged nearly 2)

go for it.

krakow is meant to be stunning (one of only places that wasnt' bombed to smithereens in the war) .

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been there with and without little one
no highchairs, no cots, no accomodating little one
well, that was my experience
advice would be to take stuff and plan on little or not assistance

I worked very briefly in Gdansk - but it was years ago and pre-kids. I loved it. Again - no help!

Wow responses and no hoot / parp in sight
I thank you, though frankly the lack of fat tattoo'd men will be a hard cross to bear

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But i could - in direct response to your parp - abuse the emoticons in a style reminiscent of a barred poster
except it would take me far too long and I would be bored about three grins in

phrumpppppp

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there great with kids but, a bit behind ie, no high chairs ect

Hello dillydally,

We've been to Poland several times - both my parents are Polish, hence my interest in Poland. However, my dh is English, and he absolutely loves it there. The first holiday we took together was in Krakow - neither of us had ever been there before - but we absolutely loved it.

The medieval market square is the largest one in Europe, and it's fantasic in the summer for outdoor eating as it is lined with very good, very cheap restaurants. We have travelled with our son at various ages (18months, 3years and 4.5 years) and he's always enjoyed it, and we could usually find things which were child-suitable in the restaurants, although like anywhere, it's easier to feed adults, especially if you like to eat the local dishes (which we do). The most popular takeaway food is kebabs, and they're fantastic, and cost the equivalent of £1, depending on the exchange rate, and they sell giant pretzels on the street corners for less than 1 zloty.

Last time we went, we rented a gigantic 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment (we went with the in-laws), which came to around £20 per person per night. It was walking distance from the town centre, and directly opposite the fruit and veg market, with a bakery and 24 hour store round the corner.

There's a fantastic water park a bus ride away with a brilliant dragon-themed toddler pool with many water slides, and gigantic tube slides for older kids and adults. You can take a tram to the Jordan Park which has several playground areas appropriate for toddlers, numerous sand pits, a toddler-sized maze and pedalos and bouncy castles in the summer.

I could go on...let me know if you need any more information!

Thank you very much for the info.
Tis much appreciated

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Thanks pruni

Pruni, I noticed that many girls in Wroclaw (another Polish city we've visited) favoured red hair dye. Not being at all biased, , my dh thinks that Poland has the best looking girls in the world. The girls in Krakow are mostly beautiful with great figures. However, I suspect 'something' happens to many of them when they reach middle age, because they seem to turn into what English people imagine East Europeans to be! The younger men, who tend not to favour the Freddie Mercury moustache look, are also very good looking.

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Getting back to your toddler-friendliness question: when we stayed in the Europejski hotel, they provided a cot for our ds, and the room we got had plenty of comedy value, like very squeaky parquet flooring, a terrifyingly powerful mains-pipe toilet flush and the largest door key I've ever seen in my life. However, even though we only had a double room, there was a little ante-room leading to the en-suite, easily big enough for the cot, so we were able to have a grown-up evening without disturbing our little one.

It's probably best to ring and ask the hotels if they have high chairs and cots before you book. Most hotel staff will have reasonable English.

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Pruni, I loved their jajecznica too! We also had 'parowki' (hot dogs) for breakfast when we stayed there. The only problem with that particular hotel was that it had no lift, but we were only on the 1st floor.

My ds, who was 18 months at the time, took a fancy to one of the waitresses there. We've got the funniest photo of him quite deliberately eyeing up her legs. He's had a thing for waitresses ever since!

Hoppybird and Pruni - thanks so much for mentioning jajecznica! I'd completely forgotten it's proper name and have been trying to remember it, on a regular basis, for the last 12 years!!! Everytime I have scrambled eggs at home I always say to DH - 'nice - but not a patch on Polish scrambled eggs'. Off to jajecznica recipes now.. Mumsnet rules

Zippy, I noticed you said you'd worked in Gdansk - we've never been there, but it looks really interesting in pictures, and we're planning to visit at some point. We were wondering about the beaches around that area - I don't know anyone who's been to a Baltic seaside - I was wondering if it's ever warm enough to go in the sea? Or isn't it that type of seaside?

we're thinking about going in november with our 2 year old ds....any more suggestions for hotels?

We've stayed in the Jordan Guest Rooms before, which have been recently renovated - they're attached to a travel bureau and their staff speak English and German if you don't know any Polish. It's very close to the old town centre and the train/bus station, depending on where you're coming in from. Here's the link to some info on Jordan Guest Rooms

Also worth a try is the Globetroter Hotel which is very friendly indeed. We nearly stayed there after reading fantastic testimonials, but they couldn't accommodate us on the dates we needed. They're very close to the town centre.

Or try the Europejski, which has the advantage of having it's own restaurant and pub on the site.

For self-catering, have a look at TWW Apartments , although these work out better if you're staying for over a week. We stayed in the one called 'Spacious' and it was vast - great value if you're travelling with another couple, or with grandparents/other useful babysitting persons!

I'd imagine it'll be pretty cold in Krakow in November! There might even be snow in the Zakopane ski resort. You can take a bus up there (takes just under 2 hours and costs about £2 return). It's very tourist-oriented, and the road up to the furnicular railway is completely lined with stalls selling handcrafted wooden toys, absurdly cheap leather goods, cute children's sheepskin waistcoats and the like. Be sure to take a buggy if you're taking a little one.

sopot is as great beach

can confirm that it is v cold in November - I went to Krakow a few years back at the end of October - it snowed all the time and my darling dp (v disorgnaised) had only taken a thin Jacket! MEN! The thermometer outside our hotel was never abouve -15 ouch!

It added to the experience for me - however it was without kids so ot sure how I would have coped otherwise.