Germany-Czech Republic-Poland Holiday July 2013

Just looking at a cross border reservation on EC104 from Hranice na Morave to Zebrzydowice on July 18th .

Is this likely to be fully booked quickly or ok to reserve the day before travel?

since it's a thursday and it's middle of the day, you'll probably be OK booking day before. Plus there's 2 other ECs that day if it's full

I have to make the 1027 EC104 as I have connections to get to Oswiecm (Auschwitz) for long enough for a visit then onwards to Krakow.

there's an EC at 8:27 too

Makes for a bit of an early start from Olomouc.

Odd one DB Planner offers a 12 minute connection at Czechowice-Dziedzice but PKP Planner doesn't.

DB is probably expecting DB level of punctuality (which they often miss) whereas PKP probably know that PKP punctuality is not very good

burns20 said:

After wimping out I've booked flights into Berlin and back from Wroclaw. My routing is vaguely as follows but open to suggestions routewise/beerwise/transport wise;

Berlin-Leipzig-Karlovy Vary-Prague-Olomouc-Auschwitz-Krakow-Warsaw-Gdansk-Poznan-Wolsztyn-Leszno-Wroclaw

Debating a stop off at either Lodz or Torun - any recommendations?

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Hi Burns20,

I have a few home-made beer maps for several of your destinations - Prague (last visited 2013), Olomouc (2010), Krakow (2009), Warsaw (2012), Gdansk (2010), Poznan (2010). I can PM you with these (Once I'm up to 5 posts).

Favourite Prague bars - Zly Casy, Klokocnika, U Hrocha

It's also worth consulting InYourPocket, Scoopergen and Europeanbeerguide.net for maps and info.

I'd be interested in your experiences in Wroclaw, as it's one of the places on our to-do list for Poland.

Cheers,

Mark

I can speak from bad experience of DB "punctuality" - the worst being a train which had started from Hamburg Dammtor and failed at the HBF - about a mile away - my itinery then fell like a card pyramid......

beermaddavep said:

Beer in Leipzig- try Ohne Bedencken, Bayerisch Bahnhof and Zill's tunnel- those were the places my mates and myself enjoyed last autumn drinking Gose- you'll either love it or loathe it!

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I can second the Bayerische Bahnhof - though the entrance is a little hard to spot with the (almost complete apart from Landscaping) CityTunnel construction.

If you want something harder there is Sixtina (Absintherie) or the Moritzbastai does good cocktails.

Also Leipzig has a tram museum (I've not been but it was being advertised on the monitors on the trams) and a few Tatra T4Ds are still in service (with Low Floor Trailer) but are progressively being replaced by/rebuilt as Leoliners (a tram built by the LVB) or by Flexity XXLs

Finally there is a il-67 being used as a cafe in the South of the city - tram 10 passes it but I can't remember the address

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I've used Europeanbeerguides and ratebeer so far.

Will attach an excel document of my trip soon.

Fares come to £100 in total.

Hotels and flights to £330

List of Pubs

BERLIN

Hell oder Dunkel
Hops and Barley

LEIPZIG

Bayerischer Bahnhof
Brauhaus Kaiser Napoleon
Gosenschenke Ohne Bedenken

KARLOVY VARY

Prokop Pivovar Pivnice
Pivovar Karel IV

USTI NAD LABEM

Hotel Na Rychte

PRAGUE

U Tri Ruzi
Pivobar U Dobranskych
Krkonosska Hospudka

KUTNA HORA

Dacicky

PARDUBICE

Pivovarka Pardubice

CESKA TREBOVA

Minipivovar Faltus

OLOMOUC

Moritz Hostinsky Pivovar
U Kudeje
Svatovaclavsky Pivovar

KRAKOW

Omerta
Strefa Piwa
House of Beer
Beer Gallery Dominikanska

LUBLIN

Zloty Osiol
Apollo
Piwowarnia Piwowary

WARSAW

Nora Pub
Bierhalle
Male Piwo
Czeska Baszta

GDANSK

Degustatomia Dom Piwa

POZNAN

Sekta Pub

WROCLAW

Minibrowar Spiz
Zaklad Uslug Piwnych
Academus

An update two weeks prior to my trip have found a money saving ticket for Poland. RegioKarnet. Unlimited travel for 3 days on all Regio and KS and KW classed trains for under £15.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Thats put paid to that. It would seem Koleje Slaskie has withdrawn off peak trains between Zebrzydowice and Czechowice Dziedzice.

Trying to work out local buses but to no avail.

Your journey sounds amazing!

I would definitely recommend Krakow and Warsaw. Warsaw is a wonderful city, and I would probably say my favourite in Poland due to the buzz and big city feel that you get there. I'd give yourself a few days to go and explore as it is a big city with lots to do and see. There are Bierhalles in Wroclaw, Krakow and Warsaw, and do be aware that it is a Polish chain. The beer is very nice, but it's on the expensive side for Poland, and I definitely wouldn't recommend the food there as it's decidedly average.

When I went by TLK train between the two cities, the train was fairly quiet (Me and my two friends had a cabin to ourselves, an there were a few empty ones). We went on a Saturday, outside of the holidays. Buying a ticket in Krakow was easy, but we used the ticket machines which have instructions in English to avoid going to the ticket desks. I would recommend using the machine, you can also use them to book in advance, and to reserve seats.

The other city in Poland I would highly recommend would be Wroclaw. It's about 5 hours 45 minutes from Krakow on a VERY slow train. Ours had a buffet car, which came in handy for a drink. We went back to Krakow on a coach which in comparison was cheaper, had wi-fi and took only just over 3 hours. Wroclaw to me didn't seem like somewhere where you can spend more than 2-3 days as you will have seen everything by then.
I've never been to the Polish coast, so can't recommend anything there.

I think this is the best site to look up train schedules.
http://rozklad-pkp.pl/bin/query.exe/en?
It lays everything out clearly, is in English and makes it clear if you have to change train or similar. It also gives the price, but you can't book here. You have to book here http://rozklad-pkp.pl/bin/query.exe/en? But when we tried it didn't work. Don't know if it's working now sorry.

MONDAY

ICE1719 Berlin 1650
Leipzig 1806

TUESDAY

RE26089 Leipzig 0901
Goessnitz 1021

RE3675 Goessnitz 1029
Zwickau 1052

RB23867 Zwickau 1110
Johanngeorgenstadt 1222

OS17109 Johanngeorgenstadt 1225
Karlovy Vary 1401

R609 Karlovy Vary 1505
Usti Nad Labem 1707

R787 Usti Nad Labem 1740
Prague 1908

WEDNESDAY

EX121 Prague. 0916
Kolin. 0959

OS5905. Kolin. 1006
Kutna Hora. 1016

OS19245 Kutna Hora. 1021
Kutna Hora Mesto. 1029

OS19214 Kutna Hora Mesto. 1245
Kutna Hora. 1253

R676. Kutna Hora. 1300
Kolin. 1309

R709. Kolin. 1335
Pardubice. 1400

R873. Pardubice. 1502
Ceska Trebova. 1548

EX129. Ceska Trebova. 1704
Olomouc. 1746

THURSDAY

EX123. Olomouc. 0949
Hranice Na Morave. 1018

EC104. Hranice Na Morave. 1027
Katowice. 1240

KM44218 Katowice. 1436
Oswiecm. 1538

R30240. Oswiecm. 1738
Krakow. 1937

FRIDAY

IRB263. Krakow. 1055
Rzeszow. 1410

R32034. Rzeszow. 1448
Stalowa Wola 1639

R4416. Stalowa Wola. 1654
Lublin. 1842

SATURDAY

R2240. Lublin. 1035
Deblin. 1142

KM2136. Deblin. 1329
Warsaw. 1535

SUNDAY

KM405. Warsaw. 0812
Lowicz. 0927

R40025. Lowicz. 0932
Kutno. 1011

R15020. Kutno. 1144
Torun. 1337

R30122. Torun. 1348
Bydgoszcz. 1450

R2027. Bydgoszcz. 1536
Gdansk. 1813

MONDAY

R70142. Gdansk. 1254
Tczew. 1325

R7729. Tczew. 1409
Chojnice. 1541

R58747. Chojnice. 1545
Pila. 1658

R87446. Pila. 1715
Poznan. 1934

TUESDAY

KW77324. Poznan. 0908
Wolsztyn. 1055

KW77422. Wolsztyn. 1436
Leszno. 1538

R76946. Leszno. 1640
Wroclaw. 1901

Regio Karnets are still probably worth it (the first will have to be the higher-priced version allowing IR's).
As PR booking office staff won't necessarily speak English, unless your Polish is good you need to (1) write down what you want, and (2) show your passport, as the number gets written on the ticket.

Also, as you are going as far as Gdansk, have you thought of going to Hel (the peninsula I mean!)?

The IR is a rail replacement bus so thought I'd be ok with not upgrading the Karnet.

Only got a morning spare in Gdansk, not enough time to get to Hel unfortunately.

Holiday started;

40 Morecambe to Preston
280 Preston to Skipton
66A Skipton to Keighley
760 Keighley to Shipley
737 Shipley to Leeds Bradford Airport

burns20 said:

RB23867 Zwickau 1110
Johanngeorgenstadt 1222

OS17109 Johanngeorgenstadt 1225
Karlovy Vary 1401

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I did the run from Karlovy Vary to Johanngeorgenstadt and back last weekend. It's a very scenic line, and we were hauled by a 742 towing 3 'wheelie bins'. Unfortunately, it seems that according to the diagrams, the 12.15 is only loco hauled at weekends. One word of warning - our train was supposed to connect out of a DB service at Johanngeorgenstadt, but no train turned up. I think it was a rail replacement bus that came in from Germany. There isn't a lot at Karlovy Vary main station, but if you continue to Karlovy Vary Dolni (arr 14.07), there's a bit more life there (cafes, supermarket) and it's a 10-15 minute walk back up the hill.

Thanks for the heads up. Already bought a Leipzig to Johanngeorgenstadt advance so will have to play it by ear.

I'm visiting two brewpubs in Karlovy Vary one by Dolni the other by Hlavni.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
An update...was rail replacement bus from Antonsthal to Johanngeorgenstadt which missed the connection by 10 mins due to a further detour as both road and railway were damaged by the floods earlier this summer. Following a walk to Potucky and sunbathing on the platform for the next two hours. Currently in Karlovy Vary running 4 hours behind schedule. Due Prague after 10pm.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Well sat having a pint in Gdansk and I must say that PKP must be the worst european operator for timekeeping...nothing in 4 days has arrived less than half an hour late.

burns20 said:

Well sat having a pint in Gdansk and I must say that PKP must be the worst european operator for timekeeping...nothing in 4 days has arrived less than half an hour late.

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Have you found the "Scottish Pub" in Danzig? I thought it was hilarious! A miserable sod in a tartan blanket with a paint brush for a sporran was attempting to be a barman.

How were the brew pubs in Karlsbad? I'm off there in November ~ hopefully the line will have reopened to Johanngeorgenstatd by then.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Yeah only by diverting off the main street by accident...nice pint of Belhaven...no kilts tho. Seemed to specialise in cocktails more than beer. Went to Degustomia? Huge selection of beers.

Off to Browar Gdansk across the harbour before a rural bounce across to Poznan via Chojnice and Pila.

Karlovy Vary is well worth going. Apparently missing a great brewpub in Loket but is on a dead end line.

The speeds are horrendously slow less than 30mph on branch lines maybe 50mph on main lines.

2 hours was tight to walk from the station and go round Auschwitz Birkenau, 3-4 would be enough.

I used a journey planner googling polish journey planner rkp something springs to mind.

If a long connection at Katowice theres a nice real ale pub a few minutes walk from the station.

I booked my Czech to Poland ticket the day before I travelled with no problems. Queues at Katowice booking office take up to an hour so don't leave until the day of travel.