Tonic Trek: Polish Trains

You've just ridden one of Germany's zippy ICE trains and embraced all the romantic notions you had about railing through Europe. That was my feeling taking the gorgeous ride from Heidelberg to Dresden to Prague, but then a few weeks later, I started my three-city Poland trek, and I encountered some new realities I want to share with you.

First, you might need to consider reserving a seat even if you have a Euro-Rail pass. On every other train, my first-class pass got me a row of seats or a compartment to myself with others left completely empty. Such was not the case on the rides through Poland. Riding from Bratislava to Warsaw was okay, though a 20-ish tattooed gentleman entered my cabin and proceeded to eat potato chips like a lawn mover. There were chip pieces everywhere by the time the conductor came through and booted him for not having a ticket. Heading to and from Gdansk, however, was another story. Going from Warsaw to Gdansk, I was crammed in a compartment with a family — a grandmother, a mother and two Hannah Montana-singing daughters, one of which would entertain the family by making pig snorts and all of which had two bags a piece — though I later learned I was lucky to have a seat at all. Most people had reserved seats on that train, and for the trip from Gdansk to Krakow, everyone did, at least until just outside Warsaw. That meant, despite my first-class ticket, I had to sit on my bag in the hallway for about five hours of the trip. That could have been avoided by going to the ticket office and reserving a seat for about $15, which would have been well worth it. You should especially reserve a seat for any trains heading to Gdansk, Gdynia or Sopot, which are the three main beaches in Northern Poland.

Second, none of the trains I took were on time. We were two hours late getting into Warsaw, partly from a blown engine, which made several people miss their connections. My train to Gdansk came in a bit better at only an hour late, but I really felt it heading to Krakow. Though I left Gdansk on a train to Krakow, I was actually supposed to switch rides at Warsaw for a rail that would get me to Krakow about two hours earlier. Well, my ride to Warsaw was an hour late, meaning I missed the express train and had to stay put, and that train ultimately reached Krakow several hours late (nearly three hours later than scheduled, five hours later than if I had caught my connection, assuming it was on time). It turned into a 12-hour train ride. What is my point here? You need to schedule your connections carefully. A lot of times Rail Europe only gives you 15 minutes between trains. If you are taking one of those options, you need to make sure there is a backup plan if you miss your connection. Basically, don't work within a tight timeline.

Third is the schedule. I used the Rail Europe website to plan my routes through Poland, and in every single case, they had the times wrong. How wrong? Not very. The time differences ranged from one minute to 10, and the train numbers were always just a number or two off. Still, when you are dealing in foreign language displays, it can be a bit unnerving not working off times that exactly match what you read online. Also, this can be a problem when you are trying to make connections with only minutes to spare. What's the deal? It appears Rail Europe has yet to update the train schedule for Poland, so while you can start with Rail Europe for its ease and language, try to double check as best you can with the generally Polish train sites, including ICCC Intercity.

Lastly, beware of using their electric sockets. I used a train plug to power up my Apple laptop, and after an hour or so, it fried my power cord. Remarkably, they don't sell Powerbook cords in Poland, so I had to buy online from Apple, send it to NYC and have someone Fedex it to me in Krakow (supposed to arrive on Tuesday, fingers crossed). In the meantime, the Powerbook is collecting dust. Another situation I saw involved a lady trying to power her cell phone. The space next to the outlet had all kinds of cracks and openings, and when her cell phone fell into one, it took a mechanic and his tool belt to open up the side panel to extract it. Thankfully the lady wasn't getting off at the next stop.

All this said, the Polish countryside can be beautiful, and it's a nice rail ride that I fully recommend. I'm just saying, it isn't entirely comparable to trains in the rest of Europe, so take heed to the advice above. If you do that, you should be fine.

Photos courtesy of Harley Greatrex and Me & I via Flickr.