I would like to recommend Poland as a destination. I spent just over two weeks there in March and had a fantastic time. I spoke no Polish but with the help of a phrase book found communication easy. Lots of people spoke good English but at times outside the main towns, it was common to find people not speaking any English. But people were keen to try and be of help.

Travel between destinations was on 2nd class trains, which were always on time and clean &comfortable. This form of travel was also very cheap &as always a good opportunity to meet locals.

I went to Warsaw, which was nice enough, although not outstanding to me. Gdansk, which I recommend highly. This town had a character of its own and great reconstructed architecture. And the Malbork castle half an hour out of the city is well worth the trip. Torun, home of Copernicus, was a nice town - and the gingerbread that the town is famous for was great! Krakow in the south is definitely used to tourists but it is a picturesque place and a good base to take trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps and a half day trip to the Wielickza salt mine is also very interesting.

Regards Paula New Zealand