Travelsmartplanet

Poles say “nostrovia” as a toast for drinking, and they do like to imbibe.
They will always drink to the health of:


The host
The guest
The beautiful ladies
The handsome gents
Their bachelor days
And anything else that will keep them drinking

Stop at the MDM Hotel in Warsaw – it has large comfy rooms and is a quick 10 minute bus ride to Old Town. Breakfast had scrumptious kielbasa, lots of cut fresh fruit – including bananas with drizzled chocolate syrup, deviled eggs, cherry danish, cold cuts, cheese and good bread.

There are 2 good inexpensive Polish restaurants nearby.  One is right on street level of the hotel, with generous portions (meal for 2 with beers under $20).

The other, Pierogeria, has traditional and modern pierogi (mozzarella, salami and cheddar is awesome). Enjoyed the duck with cranberries, but still loved the authentic ground veal best. You can order an assortment (you choose varieties) plate and taste many of them.

There were 2 Treblinka camps in Poland ruled by Ivan the Terrible. In 1943 there was an uprising in the camp where 200 prisoners managed to escape. 60 survived the war.

Hitler wanted no traces of the camps and had them destroyed. However there were 800,000 bodies buried in mass graves, and that was evidence, so prisoners were forced to dig them all up and burn them so there would be no trace of them.

3,000,000 Jews and 3,000,000 Poles, about 1/4 of the population of the country, were killed in the war. Exterminations included not only Jews but gypsies, homosexuals, people who helped Jews, Communists and any enemies of the Reich.

Poland is a hugely Catholic country, and even managed to keep religion during Communism’s atheism. It is one of the few places nowadays where churches are still being built.

If you want to plug in to their Catholic broadcasts, tune into Radio Maria.

Best Western Queens Hotel in Berlin – Amazing breakfast in Berlin with fresh rolls, little egg rolls, mini hamburgers (wonderful), chicken legs, many pots of local jams and all the usual hot and cold breakfast items.

Berlin guide Christobel was amazing spouting oodles of information on a 2 hour tour and interspersing it with lots of jokes.

After the wall fell and East Berliners flooded into West Berlin, they had a hard time keeping a job, since they were only used to working 3 hours a day. It really wasn’t their fault, because there weren’t enough goods to keep a store open all day.

Cosmos Tour – Jewels of the Baltics – Off to a good start. Wonderful dinner at Dan hotel in Copenhagen: tomatoes with balsamic dressing, chicken swimming in cream sauce with roasted carrots, parsnips, broccoli and baby boiled potatoes, and fruity ice cream and a square of chocolate, sitting in a pool of fresh fruit and tart cherry drizzle. Room is large, modern and has a view all the way to Sweden.