Night Train to Poland

The night train to Poland from Berlin required a couple of changes. Two of the changes were prior to arriving at Szczecin Glowny station. The first two changes went great, not a long wait for the next train.

Szczecin or is it?

As we started to enter the town of Szczecin and we were eager to make our reservations for the Szczecin to Warsaw train. We heard Szczecin on the announcement and headed to the exit. Doors opened and we hopped off the train onto the gravel/old concrete platform. We noticed that only two other people left the train at that station. As the train pulled away we saw Szczecin Glowny was the final stop on the route. It was dark and the station looked like it had not been used in 50 years. Unfortunately, we knew that we had just screwed up. We had exited at the Szczecin Gumience station.

Luckily, we asked the couple that left the train if they spoke English, and they did. They called a taxi to take us to Szczecin Glowny. We were in the middle of nowhere Poland, or so we thought. The taxi driver arrived in a few minutes to whisk us off to the correct station. He asked us where we were from and where we were going. He told us that he had picked up three other groups in the last week at that same station, they were from England, Australia, and Canada. We felt much better knowing that we’re not the only idiots to get off there. Within five minutes, we started to see civilization and familiar signs for McDonald’s, KFC, and other brand names.

Right Place Finally

We made it to the correct station about 10 minutes later. Due to construction at the new station, we were dropped at the old station (on the other side of the tracks) that was closed. We were not able to make the reservation we needed. We went to the train and spoke with the conductor and he said he could handle the reservation for us and to give him a few minutes.

This Might Not Work Out

After a few minutes he asked if we wanted a seat or sleeper, we opted for a sleeper. Unfortunately, we would need to share a 6-person compartment since there were no 4-person options available. He showed us the only one with four beds available. The first two were occupied by a couple of older men that had obviously been enjoying a lot of vodkas.

We decided to do a seat option instead, the conductor told us to take 4 seats and he would do the reservation in a few minutes. He never came back, so we stayed put for now. A Polish girl in her early 20’s said that you have to have a reservation for all seats on Polish trains. Also, where we were sitting was probably already reserved. We took our chances for about an hour and a half before there were no more seats available except the seats we were sitting in. So far, our train to Poland had been interesting to say the least.

Change of Plans

We decided to get off before we lost our seats and started looking for a place to stay based on where the train stopped. I was down to about 10% battery and service was spotty at best in the Polish countryside, so it became very frustrating as we were running out of options. Then we found a Sheraton Hotel in Poznan and with less than 5% battery left it was booked.

Arrival in Poznan

At approximately 2 AM we arrived in Poznan and being late December it was quite cold outside, we opted for a taxi to the hotel. We knew it was only a short walk, but we were exhausted and wanted a bed now. The driver said it was a minimum of 20 Zloty for the trip, we agreed (that was about $5). After a long 2 minute ride, we were at the hotel. The driver didn’t have change for a 50 Zloty bill, so he made even more for the shortest drive in his career.

The hotel staff had not received our reservation yet and they needed to see the number on my phone, the dead phone. We plugged it in to charge up to where it would work and he could get the information he needed. Very polite and they spoke excellent English and knew all the Atlanta sports teams, etc. They allowed us a late checkout since we only made it to our rooms at about 3 AM. That was one of the best nights of sleep I had in years it seemed like. It was a great hotel in the 4-5 star range and it was only $75 a night for each King room.

Day 5: Poznan

The next morning we realized that we had seen Poznan on a travel show. By the time we were up and moving around our day was already shot. We decided to stay another night, we booked Capital Apartments Old Town – Garbary close to the town square for about half the price of a Sheraton room.

The town square was completely rebuilt after WWII to its former glory. The square has beautiful cobblestone streets with bars, stores, and restaurants with bright colorful building facades. We found a great authentic Polish restaurant called Gospoda Poznanska for dinner. After dinner, we walked around the old section of town. There is a beautiful church from the 17th century just off the square, Fara Poznanska. Its pink and white façade standout at night due to lighting.

Due to the issue on the Warsaw train and the extra time spent in Poznan, we had to skip Warsaw on this trip. So, our initial train to Poland had a detour. Instead of Warsaw, we went directly to Krakow the next morning. Although Poznan was an unexpected stop, I would go back again, it was a pleasant surprise.