Poland was the last of the 8 former Warsaw Pact countries left on my “bucket” list to visit – I know, not many photographers have that bucket list – it is somewhat unique. So, on September 23, 2024, I departed Washington DC on an overnight flight to Zurich, Switzerland, making a connection there the next morning for the short flight to Warsaw – aka Warszawa. Note: I believe that in Poland, every Polish word must make an effort to include the letter “Z“.
So started my trip – landing in Warsaw on a beautiful day. After cruising through customs and happily seeing my checked bag arrive, I received some mixed signals as to where to find the rental car desk. After a slight delay (and circuitous walk) I was able to pick up my car and get settled at my hotel. Only then could I start the exploration of this country that was at the center of history for many years, most recently during the late 1980’s when the country ousted it’s Communist government. In 1989, it achieved democracy which is alive and well to this day.
One aspect of Poland I really loved – they let us “old” people use public transit (trams, buses and subways) in the larger cities for free…Even us foreign-national riders like me. I really took advantage of that perc in every Polish city I visited.
After 3 days in Warsaw, it was time to get on the road and see the rest of Poland, making a circle up north to Malbork Castle, and on to Gdansk for several days, then swinging west across the border to Germany to visit Berlin and Brandenburg (these Germany photos reside in a consolidated Germany folder, “Views Of Germany“).
Unfortunately, the weather started to turn ugly with drizzle and chill the last several days in the Berlin area – which carried forth on my return back into southwestern Poland. From Berlin, I headed southwest with stops in Wroclaw and Krakow (with an emotional stop at Auschwitz in between) before heading back to Warsaw to catch my flight home on October 8th, 15 days later. I traveled approximately 1,600 kilometers by car – about 1,000 miles by American measurements.
The folders in this portfolio are ordered chronologically by Polish city visited. The exception are the German cities as mentioned above. In addition, the Auschwitz collection, due to its sensitive nature, has a separate link that can be found under the “Never Forget” folder.