TRIP TO POLAND

[lily]

Hey guys - lily here asking the following -

1. Is there any sort of book or writings - that indicate where the craft shops (really good ones noted for their work) are.............in Poland. An example of this in Italy - would be the island of Mura - near Venice - for glass blowing and crochett.
We want to visit these places and see how pottery and other things like silver - amber - are worked - from the art prospective....not to purchase necessarily. We are looking for famous craft shops throughout Poland and the cities they are in.

2. Is there any sort of book that lists convents - religious pilgrim sites where people can stay.
We are trying to stay away from high cost of hotels...............

3. And finally - if a couple were interested in spending four weeks in Poland - independetly not with a tour, and were trying to pick the best month:
Here are some considerations:
- temp would be good - not to hot
- flowers in bloom
- festivals or cultural events going on
- heavy tourist traffic not there yet
- prices still good

We are interested in the people - cultural and art events - not much shopping - crafts and craft shops - scenery. We would have our own transportation and book our own accomodations if we can find a listing.

Thanks much - Happy and Blessed New Year!!
lily
[e-mail]

[gardenmoma]

;D Lily...

As a new visitor, with a group, to Poland during the summer of 2005 I pretty much kept my eyes and ears open...we were a group interested in cultural and to a lesser extent folk art happenings and did roam a bit on our own...and this is what I can suggest:

• The best books I've found are the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - Poland & Warsaw us.dk.com/nf/Search/QuickSearchProc/1,,,00.html; perhaps Fodor Travel Books & Site, www.fodors.com/search2/top2.cfm?search=Poland&destination_id=&CFID=5965095&CFTOKEN=88290648 might have more of what you are looking for...
  
• Cepelia www.cepelia-int.com.pl/gb/ofirmie.php is, I believe, your best bet in finding craft work of superior quality; Boleslawiec is the area where Polish pottery is manufactured www.umboleslawiec.pl. There are several factories here...some you can visit to find out about the process and buy "factory outlet" merchandise; others which just have a "factory store." Studio Borowski, a art glass manufacturer is also in the same area...same link as above. There is wonderful amber to be had in Gadansk...however, beware of stalls in the street - some good stuff; some fake...best bet is to stick with reputable shops...prices are comparable. For atmosphere almost every town has a square with a market...interesting to buy small items, especially food and flowers...Zakone market stalls, like every other market in the world, some good stuff; some junk Beware of big Saxon market in Warsaw...if you do go keep your eyes open and watch your pockets...there are other Warsaw markets listed in the guidebooks which are apparently a little more upscale...
  
• Fairs, arts & crafts shows, etc. seem to be happening almost every month...weather is variable as is the landscape...temperatures can go from 100F in Warsaw in the summer to almost snowing in mountains during the same period. Check out guidebooks or http:www/weatherunderground.com...
  
• I also would like to know if Poland has religious communities or Universities which rent rooms to tourists...I have never found any mention of this as I have of other countries.
  
• I found my lack of Polish a handicap...even in large cities.
  

Good Luck...I hope you get a lot more advice than just mine ;D

[rdywenur]

Lily,

I am registered at virtualtourist.com and matcrazy1 is a member who travels all over Poland and elswhere and would probably be very helpful to you just go to www.virtualtourist.com and enter his member name in search box. He is really friendly and you can check out many of his tips...I am on there as rdywenur also. He lives in Poland. You may need to register but it is free and there is then the forum for questions that you find lots of great tips too. Hope this helps.

Chris

[lily]

Garden Momma and rdywenur......lily here......thanking you so much for the many leads - I will follow through on all this.

[kaima]

I would say also try
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g274723-i959-Poland.html
to post your questions and see what answers you garner from locals. The Trip Advisor system depends upon locals and other travelers, so the reuslts are uneven but can be quite good.

Kai

[Yanc]

Hello lily

As for renting a room from university - yes, it is possible. You may rent a room in campus, however, not all universities give this possibility, and most important - it is only available from July till late September.

[Jaga]

+++Is there any sort of book or writings - that indicate where the craft shops (really good ones noted for their work) are.............in Poland. An example of this in Italy - would be the island of Mura - near Venice - for glass blowing and crochett. +++

The guys - Grademoma and Kaima indicated some good resources

if you are interested for instance in Polish laces - a village with a big tradition is Koniakow, recently it became famous by producing... G-strings

but it is also famous from crocheting - search Silesia Beskid
++++
For hundreds of years the local lace-making grannies have been crocheting altar cloths and Roman Catholic vestments, including one altar cloth for the Pope. But some have switched production in rather a dramatic fashion. They have started making thongs — and the Church is not happy about it. So unhappy, in fact, that the local priest has even been naming and shaming the thong-makers in church on Sundays.

+++

Czestochowa has a pilgrimage hotel, I do not know about other places but I believe that the newly built schrine in Krakow also has a pilgrimage hotel I will check

[Jaga]

Do the check in google searching for:
dom pielgrzyma

you will see links to Czestochova, Lichen, Kalwaria etc

[piwo]

I stayed at a pensjonat on the outskirts of Krakow (only about 8 minutes from Wieliczka) and it was both reasonable and comfortable. But maybe you are wanting to stay downtown in cultural centers. There are hostels in most big cities as well.

[gardenmoma]

admin said:

+++Is there any sort of book or writings - that indicate where the craft shops (really good ones noted for their work) are.............in Poland. An example of this in Italy - would be the island of Mura - near Venice - for glass blowing and crochett. +++

The guys - Grademoma and Kaima indicated some good resources

if you are interested for instance in Polish laces - a village with a big tradition is Koniakow, recently it became famous by producing... G-strings

but it is also famous from crocheting - search Silesia Beskid
++++
For hundreds of years the local lace-making grannies have been crocheting altar cloths and Roman Catholic vestments, including one altar cloth for the Pope. But some have switched production in rather a dramatic fashion. They have started making thongs — and the Church is not happy about it. So unhappy, in fact, that the local priest has even been naming and shaming the thong-makers in church on Sundays.

+++

Czestochowa has a pilgrimage hotel, I do not know about other places but I believe that the newly built schrine in Krakow also has a pilgrimage hotel I will check

I have some pictures of the "lace" made in the Beskids...I will post them within the week. Very interesting...not like Belgium lace done with bobbins, but crocheted much like my godmother used to do.

[nancy]

GardenMoma,
when you post those pictures (which I am looking forward to seeing), please tell us a bit about your trip to Poland last summer. I have seen tidbits from you about that trip, but I woud like to know more (I am especially interested in textiles so I think you might have some good stories to tell). Where did you go, what did you see...

thanks,
Nancy

[gardenmoma]

This might take some days...I've decided that the best way for me to get my pictures into a site like webshots is to put them on a CD and then use the computer at the library which has DSL...where I live we can only get and use (at a reasonable price) Dial-up. My machine stops whenever I try to do more than one or two pictures...even at night.

Nancy...where do you suggest I post this information? Here or in the Hobby / Travel topic?

[nancy]

gardenmoma said:

Nancy...where do you suggest I post this information? Here or in the Hobby / Travel topic?

The Hobby/Travel folder does seem appropriate. Good luck with the uploading.

[gardenmoma]

Here is one picture that I was able to resize and upload quickly to PhotoBucket...