Scenes flash by like a travel show on mute: bobtailing deer, swooping swifts and medieval castles.
My rail trip around Poland is a personal pilgrimage. Thirty years ago, as a woefully naive backpacker, I traced a similar journey, not long after the fall of communism.
For comparison, a monthly rail pass in Italy or France costs €147 (£124) and €167 (£140) in Spain.
Trains in Poland are comfortable and affordable (Photo: Michael Nosek/Getty)I started my journey on top of Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science, which was one of the world’s 10 tallest buildings when it was built in 1955. When I visited in 1995, the lobby was SMERSH-chic – politburo decor included plastic sofas that looked wired up to electrocute a Bond baddy.
Next door is the city’s shiny new Museum of Modern Art. Inside, staircases worthy of MC Escher spiral up to infinity.
My first high-speed train from Warsaw drops me in Sopot, Poland’s answer to Saint-Tropez. This modern model zips in at just under three hours, with reclining first-class seats in a 2+1 configuration. The carriage contains laptop tappers who work until Gdansk and tourists with wheelie luggage.
Between Gdansk and Gdynia, on the so-called Polish Riviera, Sopot’s three miles of icing sugar sand is where the country’s elite comes to play. At White Marlin Beach Club, I pair a Zubrówka vodka bloody mary with a plate of Baltic oysters for £16.
It’s possible to mistake Sopot beach for one in the south of France (Photo: pawel.gaul/Getty Images)Back in the 1970s, Sopot had a socialist-chic vibe. Illicit imports were embarked on the pier so that cool cats could score a box of Marlboro and a Jack Kerouac novel. Poland’s first discotheque, Musikorama, pumped out The Beatles and Jethro Tull.
There’s also a highway to Hel until recently served by bus number 666. The route was recently renumbered following an outcry from Polish church elders.
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Chalupy is one of Poland’s only naturist beaches, which became popular in the 1980s when baring all was seen as a riposte to the shackles of the socialist era.
I also use my rail pass on Poland’s newest train route, which launched in December. With a few taps of the Interrail app, I booked the Baltic Express, which can be done in advance (seats are generally also available on the day).
The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw is a must visit when in the area (Photo: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/ Getty)
Stops along the route include art nouveau Bydgoszcz and arty Wroclaw. The train itself isn’t particularly fancy, and has no dining car, but the stops read like the “Best Of” section of a Polish guidebook. I settle on fairy-tale-pretty Poznan.
Arriving in the evening, I order dinner from dumpling shack Pierozak. Diners can point and pick from piles of pierogies, for 50p a piece. I start with a bowl of borscht (60p), followed by a plate of Poznanskie pierogies, a lighter dough dumpling, stuffed with roast duck and apple.
My final journey is Poland’s newest high-speed service, the Chrobry (“Intrepid”). It guns from Poznan to Warsaw in just over two hours. I take the 7.40am service and destroy a daybreak pile of pancakes with cottage cheese. For Polish train holidays, it’s a new dawn.
Getting there and around
Interrail offers Poland one country passes for £54, allowing four days of travel within a month, or Global Passes for unlimited travel throughout Europe from £241 per month. interrail.eu
Staying there
Puro Hotel Warsaw Old Town has doubles from €165, purohotel.pl
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Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( I used Europe’s best-value Interrail pass for a glorious beach-and-city break )
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