Travel Russia Today

One of my favorite cities in Poland is Wroclaw. It’s got all the charm of Krakow, but without the typical tourist hoards. It really feels like a true local experience. 2010 is a big year for those interested in Wroclaw’s Jewish Heritage, as it will see the reopening of the synagogue, which has been completely restored. I was able to do a quick walk-through on my visit last month and it’s truly going to be spectacular. This was once one of the largest synagogues in the German Empire (remember that Wroclaw was once the German city of Breslau) and was a center of liberal Judaism.

We have always had a bit of a challenge with hotels here, but the opening of two new properties in the past year has made this city very comfortable for our visitors.

Located in one of the most beautiful art nouveau buildings in the city, the Monopol opened this past April and is truly the cream of the crop in Wroclaw. This hotel is from the same family that owns the Copernicus and Stary in Krakow, two of our favorite hotels, and you can see their signature touches in this hotel as well. The historic façade belies the interior of dark marble, stark furnishings and contemporary touches.

Most room sizes are generous and have wood floors. My Classic Suite had gorgeous exposed brick elements and a lovely arch leading from the sleeping area to the living area. My only complaint would be the lack of furniture. The “living room” of the suite consisted of one chair, albeit comfortable, and a footstool. I was impressed by the compact, but luxurious bathroom. A separate bathtub and rainfall shower was quite nice and mine had a window, which allowed natural light into the relatively dark space.

The spa here is beautiful and I had a delicious dinner at the high-end seafood restaurant on the top floor with its panoramic views of Wroclaw. There is a fine dining restaurant with traditional Polish food on the ground floor as well as a chic bar.

For guests who appreciate a contemporary hotel, this is a great pick.

The Granary – La Suite Hotel has an unfortunate mouthful of a name, but I liked the simple elegance of the property. It just opened on November 9th and is on a small side street, approximately 10 minutes on foot from the Old Town Square. This hotel is perfect for those with mobility issues, as it is completely wheelchair accessible. As the name indicates, it is in a former medieval granary and they have used elements of the original building in the décor.

Rooms here are all-suite, making them some of the largest in the city. With only 47 rooms, it retains a boutique-hotel feel. Furnishings tend toward contemporary, but are more comfortable and welcoming than found in many similar hotels. The suites are spacious and some are located under a wall of glass, making them filled with light.

A small restaurant and fitness center round out the offerings here. It’s the perfect hotel for families or for those who need a bit of extra space. Those who are driving themselves might find the entrance (and parking lot) a bit difficult to navigate – even my driver had difficulties with the narrow space.

These two hotels are a welcome addition to this beautiful city.

The New7Wonders Foundation, which focuses on the documentation and conservation of monuments of international importance worldwide, has started a campaign called ‘The Official New7Wonders of Nature’ in which some 260 natural sites are competing to make it to the ‘Top 77” which are separated in 7 categories such as ‘Mountains and Volcanoes’, ‘Islands’, ‘Seascapes’, and ‘Caves, rock formations, and valleys’. Only 3 candidates in each category (a total of 21) will be short-listed until finally, in 2011, the winners in each of the seven categories will be declared. Everyone has a chance to vote for their preferred natural site on the foundation’s website where a live ranking is posted and regularly updated.

Interestingly, besides popular natural wonders and tourist attractions like the Galapagos Islands, the Niagara Falls, and the Great Barrier Reef, many “new” sites, tucked away in countries which until recently were generally closed to tourists, are still largely unknown and waiting to be discovered by foreign travelers. Moreover, visiting these spectacular natural sites also offers authentic cultural experiences and some remarkable historic monuments. The Belogradchik Rocks are also the site of an impressive medieval fortress, while the Lake Ohrid (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is famous for the historic towns and monasteries dotting its shores.

Here are the natural sites in Central and Eastern Europe which are currently occupying the top 11 spots in some of the categories:

1. Landscapes and Ice Formations – the Masurian Lake District in north-eastern Poland
2. Mountains and Volcanoes – the Vlasic Mountain in central Bosnia and Herzegovina
3. Caves, Rock Formations, and Valleys – the Belogradchik Rock Formations in north-western Bulgaria, the Djavolja Varos (Devil’s Town) Rock Formations in southern Serbia, and the Pravcice Gate Rock Formation in Bohemia in the Czech Republic;
4. Forests, National Parks, and Nature Reserves – the Bialowieza Primeval Forest located in the border area between Poland and Belarus, the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) in south-western Germany, and the Retezat National Park in central Romania
5. Lakes, Rivers, and Waterfalls – the Danube, the Lake Ohrid between Albania and Macedonia and Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia

Before our trip to Poland, my colleague Gwen and I decided that it would be a good idea to also visit the neighboring Belarus. The most efficient way to get there was crossing the border near Bialystok and spending a day in Grodno, a city that used to be home to a thriving Jewish community and an important political and cultural center of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth. Today, it is a sleepy town that will surprise you by its cleanliness and order, undoubtedly resulting from the tight political control of the Belarusian (read Russian) government.

I could tell you about the day we spent there, and it was an interesting and emotional one – from the stern border control, to our visit to the only preserved Synagogue and the unmarked mass grave of Grodno’s 20,000 Jews killed by the Nazis, to my heated political debate with our Pro-Putin driver and Anti-Putin guide, to the delicious herring I mixed for myself at a great local restaurant.

Instead, I will tell you about our train ride back to Bialystok.

At the train station, as we were approaching the narrow door of the passport control, we could sense our journey back to Poland would be far from dull. Equipped with black tape, several young Belarusians were engaging in the most bizarre activity: taping together packets of cigarettes into thin, almost 5 feet long stripes and carrying them through the passport control under the disinterested noses of the Belarusian officers. When asked what this is all about, our guide, a Professor at the Grodno University, smiled mysteriously: You will see. And so we did.

During the first forty five minutes of our train ride before the border, an incredibly well organized commando of about 15 young men and women equipped with screwdrivers essentially took apart the train carriage, unscrewing every plywood board on the walls, every lamp and every tube and pushed tons and tons of cigarette packs into every hole, cavity and nook possible. As we watched in astonishment, one of the girls asked us, very politely, to move so that she could make use of our seats.

At the border, the nicotine traffickers metamorphosed into innocent looking travelers and nonchalantly opened their bags for the Polish border officers to check for any illegal content (such as a large amount of cheap Belarusian cigarettes). During the hour long wait at the border, everybody had to leave the train and the Polish officers went through every wagon. As I watched them bringing out only two bags of seized cigarettes, I had to wonder if this was just a symbolic act on their part.

We got back on the train, the smugglers drew their screwdrivers and methodically retrieved their cargo. It was an efficient and smooth operation, but it seemed like way too much effort just to sell cigarettes. I had to ask, how much is in this for you? The answer was: $150.