Travel Punter

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Mon, 19 May 2014 10:49:00 -0700

It has been lot written, said, and heard about Holocaust at Oswiecim Concentration Camp in Poland. As the political leaders and institutions vow not see such atrocities repeated, Yet, we are astonished with pictures of Genocide from Rwanda, and former Yugoslavia.

Our trip towards Auschwitz started with mixed reactions, two of our friends were reluctant to visit as they could not carry the heavy emotions back from there.

Tour operators and agent's flock leaflets across Krakow, starting with tourist information office, Hostels, to Cafeterias, We took our local friend advise to board on transport from Krakow Glowny (Main Station), she suggested it should take us 5-6 hours to and fro from the destination.

At Krakow Central bus station friendly clerk at desk handed us 12PLN single ticket, and advice on how to get in there and return. We knew, first English guided tour starts at 10:30am from Auschwitz Memorial and museum web page, As we were waiting for 8:30am bus, I thought of taking bite of sandwich prepared fresh in the morning by my friend Angel while stepping down the stairs to catch bus from basement level of depot.

By 10:20am we reached the main museum building, The entrance is free but I knew it would be worthless going in without learning from escorted guide as the area is vast, we deposited 40 PLN (Polish Zloty) guide fees in return we were given headphones to follow our museum guide.

It was early February, as we entered my hand's were getting freezing cold, I had to reach out for my gloves so did the rest of us. I have came across many guide's, coaches, but this guide look serious, humble showing empathy towards museum, I can see frown faces, speechless emotions, finger on lips or either hands locked among the group while listening transmitted voice through headphones of our guide, as she was taking us to various blocks of Auschwitz -I

Photographs taken at Museum

The museum exhibits on how prisoners were transported in from various cities by cargo trains, many times straight to Gas chambers,

Above Empty Cans, containing Zyclone B, used for killing in Gas Chambers, Prisoners most of them who had no clue, what is going to unfold next, had to quietly give away carried belongings upon given order's, Suitcase's, Shoes, Toys, gold tooth among many even their hairs were been shaved off so can be used to sell away.

Polish photographer Wilhelm Brasse have estimated to have taken 40,000 to 50,000 identity pictures from 1940 until 1945 as a prisoner in Auschwitz during world war II. His works are displayed at Auschwitz-Birkenau State museum and at Yad Vashem.

Death wall were executions carried out by firing squad; with heavy weight of emotions and silence, we proceeded slowly back towards the entrance, our guide gave us 30 minutes break pointing us to free shuttle Bus stop towards Birkenau, She said we will continue from there on..

Birkenau is larger in size than Auschwitz, Most of us in group had five to six layers of clothes on us, yet the cold was unbearable some one said it's 5.C but the blowing wind across left us shivering, holding tight on to our gloves with fits closed and hands folded. It was then we realised what pain must have been for the prisoners, who were sleeping tight to each other in a confined area.

As we walked towards Gas Chambers, hairs on my forearm raised upright, it was not because of freezing wind, but the terrified shaking soul telling me you are walking on a ground where once thousands have lost their life's .

Model of Gas Chamber (on left) on Right Memorial at Birkenau

I hold my hand's tighter to Angel, as she was about to break, we followed the rail tracks back towards the main gate of Birkenau, thinking deep raised by many questions which I knew even the guide won't help, we have forgotten our sandwich, drinking water won't help either, taking deep breath we gathered ourself thanking to our museum guide, and praying not to come across such atrocity again.

With deep emotions, I leave a short video below, please excuse my friend's shaking hands terrified by winds and emotional eyes.

If your Planning to visit other cities then you may also like to read Cost of Living in Poland

Where is Katowice

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 17:22:00 -0700

An hour and half distance from Krakow and Cieszyn (Border with Czech Republic) further 4 hours away from Capital Warsaw. Katowice is largest Upper Silesian city in Poland. I have spend six Months in this City as an Erasmus Exchange student at University of Economics. The city has given me lot in terms of Education, Culture know-how and most importantly friends to cheer around Europe, Latin America and Asia. As usual I made Katowice as my hub to catch nearby destinations around Poland,Scandinavian nations and far East Europe to Romania and Bulgaria. One of the most amazing thing of Katowice is it's Airport which offer's cheapest flying option in and out of City.

Katowice is more known as an Industrial city pooling in IT and host to business and Trade fair events rather than a Tourist Destination, Don't expect to find Castle's, landscapes, beaches or archaeological landmarks, compared to it's neighbouring cities Krakow, Worclaw, Gdansk, and Warsaw. That's the reason I have to come up with the title Where is Katowice?..

When I Tweeted +TravelPunter I had to repeatedly answer to friends and Dearer ones to similar questions Why Katowice? what's going on there? Is there anything to see? Even Polish themselves never ever thought of spending a night in Katowice.

Well, while I am here now, why not to make good use of what it has to offer. For which I have compiled best attractions, which you shouldn't miss when you are in Katowice.

In front of Main Station

Huge Vagina - When I arrived to Katowice Station, while waiting for my Student mentor to pick me up, I was admiring this newly build architecture called Gallery Katowice which is house to many international and local Brands. Furthermore it has quick passage to Katowice Main Train Station, and on the basement floor local bus ferries around city and to the Katowice Airport.

My mentor walked forwards me smiling saying "How do you like to see the Big Vagina" What I didn't get it was my reply she said we locals call it as "Big Vagina in front of Station" as we walked laughing on it further, I stopped to see what It seemed to me as there is a war going on with Cranes, Bulldozers and construction Trucks, digging, carving in to repave the street. By end of my Semester Term It turned out to be stunning with old fashioned street lights.

I waited few more days to explore city with my Travel Dude - 'Angel' she has always been with me on my Poland and Scandinavian destinations. On bright morning we took off on foot with our bags and handy camera towards,

Galleria Katowice (Huge Vagina)

Rynek - literally means main Square as I mentioned earlier on previous post, Fairly we weren't impressed from what we saw, since it was getting facelift. We picked up free maps from Tourist office at Rynek 13, and turned towards the UFO looked alike architecture

Spodek - Image source from Katowice.eu

Spodek - (Flying Saucer) As called by locals, the shape resembles a UFO. Spodek Arena is a multipurpose complex includes gym, Ice Ring, and stages cultural and international Band events. When walked passed by it during night the illuminations emerged from it wont get you down to think as this saucer is about to take off.

Silesian Monument with Spodek

Silesian Insurgents Monument - This monument is across Spodek which stands to commemorate the Silesian uprisings of 1919, 1920, and 1921 it symbolises three eagles wings flapping. It is the largest and heaviest monument in Poland.

We stopped few minutes to have a 360 degree view around, Spodek on our right, a long communist style building in front of us has puzzled me many times, as how many windows are there, and why I cannot see anyone outside? Is government official staff residence?

Behind us was Qubus Hotel, I have heard from my local friends that the sky bar on top 27 floor has a good view of city. We thought of splurging into it for a coffee.

Mariacka Street Image source via photographer Bobby Bradley

Walk at Mariacka Street - No matter what the occasion, if you feel Bored or tired on any given day Mariacka Street has much to offer for everyones delight, well it's smallest night life street I have ever seen in Europe, but it's always buzzing with pubs, cafe's, and parties.

Night life in Katowice- The club's I would like recommend which I frequently visited at number one Club Pomarancza, at ul. matejki 3Where I ended up freely every Wednesday upon flashing students ID card. Spreaded 3 floors with different music on each, LED flash lights and Centre stage for girls only to shake in, Don't even try to get into stage if your male, The security at club are known for their worst action.

Klub Pomarancza

Well the other one I won't say it's great with it's music, or may be I was so frequent that I hear same music every time, the only reason I loved to visit is due to it's international atmosphere, The Kwadraty studenki club at Franciszkansa 10, has great international ambience, you can hear English as a common language spoken around you, as most of the Exchange and Erasmus parties end up here. Hssss! it's in basement of Student's dormitories, Aha.. that's the reason we ended up here often as it took less than one minute for us to reach there.

* The dormitory above offers cheap 40PLN for overnight stay just asked at the reception, if you happen to make a friend at club who has free bed then I need not tell you the rest.

* Do take care of with broken glasses on the floor, if you notice one immediately notify the management, as I remember one of my friend getting deep cut's and bruises falling upon it.

Student Klub Kwadraty

Let's give a thought for a food :- If you are on a budget then few of the following places will be best suited for you to stock up.

A) Bonapetito- Remember the big Vagina as I mentioned earlier, Yes the Galleria Katowice at main station on top floor. Bonapetito offer's variety of dishes at a cost of 3.29 PLN per 100 Grams, For 15 PLN you can fill the plate according to your taste with salad's, Baked fish, Fried Cauliflower or chicken legs. Flash your students card to get an extra discount.

B) Stolowka- Next to Club Pomarancza, It cater's Polish dishes at very affordable price. you can customise menu as per your taste. The below picture given chosen by us didn't cost more than 15PLN each.

C) Buddha - Offer's ethnic Indian cuisine, I usually stepped in for lunch buffet for 15PLN, After exchanging few words with the staff I came to know it's run and operated by Indian's. The legitimacy of Indian cuisine is preserved with it's spices. The interior give's a glimpse of Indian arts. Located at ul Drzymaly 9 close to railway station.

Punting in Katowice:

By Air :- First bust towards airport leave's from Galleria Katowice (Main Station ) at 4am it's cost around 27PLN and takes approximately 50mins. Click here to know the schedule and latest information.

By Bus :- Dworzec Autobusowky Katowice at ul. Skargi , is a bit difficult to trace for first timer's if you are leaving early morning from Katowice, you better pin point it day before as you won't find any one to guide you in English during early hours. It's a hub for long distance routes in Europe for Polskibus, Eurolines and Pks.

Where as short distance bus towards Krakow, Cieszyn (Czech Republic border leave from Main station

You may also like to read

Cost of Living in Poland- For Survival Guide Click8

Public Transport in Katowice:-


- One zone serves upto 15 mins	3.20 PLN
- Two zones upto 30 mins	3.80 PLN
- 24 Hours Ticket serves in all 3 zones (I guess you won't need this one)	18.00 PLN

* There is student discount for ISIC holders under the age of 26, in all public transport, It always better to buy extra tickets in hand as Ticket vending machines are not available on ever stop/station.

* Do not forget to validate your ticket after boarding the bus/ Tram, If you are not sure ask someone where punch it, There is on the spot fine of 140 PLN + cost of ticket if your caught by ticket inspector.

Warszawa Hostel

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 17:17:00 -0800

Hostel Apiano was our choice made, We logged in through their website and emailed them our preferred choice of Double room.
After couple of hours we got confirmation on the availability of the room along withit facilities to expect, and a link for our payment of 150 PLN around 33€ for night, as mentioned on their web page.

Double Room at Apiano Hostel

We arrived early morning at 7:30, Receptionist work schedules from 8:00am untill 10:00pm, since the check in time was at 14:00 hours we thought to leave the luggage and come back later, There were enough of leaflets and free guided maps to start with our planned tour of Old town.

Receptionist spoke good English, she helped us to mark the famous landmarks and shortest route to reach Old town Square. She even took my number to let us know if the room was available before checkin time.

Apiano Corridor

Our room was at the far end of the corridor close to kitchen and in front of shared bathroom, The room was not so spacious but had enough of plug points and Bed side Table lamps with easy to reach switches, which I care most.

Since the accommodations are on ground level, we didn't even bother to open screenings for passer's by to peek in through our windows.

Common kitchen is equipped with a small fridge, Tea Kettle, Microwave, enough of pots-pans, cutleries, and free Tea-Coffee to take advantage of. But I wasn't satisfied with the kitchen space as only one person can stand comfortably at a time.

Bathrooms & WC have a common access, I didn't had to work hard for right shower temperature, Oh did I mentioned that clean towels were provided.

We thought that Wardrobe was too big for that room, nontheless we enjoyed the quality sleep on the cosy mattress and linen provided.

Over all hostel was clean tidy enough, suitable for business and Backpackers, we mainly made this choice due to its close proximity to main tourist attractions.

"The Review mentioned is my sole Opinion, I wasn't been paid or lured in anyway to write this"

Stayed on first week of October, 2013

Contact Details of Hostel Apiano
Tel + 48 22 636 05 30, Tel + 48 883 155 877
Email :- hostel@apiano.pl
Web : Hostel Apiano

You may also like to Read COST of living in POLAND

What to do in Warsaw

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 16:43:00 -0800

Polish Cities are getting colder as we travel, Moreover me and Angel are excited as we were going to kick start our journey towards Baltic and Scandinavia from here on.

Things to do in Warszawa

Restored from ashes after being completely destroyed by Nazis during second World War. Today it is largest city and Capital of Poland.

The city looks dynamic with modern sky scrappers, historic monuments and stunning artefacts.

My vibes towards the city kept changing every hour I crossed, some times bringing in sadness with the amount of monuments, refreshing with the vast parks, comely with the arts and street graffiti.

Mermaid - Symbol of Warsaw City

STOP A - Old Town Square

As usual me and Angel started our walk early morning beating the rest of the tourist, we walked straight towards Mermaid (Symbol of the City).. Ow!! Our excitement didn't last long, she was out of our sight blocked by construction walls. Where Next? Royal castle should be the next catch said Angel, I can understand due to her love for painting's and arts.

Punting Tip- Free for Visitors on Sunday

Link for Timing's Royal Castle

Royal Castle in Warsaw

STOP B - Stalin's Wedding Cake

The landmark site of Warsaw is host to Multiplex, Café's, Tourist information office and Palace of Culture and Science, If you would like to take a glimpse of the city for 15 PLN head to 30th Floor, The front desk at the entrance and tourist information office, guides you to the desired places of interest, We took one floor down towards canteen for some snacks.

Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw

STOP C - Hala Mirowska - Market,
This Bazaar is local's delight, Century old market has everything you need for our day to day life, from fresh fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, to quick fix at Tailor's, and Cobblers shop.

Hala Mirowska Market

STOP D - Lazienki Park,

What I most liked about Warsaw was it's park's, During our two night's in Warszawa strolling around parks took most of our time, They were so well maintained we didn't felt like getting out from them, Among all, Lazienki Park spreaded over 72 hectares is the largest and most remarkable to visit, Starting from monument of famous pianist Frederic Chopin,to Neoclassical Palaces, AmphiTheatre, Canals and Temple of Diana, welcomes us on Royal Route inevitably by squirrels,Ducks, chirping birds and Peacocks.

Lazienki Park

As light started getting dimmer, we headed back to Old town square to stroll under street lights.

University of Warsaw

STOP E - University of Warsaw,

This magnificent building is worth watching under lights, we also heard from our polish friends the university roof top gardens have a delightful view. which is on the way of Royal route, we sat down on the comfy benches of the campus area for quick coffee.

Monument and Graffiti in Warsaw

Warsaw monuments and Graffiti

City monuments underline turbulent history of Poland, local's light lamps, offer flowers. The Warsaw uprising monument was going under renovation covered with barriers, so as the tomb of Unknown soldiers, We passed across ,many woebegone graffiti reminding struggle of brave polish souls.

Our stay at budget friendly Hostel Apiano,

Getting in from Warsaw Modlin Airport

The Cheapest way from Warsaw Modlin Airport to Warszawa central is to take combi ticket (Bus+Train) sold inside the terminal for 12PLN, shuttle bus takes you to Modlin train station and from there on train to Warsaw, The ticket is further valid for one hour in Warsaw to help you reach at your final destination.

You might be approach by many Taxi drivers and privates bus operators, Just smile and say (Jen-koo-yeh) Thank you.

Getting around Warsaw,

Due to it's extensive network, I would prefer to provide direct link of local transport Authority on Tariff

ZTM Transport Auhority

X'mas Tree in Warszawa

Discount Hotel in Wroclaw

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 13:18:00 -0800

It took us 30 mins by walk from Wroclaw Station to Wroclawski Kompleks Szkoleniowy; a perfect quiet place around the parks and residential area.

Pre-booking was easy with Booking.com, we immediately received confirmation from the hotel administration on directions and what to expect on facilities.

Check-in was very swift with Mr. Pawal at reception he was kind enough to provide us with city map and mark famous landmark around Wroclaw.

We were escorted by his assistant to our double bed room, which was on fourth floor, unfortunately there was no elevator to lift us up with our heavy backpack.

Beds were nicely made up when we arrived, nice to see a small television, and a working desk, with curiosity I hopped towards window to find out what lies, Yeah I can see tree blocking my view, somewhat nicking up and beyond I can catch a glimpse of park.

Our Room at Wroclawski Kompleks Szkoleniowy

For Budget hackers like us, our next stop was to check out the common kitchen on the floor , I was impressed with space, a decent size of fridge, and dinner table to find, so we don’t have to run with our plates to the Room, enough cutlery’s on shelf, but my only dismay was not to find adequate pots and pans.

Taking sum of everything in need, lastly it was time to take a shower check, I'm usually cynical on this cubicles you don't know what to expect from them on entering. I was happy this time around I didn't have to work too hard to reach on desired temperature felt ease on getting out without being spanked by the walls

WIFI password provided worked well inside the room, we found couple of chairs in the corridor to relax, and a no smoking sign around.

This hotel is best suited for business Travellers and backpackers, Hotel also offer’s conference rooms and banquet halls for events. I usually prefer budget hostels or cheap hotels with breakfast included, but it was not the case with Wroclakwski Kompleks Szkoleniowy. There wasn't any breakfast on offer. The Choice for us was slightly exception due to its location and affodability.

We paid 22€ for night, which we thought was the best price, after running through other offers provided online.

"The Review mentioned is my sole Opinion, I wasn't been paid or lured in anyway to write this"

Contact Details:-

Wroclakwski Kompleks Szkoleniowy
Sztabowa 100, Krzyki,
Wroclaw 53-310.
Email: biuro@sztabowa.pl
With it you may also like to read the Cost of Living in Poland- Click8

Hunt for Dwarf figurines in Wroclaw

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 11:14:00 -0800

Ever heard of ‘Dwarfs of Wroclaw’ asked my friend Weronika as she knew I was writing on Poland cities, she didn’t wanted her city to miss out. Along with my friend Angel we took six hours bus journey from Warszawa towards Wroclaw to hear her city story.

Water Tower

After leaving our backpack at Wroclawski Kompleks Szkoleniowy
Hotel, a strange building looked like about to take off on the space drew our attention. A fancy restaurant waiter outside the building told us it’s called as ‘Water Tower’ you can take a lift to have a panoramic view of the city.

I said Angel let’s see the city from the ground first; kind waiter guided us towards the main square letting us leave for our hunt on dwarfs.

“Omg! Haha.. I see one, oh they are so cute” Angel exclaimed! I said don’t scare people around you, we will see many more like this. I can’t believe she has so much energy early morning to scream like that, thank god I met Weronika now at least I have third person to talk to, but it soon turned out when two girls met it was like a market of stories. I had to interrupt to ask what’s the stories behind this Dwarfs.

Dwarfs of Wroclaw

Weronika said most of locals don’t like them as we keep stumbling upon them they are so small, it initially started representing political movement and later city embraced it even we don’t know how many of them are there. Wroclaw is looking forward for to be the next Krakow drawing more tourists to the city, moreover the city won the race to European city of the Culture in 2016.

We walked towards Rynek (main square), typical lined with restaurants and beautiful buildings glittering with artistic design upon them, I love mix crowd at Rynek was a perfect scenery to watch, Local street artist performing in Front of town hall, Children’s running with balloons, looked like whole city was having a picnic.

Rynek of Wroclaw

Where to Eat? Weronika being student herself knows the best bargain place not far from rynek ‘Bar mis’ at 48,Kuznicza Street is a perfect place for budget hunters, though the cashier doesn’t speak English, I guess there is always student lined up to lend you help in translation. The choices given on the menu almost let me jump on everything. Cost 1.5 Zloty for a starter soup to 4 zloty for main dish. No wonder why I see elderly, homeless, workers, students and professors waiting on queue for their turn, it must be cheaper eating here than cooking at home I said to Weronika.

Budget Place to eat Nr. Rynek at Bar Mis

‘Bar mis’ Opened from

Mon-Fri – 7:00 – 18:00 Hours

Saturday- 8:00 – 17:00 Hours

University Church :- Is worth a visit Weronika said, it is known for its impressive furnishings, fresco’s and paintings the most beautifully preserved in Wroclaw and in Poland.

Wroclaw University Church

Walk towards Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Street Art of Wroclaw

With it you may also like to read the Cost of Living in Poland- Click8

Border Crossing between Czech Republic- Český Těšín and Poland-Cieszyn

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 10:44:00 -0800

Firstly you won’t click this page if you weren't interested in saving few bucks, The post was so popular among students on facebook.com/travelpunter that I have to move it permanently for our international readers on this blog. After all our goal at Travel Punter is to fetch you more beers and spend less on transit services.

We would like you to read this carefully until the end, as we provide you two options, Time-Consuming/ Time Saving both are cheapest option with mere differences depends on how much time you got.

At Border Crossing Point

Why is this Route so popular:-

For Travel Prons Katowice and Krakow are the cheapest flying option in/out of Central Europe, a clean cheat for Wizz-Ryan airlines bargain hunters. Czech Republic to Poland, such as Prague-Krakow,/Brno-Krakow,/Brno-Katowice, or vice versa from Poland cities to Czech Republic.

Plan A- Time Consuming:- How to get there

Foremost, you have to be familiar with Czech/Polish sister cities names, Czech Republic side of city is Cesky Tesin where as Polish side of the city is called as Cieszyn.

From Point A visit Czech Railway website http://www.cd.cz/eshop/, which runs domestic services from Brno, Prague, and other domestic cities in Czech Republic.

Approx Prices on CD.cz as on Dec 21,2013

Point of Origin	Destination	Journey Time	One way Price	Return Price
Brno	Cesky Tesin	Approx 3 hours	260 CZK or 10€	490CZK or 18€
Prague	Cesky Tesin	Approx 5 Hours	340 CZK or 12€	535CZK or 19.5€
· Additional Discounts on CD.CZ · Return tickets – 5% · Group of 2 or more between 30-50% + · Online booking 3% Discounts Great deal isn’t ?

What next? Once you are on Cesky Tesin Railway station you have to walk on foot to cross border towards Polish side of Cieszyn, On Below link you will find directions given on the map for your easy reference, It takes approximately 20 mins for slow walker like me the streets are pretty calm the local population are friendlier to guide you in case required, most of them speak Polish or German.

To Download the Google Map :- Click here

At Point B- Cieszyn:- The polish side of Bus stop :-

Numerous bus services local and private are running from this stop every half/hourly to cities such as Katowice/Krakow and Oswiecim/ Auschwitz.

Here are Links to some of the Polish bus agencies to Plan for:

· Katowice Bus Brothers · 12PLN / 2.8€ · Journey time 1.5 Hours	· Krakow Comfort Bus · 18PLN/ €4.30 · Journey time 3 Hours
· 2PLN Discount for Students

· Tickets can be purchased in cash from the driver.

Alternatively Plan B: Time Saving

StudentAgency has luxurious coaches with entertainments and free drinks, as name suggest it offers discounts to Student ISIC card holders, moreover, you don't need to hop around borders just once change in Ostrava

Approx prices:-

· Brno to Katowice · 27.30 € Oneway · Appx. Journey time 5 Hours	· Prague to Katowice · 26.50 € Oneway · Appx. Journey time 6 Hours
or
· Brno Krakow · 27.70 € Oneway · Appx. Journey time 6 Hours	· Prague Krakow · 30.50 € Oneway · Appx. Journey time 7 Hours

I have personally taken both options several times to and fro, Time consuming still remains my favourite. I recommend taking some extra time and visiting Cieszyn main square- ‘Rynek’ on route which has much of sightseeing for Travel Punter’s delight.

You may also like to read :- Cost of Living in Poland

Who is Klaus Heidi?

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:16:00 -0800

This recent marketing Campaign by Lufthansa is a case study to follow for MBA punters, When Economist tweeted the winner it immediately caught my eye, raising eye brows, and questions to follow, Can people, really go that extent to change their names to participate in the contest?

Why not, Since each year thousands of Swedes change their names, The Marketing tool behind Lufthansa campaign was to find one Swedish, who loves Berlin so much that he/she is legally willing changes name to Klaus Heidi.

Apartment of Klaus Heidi- Lufthansa Photo

What's the Reward for Klaus Heidi?

A motivational Essay was a condition for running upto the Competition, Perks included were :

One way ticket to Berlin,
Taxi Ride from Berlin Airport to it's new house, A fully furnished apartment with one year paid rent,
Klaus Heidi new Bike
German Language Course, Plus other Goodies and amenity packs

So who is Klaus Heidi?

Klaus Heidi Andersson -Lufthansa Photo

Competition went so viral, that Lufthansa had to close it one month early, 42 Klaus Heidi were short-listed out of which Mr Andersson (as seen above) appeared to be the winner on Saturday December 14, 03. Where as 41 other Klaus Heidi's runner ups got elite frequent-flyer status and 60,000 miles.

Would you run for the same?

As a miles hacker being myself looking for almost in every notch.. I will. why not? even 60,000 miles can punter me miles away to new destinations.

Follow Klaus Heidi as he uploads new Video of it's apartment and City of Berlin on the Go

Instagram @Klausheidiberlin

Twitter @heidi_Klaus

Here is the Video ran by Lufthansa

Photos Source:- http://klaus-heidi.se/

Cost of Living in Poland

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 11:55:00 -0800

A Survival Guide to living cost in Poland, Compared to its western neighbours. Poland is much friendlier to our wallet. Below are some of rough product price to ease your preparation, Since we know you value it so much.

Save Money on Travel Punter

Starting from Conversion rates as on December 16^th, 2013 sourced from XE.com

1 Currency of	Symbol	Is equivalent to Polish Zloty PLN
Australian Dollar	AUD	2.72
British Pound	£	4.95
Canadian Dollar	CAD	2.86
Chinese	CNY	0.49
Czech Koruna	CZK	0.15
Euro	€	4.17
Hungarian	HUF	0.013
Indian Rupees	₹ INR	0.049
Japanese Yen	JPN	0.029
Swiss Francs	CHF	3.41
Turkish	TRY	1.49
US Dollars	$	3.03

So what I can fetch from my imported currency:-

Buy	Price in Eatery	In Shop
Mac Meal	14.00
Mineral Water (1.5l)		1.86
Beer 500ml	7.00	2.50
Cigarettes		11-13
Café	3-5
Bread		2.00
Milk 1L		2.50
Butter 250g		2.86
Lunch in Restaurant	15-20
Hostel Rent for Bed/nt	35-40
Post Card		1.5-3
Post Stamps anywhere		5.00
Fridge Magnet		7-10
Discotheque Entrance		8-10

* Fares on Bus and internal transports I usually mention at end of very post.

Toilets- If you see Triangle on the Door it's for MEN and a Circle for Women, usually charged between 2-2.5 PLN. #Free to use ones, I mention them on my post.

You may also like to Save on International Fares in Crossing Border between Czech Republic and Poland.

If you think we must add something over here, than please do let us know through comment, we will be pleased to source it for our readers.

* "For more Travel Stories also check out Travelogx.com "

Day in 'Manchester of Poland' - Łódź

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 17:22:00 -0800

The silliest mistake I have ever done,

Cont..d from Gdansk Post,

We had made reservation from Booking.com which was giving away 50% discount the deal was great for a perfect apartment near sea side, But somehow things don’t go as planned always.. We found out from the front office the reservation was done for Wednesday, which meant two days later...What? Angel exclaimed!!!, I now started to hate myself how can I do this silly mistake...?? It happened to be, that booking.com returns you to the closest date to the available offer, since our earlier booking was turned down by another hostel at last minute, I hastily booked non-refundable studio without even rechecking on...date’s; Now what? The staff at Golden Tulip hotel, were kind enough to understand our problems, gave us couple of options but neither of it felled under our budget, Thanks to their hospitality in offering us WIFI we took few minutes and figured out the best way is to spend another night in Train towards Lodz. Since we have weekend unlimited journey ticket.. Why not Angle said....with a frown on her face, I knew she really didn’t mean what she said, But what else we can do... we learned something here.

At the Train Station,

We showed our weekend tickets to the clerk at Gdansk station, requesting to reserve seats for Łódź, I knew she won’t get my accent, as I was repeatedly saying (Lords) thanks to the gentlemen standing next to us, who pronounced it in local dialect, what sounded as (WOOJ), Which raised our eyebrows, and letting the clerk back to work.

On Saturday November 2013, at 22:25, train took off from Gdansk Glowny. “It’s our second night in Train” I said to Angel, “Yeah...thanks to you” she said... stretching her feet, she closed her eyes....Angle had put on the alarm. As usual again the train was on time waking me up early...”It was 4am still too dark for sightseeing I said, we thought to spend some time at Lodz station benches.

From my solo trips, I have learned lot on how to strike a conversation when idle. I caught up with a guy in his 30’s who was busy doing nothing on his cell, with few shared conversations I learned he was a working for a textile industry. “Lodz is often called as ‘The Manchester of Poland’ due to its links with Textile industry”, He said now it is turned more in to Films, than it would be as ‘Mumbai of Poland’ reframing to Bollywood, Nooooo! not yet he replied.

Public Toilet- 2.5PLN at all Main Stations in Poland

Walk on longest Street of Europe

A) Piotrkowska Street,

After getting direction from ‘Textile Guy’, we thought of heading to the longest street in Europe, filled with pubs, clubs, shopping and famous neo-renaissance buildings. Piotrkowska, 5km stretched Pedestrian Street caters to every taste. If you are tired you can always hop onto local Rickshaws for 2.5 PLN ride, per person. The street was going through remake when we arrived; we had to dodge through couple of construction materials on our way, but looking through part of completed section, one can judge it’s going to be stunning once it’s repaved.

Piotrokwska Street in Lodz

Walk of Fame, Similar to Hollywood’s walk of fame, Piotrkowska has it’s own HollyLodz, boulevard engraved with star plaques and names dedicated to local film industry Hero-Heroines, Directors and artist.

Julian Tuwim Statues at Piotrkowska Street

B) Museum of the City of Lodz- (Muzeum Historie Miasta Lodzi)

Our stroll through Piotrkowska brought us to Liberty square (Plac Wolnosci), Angle was interested in visiting Church front of it, I thought to take seat at the square and get some Sun light, flipping through my notes I found out being a Sunday History of Lodz museum is free to visit for individual visitors. Opening its doors from 11am to 6pm I pointed to Angel, Why not since its free, the value is great considering time we have in hand.

Museum of Lodz City

The museum itself is in the Poznanski family palace, who were among the wealthiest Jews in the city. Also to be found artifacts from Pianist-Arthur Rubinstein and honours awarded to World War II Hero- writer Jerzy Kosinkis

* Museum Webpage Click

Arthur Rubinstein artifacts in Museum

C) Manufaktura- Shopping Complex

Not far from the Museum, Red brick complex caught our attention, later we came to know from the Tourist information inside; it was once the property of Izrael Poznanski, Yes!! The same family whose palace we just visited. During her glory days it employed more than 6000 people for textile merchant. Manufaktura, at the present day is house to 240 shops, Offices, Cinema’s, Hotel and Museum of Factory a delight to local citizens.

Public Toilet- Free to use at Manufaktura

I see Photo Opportunity -lying over on of the letters

D) Alexander Nevsky Catherdal

After visiting, Baltic Cities Orthodox Churches are one of my key interests and on my check list; Unfortunately, we could only get glimpse from inside, as it was closed when we arrived.

Alexander Nevsky Catherdal

Street Graffiti

Łódź has world renowned Graffiti, Keep watch on streets you will be amazed!!

In Park at Lodz

Punting in Łódź:-

By Bus :- Again, my Preferred choice is WIFI enabled Polskibus.com, between 80-90 PLN it can ferry you from Berlin and In between 20-30 PLN from Warsaw, Krakow, booking earlier can even cost you less.

· Major buses lines connecting Lodz, depart from Lodz Kaliska Railway station.

By Air :- Lodz Wladyslaw Reymont Airport is connected with major airlines, Bus 55 runs between airport, city centre and train station.

By Train:- Intercity.pl caters to your various needs, worth checking special offers on their web page as we found out weekend ticket was a great deal,

* It cost 154 PLN (2^nd Class); 247 PLN (1^st Class)

The ticket bearer is entitled to unlimited travel across Poland on domestic intercity and TLK trains, from Friday 19:00 hours until 6:00 am of next working day, In our case the Monday was national holiday, we could enjoy the benefits until Tuesday morning 6:00 am, On board you can take any free available seat, It’s better to take additional reservation ticket before start of your journey were you no need to pay anything extra, reach booking office show them your week end ticket and they will print a reservation for you...

Cost of Living in Poland- For Survival Guide Click8

Public Transport:-


- Single Ride 20 mins	2.60 PLN
- Upto 40 mins Ride	3.40 PLN
- 24 Hours Ticket	12.00 PLN

Visit Gdansk - Danzing

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Mon, 9 Dec 2013 07:43:00 -0800

This year around national day of Poland felled on Monday, November 11, fortunately for us, it’s going to be a long weekend. First thing came to my mind where and when to hit the road, after hitting some clicks I found the Polish trains have a great deal on weekend commuter tickets (see more information below on how to get there). I immediately made up my mind to get most out of the deal in travelling across Poland during the weekend. On Thursday night, I gave call to my of friend, to whom I always trusted and knew she will never say no to my plans, I was still sceptical as we just came back from our Baltic/ Scandinavian trip week ago.

Nonetheless, she agreed to my dictated plan on visiting Gdansk and Lodz. On Friday evening, we took overnight train from Katowice at 20:05 to Gdansk on price of a seat, I was happy we can stretch our legs and catch some sleep during the journey, but to my disappointment the train reached Gdansk on time at 6:00am, avoiding me to catch on some more sleep.

Gdansk Railway Station

I asked, Angel my friend what now? We knew Gdansk is a very historical city as World War II triggered over her dispute, it is also considered as most beautiful city on the Baltic coast and one of the most important port cities in northern Europe.

A) Old Town Square in Gdansk :- “Let’s take a walk towards Old town square”, she said, from her experience as she knew Baltic cities are famously known for their architecture and the square will be the best place to source more information about the city form the tourist office.

She was right again, but the Old town square of Gdansk was not similar to what we saw on rest of our Baltic trip, we started with Royal route from the upland gate towards Green Gate, we came across numerous narrow streets selling amber all the way. The square looked so colourful with its picturesque well known residence building on moistly morning, navigated our way through most important canals called Radunga and Motlava famous for local eatery and pubs.

Every Building has a Story

B) Neptune Fountain:- Looking for tourist information across it; we found renaissance style fountain in front of Arthurs Court, The Neptune fountain is city’s most loved symbol and often a meeting point for city guided tours, along with other tourist, we took the opportunity as well to get the best souvenir picture.

Neptune Fountain in Gdansk with Tower clock behind

C) Town hall:- The main town hall on the Old town square exhibits history of Gdansk and Poland, we were much more eager to climb the clock tower to get panoramic glimpse of the city, with a reasonable price of 5PLN. Punter Tip:- The museum is free on Mondays

D) Zuraw:- (Wooden Crane) :- The first written mentioned of the wooden crane is documented from 1363, It was used to lift loads of cargo weighting upto 2000kg from harboured ships, Zuraw was badly damaged during world war II, The crane after being rebuild in 1955-62 was handed over to martime museum, to this day it is called upon as the oldest port crane in Europe. On below picture you will see ’Zuraw’ and ‘Soldek’ the first ship build at Gdansk shipyard.

Zuraw Oldest Wooden Crane in Europe and First Ship 'Soldek' built at Gdansk Shipyard

Punter Tip:- The museum is free for visit on Saturday

Polish Post office Monument, Remembering the courage of Post Employees defending their heritage

St. Nicholas Church is the oldest Church in Gdansk

Love Bridge, Common Sight in European Cities, what caught my eye was Lord Shiva- Hindu Deity on one of Locks

Statue of Jan Hevelius, a known astronomer and Brewer

A must visit is the Local Hala market favourite for it's fresh foods and local produced Goods

17th Century Gate marks the entrance to the Longest Street.

It was 7pm, by now Me and Angel thought it’s time to check out our hotel....near beach side at Oliwa, ....Guess what it was a Mistake?; Cont...d on Lodz Post..

Punting in Gdansk:-

By Bus :- My Preferred choice is WIFI enabled Polskibus.com, between 40-50 PLN it can ferry you from Warsaw, Krakow, booking earlier can even cost you less.

By Air :- Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport is connected with major low cost airlines, Bus 210 runs between airport, city centre and train station.

By Train:- Intercity.pl caters to your various needs, worth checking special offers on their web page as we found out weekend ticket was a great deal,

* It cost 154 PLN (2^nd Class); 247 PLN (1^st Class)

Cost of Living in Poland- For Survival Guide Click8

Public Transport:-

Bus/ Tram	Price
- Single Ride	3.00 PLN
- Upto 60 mins Ride	3.60 PLN
- 24 Hours Ticket	12.00 PLN

Xmas in Gdansk

Getting away from Gdansk :- Sopot beach town with resorts, Spage Getaways , and Gdynia named after fishing village, both can be best reached with SKM Kolejka (Commuter trains), running in between them very 10-15 minutes, we didn't manage to catch on this cities but what I heard from my friend’s it’s great escape for nightlife and relaxation place along sea side.

What's Travel Punter

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Fri, 6 Dec 2013 12:56:00 -0800

Since early childhood I fancied Air-Planes, watching them roaring pass up in the Air was a great pastime, remembering their logo's, counting hourly take off's and landing’s. In my own world I was a Traffic controller above my Aunt's Terrace. Finally one day the dream turned into reality from BOM 2 DXB, and now gliding across Asia, Africa and Europe.

What Travel Punter is all about?

Punter in Mumbai is usually phrased for mates, buddies, I won’t get much in to the definition in English but it kicks in well with my travel adventures.

People and Places- Travel Punter

We here at travel punter aim to cover full gamut of your desired Travel destinations. A night spend in Budget hostels, a guide to where local's eat, secret night's for Travel punters and information on Sightseeing, Museum's, Art Galleries as and when they open their doors and How to get most of the city experience for free.

I always believe "when you have little time and little Money" you should take that Bus, Plane or ferry to the favourite place you always dreamed of. I just don't go to the places to put a tick on the map, I love to explore sustainable paths, meet new people share food in common kitchen's, & swap stories with other traveller's. Sounds Interesting, Isn't?

I had a wonderful memories, in 162 International cities in 39 Countries, appearing in Czech Republic Erasmus Radio, Crossing borders by foot to save on International train fares, By-Cycled free in Old town Riga, Hitch-hiking with European Driver's and even got scammed in few Cities..(Oh! Yes!!)

No matter, whether the journey was good or bad it’s always wise to learn from other's experience. Writing needs lot of time and dedication, your comments are valuable to me, fellow Traveller's and above all our readers to help us shape and grow with this page.

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Safe Travelling,

Thanking you,

Rohit JOBANPUTRA

Five Things to do in Poznań

noreply@blogger.com (Travel) — Sun, 1 Dec 2013 15:08:00 -0800

In order to catch every country in the world, the capital cities are on my usual check list mainly due to her ease, convenience in getting there and later to move on further. With so many social networks in place these days, It’s still hard to find whereabouts of whom you know, But Thanks to Facebook I found an app MochaMeet it sources cities in which your friends are living, through which I came to know one my good Friend, (Oh!! Yeah I got many) who has just moved from Berlin to her birth city Poznan, in Poland.

That was it, after few emails exchanged I took my comfy bag to head to her place for 2nights from Katowice, She told me "Poznan is fifth largest city, considered as birth place of Poland, with many Universities around it’s also known as student’s city, which can be easily explored on foot.

Ø Top 5 things you shouldn't miss to see when you are there:-

A) Old Town Square :- Everything Polish talk about is Rynek, literally means the Main Square, unlike other town Square’s, I found this one more less crowded. Anna, had already prepared me to be fascinated about old medieval houses and beautiful renaissance town hall from 13^th century in the middle of square, which once stood as city administrative office. The building now houses a historical museum. The Grand vestibule, the royal room and the court room of the Building are famous for its beautiful stucco and artistic crafts. Every noon crowd gather outside the building to see famous billy-goats (a symbol of Poznan) emerging out, above the clock horning each other.

þ Museum Working Hours :

Days	Timings
Tuesday to Thursday	9:00 – 15:00
Fridays	12:00 – 21:00
Saturday & Sunday	11:00 – 18:00

þ Punt Measure:	Value
Free Admissions on Saturday
Adult	7 PLN
Reduced Prices	5 PLN

* Museum Webpage Source,:

Parish Church

B) Parish Church of St. Stanislaus :- Not far from the sight of Old town square, newly renovated Baroque church is worth visiting. During my visit the mass service was running, the glimpse of what I could get was stunning with magnificent art, Visitors are frequented mainly to hear the organ concert taking place on noon each Saturday and during service on Sundays.

C) Park Cytadela :- I asked my friend Anna, Why a visit to park? A yet another one in Poland, But she reframe it saying “it’s one of the largest park, with few idiosyncratic sculptures, War museum equipped with tanks and Airplanes.” Wow!!, “Not far, Tram No. 4 will take us if you don’t like to walk” She said

After a thought, we took a walk. When I arrived, Yeah.. It’s a big one.. A small pond lays in the middle, during the winter it’s her favourite place for skiing she said, the group of headless statues aligned gives you numerous thoughts, Kids looked happy passing through war tanks, climbing trucks, touching old aircrafts in open ground of Army museum, Nannies taking on their agenda’s to rose garden, wandering dogs with their family members.. A pretty green lush park also host for many events during summer.

D) Cathedra of Sr. Peter and St. Paul:- Second day, On route to Malta lake, We thought of taking visit to the cathedra, my knowledge about arts is getting enriched mainly by visiting Churches, and after being to Parish Church day earlier, The cathedra of St. Peter and St. Paul would not take much of your time.

E) Malta Lake:- On our way, I told Anna, Polish citizens love their park & nature, I mean there are so many to be found in ever polish cities compared to the population the park’s are enormous and well taken care of, Once there, we took a mini train ‘Maltanka’ which takes her time in running giving us ample of time for chit-chat. There wasn't much of activity other than watching cyclist huffing pass us. But she told it’s place to watch out in early July, when Malta festival takes place each year. It’s highlight of the city.

Hungry Now ?

We have invested lot of my energy, to get something delicious in return; one of the advantages of being with a local is that they take you to cool places, which you won’t find on guide books.

Manekin.

This place is paradise for pancake lovers But wait I said “Pancake for Lunch?” But Manekin is not a place for ordinary pancakes, When we arrived people were queuing outside waiting for their turn to find tables, considering the fact it accommodate 100’s like us.

After waiting for 10 minutes, we were escorted to a table for two, Thankfully the waitress spoke English from the given menu I saw variety of Pancakes stuffed with Cheese, meat, strudel Vegetables, spaghetti, Lasagna, for sweet tooth’s it also serves pancakes with Banana, Biscuits, Nutella and berries.

Ø Anna took, Burrito (Shap) comes with minced meat, red and white beans, tomato, corn, cheese, onion and spicy sauce.

Ø From the given variety I gave thought to my Indian tongue, It said Indian pancake, Spicy, leafy, with vegetables... reminded me of “Dosa”(Similar to pancake but from rice flour)

Hmm! The first bite, we stopped talking, more into digging in with forks..., It later turnout that Anna’s Burrito pancakes were spicier than mine, she had to give a call for a mint tea.

þ Punt Measure: Avg. Pancake 14 PLN for each Manekin at ul Kwiatowa 3.

Shopping, Why not? At world’s best shopping centre

I more like to take my time getting out from the Lunch mode, But Anna hurried me to Shopping complex, She said it’s must a visit.. “They have turned old Brewery into shopping complex and art gallery.

At 42 Polwiejska Street it's now a houses hundreds of shops,restaurants, Movie halls and most importantly arts and exhibition from local artist, with 1000's of parking spot to offer. This place really stood out with structure and excellence in design. The Complex is most talked about after winning as "World best shopping centre"

For the latest news and Art events before visiting, check the StaryBrowar homepage.

Punting in Poznan :-

By Bus :- My Preferred choice is Polskibus.com, from 40PLN it can ferry you from Berlin or 20 PLN from Warsaw.

By Train:- Berlin-Warsaw Express halts at Poznan, Whereas intercity.pl, makes connections from locally.

Around:- Other than eating peanuts, collecting free tourist guide map is my hobby. Which can fetch from Poznan tourist Information office located at Old Town Square, Building 59/60, opening from 9am in Summer and 10am during winter.

Cost of Living in Poland- For Survival Guide Click8

City Card :-

I also know many of whom love collecting Tourist City cards; I don’t fancy them unless they are really worth for every penny. Poznan City card info can be sourced from Info

It comes in following versions:

Public Transport No Public Transport

1 day 35 PLN 30 PLN

2 day 49 PLN 35 PLN

3 day 59 PLN 45 PLN

Public Transport:-

Bus/ Tram	Price
- Upto 15 mins Ride	2.80/ 1.40 PLN
- Upto 30 mins Ride	3.60/ 1.80 PLN
- Upto 60 mins Ride	4.20/ 2.10 PLN
- 24 Hours Ticket Valid in A/B Zone	12.80/ 10.70 PLN

* Do not forget to validate your ticket after boarding the bus/ Tram, If you are not sure ask someone where to punch it, There is on the spot fine of 140 PLN + cost of ticket if your caught by ticket inspector.

A Great thank note to our Host Anna's and her family, without them I wouldn't have been able to hack 2 nights in Poznan for 30€.

* Finally A Short Video of the City.