[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Planning a trip to Poland and Ukraine

[Mauricio Norenberg]

Many thanks to all who responded on the list and on my personal email.
When I go, I'll post reports.

Best wishes

Mauricio

On 13 October 2010 03:08, Dave Obee <daveobee at shaw.ca> wrote:

> Hello...
>
> I have been to Poland four times and Ukraine five times. Others might have
> had more experience, or other experience -- so you should consider all the
> points of view on this.
>
> > I plan to visit places like Piotrkow Trybunalski in Poland and Sapust,
> > Rozyzcze and Rovno archives in Ukraine as well as Kiev archives
> > (maybe).As I know many of you have been on this kind of trip, I
> > have some questions:
> >
> > 1. Is a interpreter a must have, or can you figure out just by
> > your English
> > (do people speak fair English there)?
>
> -- English alone will not do; a bit of French or German (especially German)
> would also help. In the archives, you might find someone who speaks English,
> you might not. It is best to have some who reads and speaks the local
> language.
>
>
> > 2. Can you hire a car from Warsaw and, with a good GPS, wonder
> > around or
> > this is crazy (consider I done this before somehow)? Same to Ukraine?
>
> -- Don't trust GPS with your life. I had two TomToms on my dash last summer
> in Poland, and took a photo of them side by side, giving different
> directions. But yes, you can rent a car and get around. Just prepare
> yourself for a rather aggressive style of driving.
>
>
> > 3. Is it better to arrive in Europe in a main city like
> > Frankfurt and then
> > trip with cars and/or trains to Poland and Ukraine?
>
> -- I've done that; it can add a couple of days to your trip, but might make
> sense in terms of adjusting the jetlag in more comfortable surroundings. The
> train can take a long time. You can make it by car from Frankfurt to Kiev in
> two days if you push it.
>
>
> > 4. Are those places safe?
>
> -- There are bad people in every city. I have never had trouble there,
> although I dress down, and I always leave my rental car in secured parking.
>
>
> > 5. And lastly, how much do you think I'll spend on this (besides
> > the air
> > fares)?
>
> -- Depends entirely on your tastes. I have spent $10 a night for a room in
> Ukraine, but it was rather low quality. Food is cheap, perhaps $20 a day
> (but again that depends on what you're looking for. I've done it for less,
> I've done it for more).
>
> Your biggest costs will be hotel, transportation and interpreter; the first
> two you can check on Expedia, the third will vary. At one time $10 a day was
> good enough, but these days $25 to $30 might be more reasonable.
>
> Dave Obee