Should we take Trev to Poland ?
Discussion
Wedding duties dictate that my better half (Mrschris) & I will be going to Poland for her son's wedding in July.
Tonight she asked me if we were taking the car
But then again.....why not
Destination is Koszalin which is on the North coast.
I've had a brief look & the journey would be about 900 miles & we would stop at
Brussels
Bielefeld
Berlin
Koszalin
For no particular reason other than to break the journey.
Any ideas, suggestions, have you done a similar trip ?
So many questions, but time for bed now....I'll post further during the week.
I'm very tempted
Tonight she asked me if we were taking the car
But then again.....why not
Destination is Koszalin which is on the North coast.
I've had a brief look & the journey would be about 900 miles & we would stop at
Brussels
Bielefeld
Berlin
Koszalin
For no particular reason other than to break the journey.
Any ideas, suggestions, have you done a similar trip ?
So many questions, but time for bed now....I'll post further during the week.
I'm very tempted
I took my first Chim to Poland in 1995.
Drove from the UK to Holland (to see friends and family) then to Bad Homburg near Frankfurt (I lived and worked there for 3 years), then on via Prague where we stayed a few days.
Drove on to Southern Poland (Krakow) and then via Warsaw to Gdank, we toke a RoRo ship back fron Gdinia to Hull.
That was the first year you could do it as before that there was no super unleaded fuel available.
Everybody thought we were crazy and that my car would be stolen, no such chance as where ever I parked the car, even with the hood down, there were always about 20 people around it.
Poland has changed a lot since the early nineties and is now like any other European country.
So yes do it.
Drove from the UK to Holland (to see friends and family) then to Bad Homburg near Frankfurt (I lived and worked there for 3 years), then on via Prague where we stayed a few days.
Drove on to Southern Poland (Krakow) and then via Warsaw to Gdank, we toke a RoRo ship back fron Gdinia to Hull.
That was the first year you could do it as before that there was no super unleaded fuel available.
Everybody thought we were crazy and that my car would be stolen, no such chance as where ever I parked the car, even with the hood down, there were always about 20 people around it.
Poland has changed a lot since the early nineties and is now like any other European country.
So yes do it.
TVR what else ! Why stop in Bielefeld ? nothing much to see there. Besides you can do 300 kmh on the German Autobahn, you do not need to make so many stops. Instead of Brussels you could consider to stop in Brugge, Gent or even Antwerp, all VERY nice cities to visit.
Poland is a beautiful country, we have not been in the north but 3 times in the south-east, Krakow, Katowice and Zakopane, never any problems and very friendly people !
Poland is a beautiful country, we have not been in the north but 3 times in the south-east, Krakow, Katowice and Zakopane, never any problems and very friendly people !
For what it's worth, I worked in Warsaw for a year, approx 8-10 years ago. great place, very nice people, but if you thought we had pot-holes, they're nothing compared to some of the crater's I saw out there - appreciate it could've changed a lot since I was there, but a point worth noting. Take it easy & enjoy.
Hi there, this is the first time i have posted on these forums and just felt the need as I think I could be of use to you.
I am an expat who normally lives in Poland and I consider myself more Polish than English! I also actually taught in Koszalin for a year so know the city well!
In response to a previous response to security - I agree, Poland is more than safe to take your car to. The people are generally honest and great! They are a nation of petrolheads, so as a previous poster mentioned, expect lots of people showing interest in the TVR and wanting to have photographs with it! All I would say is take basic precautions just like you would in the UK, make sure you have good quality locking nuts on your alloys, if anything, there is a small chance this is what an opportunist would go for, just like in the UK. In Koszalin (and most cities) there are a number of secure car parks, manned 24/7 by security guards - look for signs that read "Parking Strzezony". They are pretty cheap and are probably worth using for piece of mind!
Driving in Poland is pretty wild, you really need to have your whits about you as you will notice that there is a lot of risky overtaking going on. Most roads, especially in the North are single carriageway, so add on at least 50% the amount of time you would expect to take for a similar journey in France or Germany. Something that is really important is that larger roads have a sort of hard shoulder on them. If someone wants to overtake you, you should move over into this hard shoulder to let them pass as a courtesy in Poland. They will pass nearly always directly in the middle of the road, so you may have to do the same for oncoming traffic! Try to always have a "spotter" in the passenger seat for overtaking (as you will probably have to frequently overtake trucks and agricultural vehicles on single carriageways).
Pot holes are not so much a problem now on main roads, although on minor country roads they may still be a problem. Koszalin is near a seaside seasonal town called "Mielno", The road here is not the smoothest, especially if you want to go along the peninsula past Mielno.
Getting to Poland - I live in central Poland so normally come in from Frankfurt Oder roughly and past Poznan. For you it will be better to come in by Szczecin using the S3 and 6 (its not that bad a road, surface is pretty good but can be a little rough in places. Normally when I drive in I stop at Amsterdam and Berlin (with 3 days of 8-9 hours driving) but I have also stopped at Koln, Hannover & Dusseldorf on different occassions and all are worth seeing.
Oh last thing, Polish weddings are great weddings but watch out, you will eat (and possibly dance) alot, but it is also likely you will drink a heck of a lot of vodka! Because you are eating so much it is sometimes easy to forget how much you have drunk. Avoid driving for a minimum of 24 hours after the wedding to be safe - often the party continues on the second day with further vodka top ups! The Polish police have virtually a zero tolerance policy to drink driving, the amount allowed in your system is miniscule so as a rule, drink nothing if you plan to drive the same night.
All in all, take the car, the Poles will love to see the TVR as there are virtually none in Poland, the coastline is beautiful and best explored by car and driving in Poland is an experience not to be missed - I personally love it but I know some find it stressful.
Oh one last thing, I can't remember the name of it, but there is a microbrewery in the old Brewery (Browar) in the centre of Koszalin, they serve fantastic food and wonderful beer, it is a must do in Koszalin.
If you have any questions, just drop me a message and I will try and answer them, I haven't lived in Koszalin for 4-5 years but I still have friends there so I will try to help you out.
Hope this has been of some help
JC
I am an expat who normally lives in Poland and I consider myself more Polish than English! I also actually taught in Koszalin for a year so know the city well!
In response to a previous response to security - I agree, Poland is more than safe to take your car to. The people are generally honest and great! They are a nation of petrolheads, so as a previous poster mentioned, expect lots of people showing interest in the TVR and wanting to have photographs with it! All I would say is take basic precautions just like you would in the UK, make sure you have good quality locking nuts on your alloys, if anything, there is a small chance this is what an opportunist would go for, just like in the UK. In Koszalin (and most cities) there are a number of secure car parks, manned 24/7 by security guards - look for signs that read "Parking Strzezony". They are pretty cheap and are probably worth using for piece of mind!
Driving in Poland is pretty wild, you really need to have your whits about you as you will notice that there is a lot of risky overtaking going on. Most roads, especially in the North are single carriageway, so add on at least 50% the amount of time you would expect to take for a similar journey in France or Germany. Something that is really important is that larger roads have a sort of hard shoulder on them. If someone wants to overtake you, you should move over into this hard shoulder to let them pass as a courtesy in Poland. They will pass nearly always directly in the middle of the road, so you may have to do the same for oncoming traffic! Try to always have a "spotter" in the passenger seat for overtaking (as you will probably have to frequently overtake trucks and agricultural vehicles on single carriageways).
Pot holes are not so much a problem now on main roads, although on minor country roads they may still be a problem. Koszalin is near a seaside seasonal town called "Mielno", The road here is not the smoothest, especially if you want to go along the peninsula past Mielno.
Getting to Poland - I live in central Poland so normally come in from Frankfurt Oder roughly and past Poznan. For you it will be better to come in by Szczecin using the S3 and 6 (its not that bad a road, surface is pretty good but can be a little rough in places. Normally when I drive in I stop at Amsterdam and Berlin (with 3 days of 8-9 hours driving) but I have also stopped at Koln, Hannover & Dusseldorf on different occassions and all are worth seeing.
Oh last thing, Polish weddings are great weddings but watch out, you will eat (and possibly dance) alot, but it is also likely you will drink a heck of a lot of vodka! Because you are eating so much it is sometimes easy to forget how much you have drunk. Avoid driving for a minimum of 24 hours after the wedding to be safe - often the party continues on the second day with further vodka top ups! The Polish police have virtually a zero tolerance policy to drink driving, the amount allowed in your system is miniscule so as a rule, drink nothing if you plan to drive the same night.
All in all, take the car, the Poles will love to see the TVR as there are virtually none in Poland, the coastline is beautiful and best explored by car and driving in Poland is an experience not to be missed - I personally love it but I know some find it stressful.
Oh one last thing, I can't remember the name of it, but there is a microbrewery in the old Brewery (Browar) in the centre of Koszalin, they serve fantastic food and wonderful beer, it is a must do in Koszalin.
If you have any questions, just drop me a message and I will try and answer them, I haven't lived in Koszalin for 4-5 years but I still have friends there so I will try to help you out.
Hope this has been of some help
JC
Hi,thanks for the compliments on my post. Flying is cheaper but I do recommend the drive as I am a petrolhead but understand that it would cost more....but sooo much more fun! I hope you have fun at the wedding...i fact i'm sure you are... Maybe I should organise a gran turismo to Poland, would be a lot of fun! 
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