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Scotland to Poland by train
By | January 15, 2008
Toby Sigouin explains the excitement, beauty and ease of a train ride from Edinburgh to Poland
As a long time fan of overland travel I always choose destinations I can travel to by boat and train for my annual vacation.
For my 2007 trip I decided to visit Poland and Berlin, places I have never been to before and was eager to explore. Travelling from Edinburgh to Poland without resorting to a budget airline is actually surprisingly easy.
My Journey started in Edinburgh Waverley at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon in July. The GNER train bound for London King’s Cross speeds you south rapidly and hugs the dramatic East Coast for the first couple of hours of the journey, giving wonderful views of the cliffs and small fishing vessels plying their trade.
Very soon I arrived at Peterborough where I boarded a small local diesel train to Harwich Parkeston Quay via Manningtree. The flat Fenland landscape that rolls by on this part of the journey providing an interesting contrast to the earlier dramatic Border scenery. The line here has many old stations and Victorian railway infrastructure still in place and gives the traveller the impression of stepping back in time. 
Just after 10pm I arrived at Harwich where I boarded the ultra-modern Stena Hollandica for my overnight passage to the Netherlands. I find ferry travel to be a highly civilised and enjoyable experience. New boats are fitted out more like travelling Hotels with tastefully decorated en-suite cabins, a choice of good quality restaurants and bars, and none of the dodgy disco’s and rowdy cheap reclining seat passengers that were so ubiquitous in the 1980’s. Modern stabilisers and the shear physical size of the Vessels also mean that there is little chance of sea-sickness, something which I used to suffer from badly. I was already asleep by 11:30pm, so didn’t notice us leaving Harwich and slipping off into the North Sea at the dead of night.
The 7:30am arrival time into Hoek Van Holland coupled with the very slick disembarkation procedure, which allows you to walk straight off the ferry and onto the awaiting train, meant that I was able to arrive in Amsterdam with plenty of time to catch IC-143: the 10:57 Amsterdam to Szczecin. 
This is a great train which takes you direct from Holland to Poland. The train has a buffet car and is formed of good quality German IC stock so is spacious and comfortable. It is also a fascinating journey, passing through Wolfsburg with the massive VW factory clearly visible from the train, and the former East Germany and Berlin. There is a fair amount of Cold War infrastructure still visible from the train for the budding historian to ponder over.
Arriving into Szczecin at 7:40pm allows you to make various connections with overnight trains to take you further east. Alternatively you can do as I did and spend the night at Szczecin. It is a fairly industrial city but has a small old town in the centre and a good choice of reasonably priced hotels and restaurants. Being somewhat off the tourist trail it is also a good gateway to Poland for the independent and budget conscious traveller.
The next morning I had allowed myself a leisurely start and time for a stroll around Szczecin before catching R-81112, the 10:34 to Gdsank. The slower Polish pace of life was immediately apparent as we set off, with the familiar clickety-click of the unjointed rails providing a relaxing soundtrack to the unspoilt countryside of northwest Poland. 
I was using the excellent PKP First Class 7 day all lines rover. This ticket allows unlimited travel within Poland for 7 days and lets you board all reservation obligatory services without a reservation. If you like to be sure of a seat you can also reserve seats free of charge upon showing the pass at any station. The pass costs 380zl (around £77) and so is fantastic value for money. It can be purchased at all major Polish stations. Alternatively you can buy one online at PolRail. It will cost you a little more (440zl) but they will also reserve any seats you require free of charge. I used this method which was very stress free and meant that I started my trip with all my reservations and railpass pre-booked. It is especially useful if you do not speak Polish as booking clerks there are unlikely to speak English. It also means you do not have to queue at ticket offices whilst on holiday. The pass is also available in 1 month versions and also for 2nd class travel. Pay the extra for 1st class if you can as 2nd class can get very overcrowded. The Polrail site is run by Jeffrey Dobek and is a very useful resource if you are planning a rail trip to Poland. The other website I would strongly recommend using for research is the excellent The Man in Seat61 run by Mark Smith.
I arrived into Gdansk at 3:45pm and after checking into my Hotel started to explore this fascinating city. It has a wonderful and very big old town and quayside, open and covered markets and also a modern shopping area too. 
From the quayside you can take boat trips around the shipyards, a popular choice for Polish visitors as these were the birthplace of the solidarity movement. There is still much shipbuilding in evidence and industrial shunting locomotives in use.
After a very interesting 2 days in Gdansk I took an early morning train (IC-5302) to Warsaw where I spent a few hours wandering around the Palace of Culture before catching EX-1613, the 2.25pm to Wroclaw.
Train travel in Poland is very sociable and I often found fellow travellers were interested to know about my trip (usually communication was via my English/Polish Phrasebook!) and asked me if I liked Poland. The Poles are very generous people and often share food and drink with the other passengers in their compartment. After I noticed this on my first day in Poland I generally packed a few extra snacks so I could offer them around – a good ice-breaker and a sure-fire way of blending in with the locals.
I stayed in the old square at Wroclaw, as in many Polish towns a well preserved reminder of the traditional architecture of the county. 
The more forbidding communist era high rise flats synonymous with the former Warsaw Pact countries are mostly seen on the outskirts of the larger towns.
My next destination was Krakow and I took a mid-morning train there from Wroclaw. We passed a long line of old rusting steam engines at one station, a poignant reminder of times past.
Krakow is one of the most popular destinations in Poland and has more than its fair share of package tourists and stag parties searching out cheap beer and strip clubs. Fortunately they confine themselves to the main square and surrounding side streets so if you explore a little further afield you can get a real feel for the place. A stroll around the former Ghetto gives an all too real reminder of the cities turbulent past, and a visit to Nowa Huta, a model communist town dominated by an enormous steelworks and featuring imposing neo-classical concrete architecture lets you see a different side to the country.
I spent a few days in Krakow but as there is so much to see I feel a longer repeat trip will be necessary to do the place justice.
My final destination in Poland was Poznan and I took P-38100, the 10:45 from Krakow there on a busy summer Saturday. It turned out to be another very sociable journey and the trip passed by very quickly. After arriving at Poznan I quickly sought out Brovaria, a brew pub with almost cult status where they have food dishes specifically matched to their beers. It didn’t disappoint and provided a suitably civilised end to the day. The next morning I spent more time exploring the centre of Poznan and visiting the Museum of Instruments. 
In the afternoon I took a local train to Wolsztyn. Wolsztyn is a mecca for railfans as it is the last operational steam depot is Poland. Unfortunately for me they close in July and August so after a look around the depot I took a train back to Poznan vowing to return and resolving to boost my spirits with a few more beers at Brovaria.
Getting to Berlin from Poznan is very easy as EC-46, the flagship Warsaw Berlin express stops there. I took the 10:23 departure and arrived into Berlin in plenty of time for lunch at 13:16. 
Berlin is another fascinating city and there is not enough space here to list the things I saw during my few days there suffice to say that you could easily occupy yourself for 2 weeks in the city. I must mention the technical museum though as it doesn’t seem to get a listing in many travel guides but is one of the biggest and best museums I have ever seen and needs 2 days if you are to do it justice. Berlin is full of open-air bars and cafes and is a very lively place to visit.
My return route to Edinburgh involved re-tracing my steps to Amsterdam from Berlin on IC-144 which leaves at 08:46 and arrived into Amsterdam at 15:01. This gives you time to have a couple of hours exploring Amsterdam before catching the train back to Hoek van Holland. You can board the ferry a few hours before departure and enjoy an excellent dinner and a nightcap before retiring to your cabin for the night.
The next day the trip back to Edinburgh was made in good time and by 2:30pm I was back in the capital of Scotland which was by now bustling with visitors to the Edinburgh Festival.
I cannot overstate the advantages to a trip like this. As well as not contributing to the coffers of the pollution creating airlines the overland traveller gets the opportunity to see things and meet people along the way that would be impossible if they fly. Looking out of my cabin window to see the coastline of Holland approaching on my first morning, passing through picturesque old Polish stations and sharing some chocolate and chat with fellow passengers between Krakow and Poznan are just some of the many memories that will make my overland trip special.
So, the next time you plan a holiday, investigate how you can make the trip by boat and train and then think of the many experiences that lie in front of you…..
Topics: Alternatives to Air Travel, European Destinations, Holiday by Train, Stop Flying Stories, Your Experiences |
January 26th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Could you advise of how I can extend my journey beyond Poland and to Moscow?
Many thanks
Nic
January 26th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Hi Nic,
Have you tried http://bahn.hafas.de/
The site defaults to German but you can select English (top right of page) and search for routes between most cities in Europe. . .
Let us know how you get on
Ciaran
February 1st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Hi Nic
Getting to Moscow from Poland couldn’t be easier. Direct sleeper trains run between Amsterdam and Moscow via Berlin and Poland. There are also other services from Poland to Moscow too. As Ciaran mentioned the hafas site is good. Mark Smith also has a page devoted to overland travel to Moscow via Poland;
http://www.seat61.com/Russia.htm
He goes through all the different options.
Cheers
Toby
July 14th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Ciaran,
I work at DFDS Seaways and have thoroughly enjoyed reading your article, I like that you are a huge fan of avoiding air travel. It was interesting to note that you went from Scotland on the train to Harwich to go to the Netherlands. DFDS Seaways sail from Newcastle-Netherlands - would this have not saved time, miles and money?
I have never been to Poland but think it would be a really great place to visit and the train journey sounds most interesting.