Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hungary has been a free country for
more than a decade, and visitors will find
a new order softened by courtly old-
world customs such as gentlemen kissing
their ladies' hands.
Hungary has undergone an image
change in the nearly 20 years since the fall
of Communism and with it, tourism is
has brought hordes of visitors to the
country's restored
castles, palaces,
and
museums
and to its
festivals, fairs,
and
harvest celebrations.
Today Hungary's travel specialists can
arrange general or special-interest tours
for English speakers, among them a tour
with an itinerary that helps visitors research
their roots or just walk around the same
land where their ancestors once lived.
There is a new national pride evident
in big cities and rural villages in Hungary
as fear of foreign invasion fades. Many
restaurants have revived traditional recipes,
museums display artifacts that trace Hun-
gary's turbulent 1,000-year past, and lively
Hungarian folk music fills the air wher-
ever you go.
Above all, visitors will feel welcome
thanks to the contagious goodwill and
optimism of the Hungarian people, who
have endured and prospered no matter
how high the odds.
POLAND
Since Poland joined the European Union
in May 2004, many of its tourist sites
have acquired an international reputation
as “must-sees” for foreign visitors.
Kraków, Warsaw, Gda
^
sk, Czesto-
chowa, Auschwitz,
the
Tatra Mountains
are just some of the stops that are attract-
ing large crowds these days, and with
good reason.
With a population of more than three-
quarters of a million people,
Kraków
is
Poland's third-largest city and its former
capital. Kraków was left virtually
untouched by World War II hostilities, so
much of its original architecture and
most of its monuments are still intact,
and today it is Poland's unofficial cultural
center. Kraków has always been one of
Poland's most popular tourist centers, but
is also the birthplace of the late Pope John
Paul II and as such its popularity with
tourists has surged since his death in
2005.
Warsaw
is Poland's capital. Unlike
Kraków, Warsaw was devastated during
World War II and had to be almost totally
rebuilt. Today Warsaw is a sophisticated,
modern city with a vibrant business dis-
trict with an Eastern European aura. If
you visit, be sure to see
Old Town,
the
Royal Route,
the
Chopin museum,
and
the former
Jewish ghetto.
Gda
^
sk
is a seaport city where in 1978
shipyard electrician
Lech Wa
l7
sa
started
the
Solidarity
movement on behalf of
workers' rights. Walesa's efforts eventually
resulted in the defeat of Communism in
Poland and made him a national hero.
Gda
^
sk is also a tourist town thanks to a
mild climate, beautiful beaches, and archi-
tectural treasures that include the largest
brick Gothic church in Europe.
The town of
Czestochowa
is usually
associated with
Jasna Gora Monastery,
which is the biggest Marian sanctuary in
Poland. For Catholic Poland it is a sacred
pilgrimage destination that is home to an
icon known as
Black Madonna of
Czestochowa.
There are several legends
associated with the Black Madonna, but
the most common is that the painting
saved its church from being destroyed in
a fire, but not before the flames darkened
the Virgin Mary's flesh tones. Catholics
honor the Madonna as Poland's protector
and she is credited with many miracles.
The provincial town of
O
1
wi
7
cim,
aka
Auschwitz,
was the site of the largest
Nazi extermination camp during World
War II. An estimated 1.5 million people
were tortured, starved, and murdered
there. Today Auschwitz has been pre-
served as a monument to man's inhuman-
ity to his fellow man.
