US - EUROPEAN CELESTIAL MECHANICS WORKSHOP
TRAVEL GUIDE
Some general remarks concerning your travel:
Beware of pickpockets in airports, railway stations, trains and city transport.
Taking a taxi from stops located near an airport or a railway station can be
quite expensive. If you want to take a taxi at a normal price it is best to
call it by phone. N.B. There is a special point at the Poznan Glowny station
building where you can ask for calling a taxi. Do not count on the possibility
of paying directly in foreign currency. You can easily exchange USD and most
of the European currencies for the Polish "Zloty" (PLN or ZL) in exchange
points (pol: KANTOR) or banks. Exchange points can be found at airports,
railway stations and in hotels. The exchange rate is about 4.5 PLN for 1 USD
and 4.1 for 1 EU; these values may fluctuate and obviously we are not able to
predict the exact rates for July. Credit cards are rather widely accepted in
Poland - at least in banks, major restaurants, supermarkets and hotels (except
of "Jowita"). Most of the public telephones require a phone card (pol: KARTA
TELEFONICZNA). The cards are sold in newspaper kiosks (usually marked "Ruch"
or "Kolporter") or post offices. Before the first use of the card you should
detach its upper right corner.
From Warsaw (Warszawa) or Berlin to Poznan:
If you arrive at the Okecie Airport in Warsaw, you can easily reach the railway
station Warszawa Centralna taking the special "Airport-City" bus. The tickets
are sold by the bus driver and your luggage is free of charge. This is not
true for the remaining city transport buses and trams, but we do not recommend
them for reasons of safety. The bus line 175 has a particularly bad
reputation and should be avoided.
The trains from Warsaw to Poznan depart from Warszawa Centralna station. Taking
one of the trains "Ekspres" (Ex), "InterCity" (IC), or "EuroCity" (EC), you
will have to pay an obligatory seat reservation. The cost of the ticket (2nd
class) is of about 51 PLN, plus 7-12 PLN for the reservation, depending on
the kind of train. A first class ticket costs about 25 PLN more. Ordinary
fast trains (pol: Pospieszny) are marked with P in the timetable. Less
expensive ( 34 PLN) and without seat reservations are usually overcrowded. In
this case, first class tickets (51 PLN) are highly recommended. The attached
timetable is selective; all international sleeping trains are ommitted.
If your plane arrives to Warszawa Okecie at a convenient hour, you can consider
taking a plane to the Poznan Lawica airport.
Trains from Berlin ZOO to Poznan:
| Dep. | Arriv. | remarks |
| 6:55 | 10:12 | EC |
| 12:55 | 16:12 | EC |
| 16:55 | 20:12 | EC |
| 18:55 | 22:18 | EC |
Trains from Warsaw (Warszawa Centralna) to Poznan
| Dep | Arriv | remarks |
| 6:00 | 8:39 | IC, all days axcept Sundays |
| 7:00 | 9:42 | EC |
| 8:00 | 10:50 | Ex |
| 9:00 | 11:42 | IC |
| 10:00 | 13:00 | Ex |
| 11:00 | 13:42 | EC |
| 13:00 | 15:51 | Ex, Fridays and Sundays only |
| 14:00 | 16:50 | Ex |
| 15:00 | 17:37 | IC |
| 16:00 | 18:38 | IC, all days except Saturdays |
| 17:00 | 19:42 | EC |
| 18:00 | 20:50 | Ex |
| 19:00 | 22:01 | Ex, all days except Saturdays |
| 19:45 | 22:36 | Ex |
| 22:27 | 2:21 | P |
Trains from Poznan
to Berlin ZOO
| Dep. | Arriv. | remarks |
| 5:39 | 9:02 | EC |
| 9:45 | 13:02 | EC |
| 13:45 | 17:02 | EC |
| 19:45 | 23:02 | EC |
Trains from Poznan to
Warsaw ( Warszawa Centralna)
Dep Arriv remarks
| 2:00 | 5:47 | P |
| 5:25 | 8:28 | Ex, all days axcept Sundays |
| 6:25 | 9:06 | IC, all days axcept Sundays |
| 7:15 | 10:05 | Ex |
| 7:35 | 10:16 | IC |
| 10:15 | 13:01 | EC |
| 11:15 | 14:09 | Ex |
| 13:15 | 16:08 | Ex |
| 14:15 | 17:17 | Ex |
| 15:15 | 17:58 | IC |
| 16:15 | 19:01 | EC |
| 17:15 | 19:58 | IC, all days except Saturdays |
| 18:15 | 21:08 | Ex |
| 19:15 | 22:08 | Ex, Fridays and Sundays only |
| 20:15 | 23:01 | EC |
City Transport in Poznan and how to Reach your Hotel:
The system of fares in Poznan buses and trams may seem a bit complicated
for a newcomer, but is quite convenient for the experienced.
Tickets (pol: "Bilety MPK") are sold in kiosks - separately or in packs
of ten plus one free. In the latter case they are two-sided. The tickets
should be stamped right after entering a bus or a tram.
There are two main types of tickets:
1) time-limited tickets cost 0.90 PLN ("90 Groszy"). Stamping a single
ticket you can travel 10 minutes in a tram or a bus. Stamping two tickets one
after another you can travel 30 minutes. Three tickets allow you a 60 minutes
trip. Using the time-limited tickets you can change your trams and/or buses
during the trip. 2) stops-limited tickets have been introduced to compensate
the loss of time in a traffic jam. They are valid only in buses. Stamping a
ticket of 1.30 PLN you can travel the distance of 10 bus stops. Stamping a
ticket of 2.30 PLN you can travel any number of stops until the last one of
the bus line taken. You can not change the bus during the trip when using this
kind of a ticket. However, the stops-limited tickets are not being sold as
widely as the time tickets. Many kiosks sell only the latter.
A reduced (50%) rate applies to children. Two reduced rate tickets are not
valid as a full rate one. You should pay a full rate fare for each piece of
luggage exceeding 65x45x25 cm. Night bus lines (with numbers preceeded by N)
and fast buses (lines A,B,C,...) require double rate tickets (you can still
use normal tickets in a doubled quantity).
The "Polonez" hotel is located at 36 Niepodleglosci Street. Taking the bus
68 from the railway station you travel 4 stops (i.e. 8 minutes
approximately). Arriving late at night you can take the bus N35 and travel 5
stops (still about 8 minutes). The bus stop at the "Polonez" hotel is simply
named "POLONEZ". Consulting a timetable at bus stops, please note the
difference between "Dni Robocze" (ordinary weekdays), "Soboty" (Saturdays),
and "Swieta" (Sundays and holidays).
To reach the "Jowita" hostel from the railway station you can manage without
a public transport. Leaving the station through the main door you walk some
300 m straight ahead, up the Dworcowa Street. At the end of the street look
to the left and you will notice "Jowita" - a dozen-storeys building with
inscriptions "CENTRA, AKUMULATORY" and "GLOS WIELKOPOLSKI" at the top.
"Jowita" is located at a characteristic orientation point of Poznan known as
"Rondo Kaponiera".
We recommend the map
of the centre of Poznan available at our WWW page.
Weather
"Capricious" is the best word to describe the weather in Poland. At the
beginning of July the temperatures may range from 15 to over 30 C. Be
prepared for any case and do not forget your umbrella.
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