17th of August 2004: my parents and I went to visit my girlfriend and her parents in Poland (after they visited us here in April).
Charleroi - Katowice on Air Polonia.
We were on time in Charleroi, as was our plane. It was a boeing 737-300. After departure, we were on route to Poznan, as Air Polonia makes a stop in Poznan on this route. Flight was rather uneventful as it should be. The plane and the "service" was quite ok, and an announcement was made that we were flying at approximately 10km high. The loadfactor was about 80 to 85%.
On descent to Poznan, we made many sometimes sharp turns and the ride got a little bit more bumpy. But the last few seconds before landing everything was smooth again. Poznan looks like a nice and modern airport from the outside. Quite some people left the plane, but nobody got on it for our ride to Katowice.
Takeoff in Poznan was nice, and we didn't go very high for our short flight to Katowice. Again when we starting descending things got a little bit more rough, even more then in Poznan. Some people (mostly children) made even smal screams. My mother got even a little bit ill, i was loving it, and my father (who flies very regurarely) didn't care and didn't even look up from the book he was reading.
Then this as a small citiguide for Poland (very small cityguide):
We went by car to Zakopane, which is a very touristic mountain"city" in the Polish Tatra mountains. It isn't as high as the Alps, but very beautiful and you can do more "dangerous" climbs (still for amateurs) then in the Alps. The way to go to the different starting points of routes in Zakopane is to take the small busses. Be carefull which you take! Some are very old and don't seem too safe! Seatbelts in those busses... never heard of, i guess. 8) But it is worth it, and quite cheap.
After Zakopane we went to Krakow, which is arguably the most beautiful town in whole Poland! A must-see!!! 8O The old city is very nice, and you can do it totally on foot! Especially pay attention to the church with 2 towers (the highest one has a crown on it) on the main market square. Every hour they play trumpet there out of the tower. The story behind that church is that 3 brothers were competing for the highest tower, and 1 killed the other. There is also a story about the trumpet, but as i'm not sure anymore about it, i'll first ask my girlfriend about that (she would kill me if i tell it wrongly 8) ).
My parents went back from there to take their plane in Katowice back to belgium, but i continued with my girlfriend to Wroclaw. Wroclaw is a city that is located pretty close to the German border, and also the appearance is really German. The market square is really nice (try to find the house where 1 window isn't real, but painted!) and also the medieval island is great to see.
Next on the program: Warsaw! The old citycenter is worth visiting, although it is worth noting that everything was constructed after the second world war. Because during the second world war, many buildings in Warsaw were completely destroyed, but they decided to build them again as they were before the war. Also try to see the (in poland) famous palmtree, it's not that far from there 8O ... yes, it is a fake one, but a good one!
And one more last caution: travelling in Poland can take it's time and isn't always the safest way! Well, i travelled already a few times on all segments that i mentioned here, and normally the busses are new ones and very good.
BUT the last time we took a bus between Zakopane and Krakow... It was a very old bus, they kept on taking people on it. So when we left, all seats were occupied, plus about 20 (at least!) people standing in the hallway! The ride was supposed to last about 2h... Meanwhile driving, we were going downhill (coming out of the mountains) on a highway, and the bus really had troubles braking. After a few moments, we start smelling something burned... the chauffeur takes the first exit he could and when he brakes we see nothing more then... smoke, everywhere smoke (outside luckily). What happened: the brakes overheated badly! You would think that the chauffeur would stop! But no way, he just kept driving, but through the small roads, trying to brake as little as possible. He even thinks it is necessary to keep on doubling trucks, cars, etc.! Anyway, after a thrilling ride of about 3h30, we reached Krakow. And swore never to take that buscompany again!
More about travelling in Poland: train is quite nice and comfortable, but take into calculations that distances aren't as in belgium: there going between big cities, you easily lose 4 to 6h! Trains are normally very full, so if you don't want to stand up for 6h, try to get in as one of the first. Intercity trains aren't that much faster but do cost much more (which still isn't that expensive though).
And last but not least: Warsaw - Brussels on SNBA 30/08
The flight had a delay of about 45 minutes due to earlier delays, but no problem for me, as it meant more time on the excellent observation deck in WAW! (2 zloty for students - 3 for adults, but in the afternoon sun in front of you, PS: being 23, i still got in for 2 zloty (normally only for highschool)).
After boarding OO-DJO (still in the old colours
) we received immediately a drink (orange juice in my case). After take off, the meals were handed out (sorry, no photo of the meals): tasty ravioli with cheese sause. (it could be a little bit more though, but that is being picky 8) ). Also next drinks were offered: i took a bottle of nice white wine, and the stewardess immediately asked if i wanted something else "fresh" to drink. So i also took another orange juice. A little bit later they came again with drinks, but as i still had my wine, i declined the offer. Meanwhile there was a little bit of turbulence which made it hard for me to put the wine into my mouth and not my ear (no it wasn't because of the wine! 
) but i managed to drink it without spilling. Then for some time (as everything was served very quickly) there was nothing to do. And about 30 minutes before landing, they came again with drinks, when i took a nice Stella Artois 
. I had to hurry drinking it, because before we knew it, we were on the ground in BRU! We docked the A terminal, but then had to take a bus to the B terminal for non-schengen countries.A few remarks: loadfactor on this flight was about 40 to 50%, half of it businessmen. The english tape was VERY loud. and in my opinion, they should have waited a little bit with the drinks after the meal, then it would be a less long period behind it. Now everything happened the first hour, and the second, there was no drinkservice or so, except for the end. The Neuhaus chocolate was very good, and nice that they also were advertising their frequent flyer program then! I saw some people taking te brochures! I loved the plastics cups with "All drinks are on the crew!", so after asking, i took 3 of them with me
Overall, very good service, and i would love to fly them again, but what counts for me (former student, momentarily starting to search for a job) ... is the money. And then i have to admit that Air Polonia is still much cheaper, and now also Wizz Air makes that i won't fly SNBA much to Warsaw.
Next trip: Charleroi - Warsaw on Wizz Air and Warsaw -Charleroi on Air Polonia! (26/09-04/10) LESS then 80€ taxes included!!!
I hope you like the report/ small city guide.
Feel free to ask whatever you want!
Greets,
Pieter
