With a recent experience of Polish vodka still tingling our taste buds, it's no surprise we had our attention grabbed by a weekend Age article about finding the best vodka in Warsaw.

Turns out that the Polish aren't quite as fascinated with their vodka as we are, seeing it as a bit of layman's drink, but that won't stop us trying a few more. The Age reporter was lucky to sample quite a few, including:

Krupnik, a honey vodka drunk for breakfast in the mountains, as well as subrezty, a sour-sweet vodka, a cherry flavoured vodka and Siwucha, a potato vodka.

The favorite turned out to be the potato vodka, but our personal vote is for the honey vodka. And who says breakfast time is too early to start drinking? Not the Polish, obviously.

Related Stories:
· The Best Vodka in Town [The Age]
· Polish Cuisine in Melbourne: Borsch, Vodka & Tears [Jaunted]
· Poland Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: ceronne]]]> amandak 2008-10-01T09:05:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/15/181313/593

Take a break from reality this weekend and hit up the theater to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the next installment in the series of the the Pevensie sibs.

This time the charming English foursome find that hundreds of years have passed since their last trip to Neverland, er, Narnia, and a new villan, King Miraz, has taken over the throne. Of course they enlist help from all the Narnia creatures and then have to figure out how to get home. This one's full of mythology, some new local characters and even a night raid on a castle.

In that vein we encourage you to explore Narnia this week. We kid, we kid. Instead, try checking out some of the below hotspots in Poland, where parts of the film were actually shot:

Where to Stay: Hotel Grodek, Krakow Part of the Donimirski family of boutique hotels, the Grodek features distinct rooms (you can view them all online and decide before booking) and is tucked away in the Old Town area of the city.]]> sedona 2008-05-16T09:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/1/11/1469/03918

Ah, trams. They've always seemed so safe: slow-moving, confined to a clear track, occasionally driven by bare-chested men, especially in Eastern Europe. But head a little north from Bratislava (home to the "look Mom, no hands!" school of tram drivers) and the recent drama in Poland makes us feel a little less certain about the reliability of streetcars.

It turns out that a 14-year-old school boy in the Polish city of Lodz was clever enough to hack into the tram network. He configured a TV remote control so that it would get trams to change tracks instead of flipping channels on the telly. The result of his fun was several accidents and four derailments, but fortunately no fatalities.

Sounds like a boy with a brilliant career ahead of him, if only he can put his amazing tram powers to work for the good guys.

Related Stories:
· Schoolboy Hacks Into City's Tram System [Guardian]
· Getting From A to Bratislava [Jaunted]
· Public Transportation Love-Hate coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Tierecke]]]> amandak 2008-01-11T09:30:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/10/1/34040/5293

Following the (largely Polish-held) theory that Poland is the center of Europe, the low cost carrier Centralwings is, of course, based in Poland. The airline flies out of eight different Polish cities, though apart from flights out of Warsaw and Krakow, the destination choices are fairly limited. Coming up this winter, though, some new flights will open to Athens, Barcelona, Lyon and Manchester.

But the big news over at Centralwings is they're trying to drum up some family business and are proudly advertising that children can get a discount on tickets. Infants under two fly free, and all children aged between 2 and 16 get a 20% discount on the adult fare. It started out sounding kinda generous, but when we calculate that the 20% discount on a 19 Zloty ($7) flight is just about enough to buy a small fries, it starts to sound like a marketing trick.

Of course, if your travel arrangements are completely inflexible or you book at the last minute, you might end up with some useful savings. Tickets can go for up to 600 Zloty, and with the money you save there, you'll be able to buy a burger to go with those fries.

Related Stories:
· Site Scramble: Centralwings [Jaunted]
· Bad Jokes Are Free At Wizz Air [Jaunted]
· Centralwings [Official Site]]]> amandak 2007-10-01T09:35:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/5/29/84228/7704

What's with travel media and "X is the new Y?" Public enemy number one when it comes to the reductionist formulation would have to be the New York Times, which has another new Prague this week: Krakow, Poland.

Writer Denny Lee (turns out Denny is a good photographer as well) has some "fresh" "intelligence" from those who know the city best: a bunch of self-described bohemians. (We're suspicious.) Here's what a dozen expats got up to last October:

The group chatted about their creative endeavors as they polished off six-packs of Tatra Pilsener, smoked hand-rolled cigarettes and, at one point, began scrawling existential messages on the walls. Then, at about midnight, they headed off to Kitsch, a multilevel pansexual club on Ulica Wielopole, where they danced until the wee hours.

Sounds like Krakow might be the new Cartagena.

[Photo: Denny Lee/New York Times]

Related Stories:
· Poland Travel [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2007-05-29T09:20:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/4/1/225517/5843 Click Here To Go Straight To Chasing Racers Map

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race All Stars mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below, and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out, and around on the map - with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Must've been a slow week over at CBS because last night's Amazing Race was a two-hour spectacular. The double show packed in the excitement, with Joe and Bill almost a day behind the front of the pack. After Danielle freaked out while getting tossed off a flight last week, would she be back in Eric's passenger seat this time? And would Oswald be able to come up with even more saucy one liners? With only six teams left--and more sausage than you care to think about--we find out after the jump.]]> pbb 2007-04-02T08:41:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/3/22/4326/90790

We've already expressed a hint of dismay at the growing popularity for the British to hold their bachelor parties in Eastern Europe, often causing drunken havoc and mayhem at their destination, since it's so much cheaper to drink there than at home. Getting drunk, throwing bottles and breaking bar stools is one thing, but in Poland the situation's definitely getting out of hand: the Scots are lifting their kilts.

Seeing a man in a skirt while you're trying to enjoy a night on the town is disturbing enough, but seeing what's under his skirt (nothing!) is just a touch too much. Some Polish cities are trying to get men in skirts banned and are at the least threatening to throw them in jail for the night. Seems kilt-wearing in Poland gives a whole new meaning to the idea of "traveling light".

[Photo: melomane]

Related Stories:
· Polish Authorities Seek Ban on Kilt Drunks [Scotsman]
· British Government to Charge Citizens for Vomiting Abroad [Jaunted]]]> amandak 2007-03-22T11:00:02-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/