Poland

Poland, a country crushed flat so many times it has become indestructible, is shaking off the last vestiges of forced slumber and rushing with great abandon into a modern 21st century.Despite the country’s rush to embrace the future, its past cannot be ignored, particularly when it confronts you at every turn. Warsaw may be embracing New World cuisine, cafe culture and clubs that never close, but you’ll still encounter peasant women selling bunches of flowers in its beautifully reconstructed Old Town. Drive across the country’s northern expanse and you’ll stumble upon a string of 14th-century Gothic castles, like the magnificent example at Malbork, the last remnants of the once powerful Teutonic Knights. Catch a no-frills flight to Krakow or Wrocław and you’ll arrive in magnificent medieval centres. Or choose almost any major city, from Lublin to Poznan....