While checking out my visitor stats on Flickr, noticed that last two / three days showed an interesting peak in new visitors. More specifically for the pictures of a road trip through Poland I did some one and a half year ago, and in that set, especially the pictures of Hitlers Wolfschanze amassed the majority of hits. The site, close to Gierłoż in Eastern Poland, was recently brought under our attention again in Valkyrie.

Still, had no idea on the reason for the attention of the last days, but Google has. Apparently the Polish government is planning to lease out the site to some investor who wants to turn it into a a tourist attraction. Seeing how the Polish treated the former Oskar Schindler factory in Krakow or the Auschwitz / Birkenau site next to the current Oświęcim, I guess we can trust them in making it something worthwhile to visit with respect for history.

Below the pictures. As I arrived quite late on the day, walking through the woods, with the darkness falling in left quite an impression. If you're ever around there, don't hesitate, it's definitely worth the visit.

Promo-video for Wrocław, in the race for European Capital of Culture in 2016. In the video, it’s trying to make it easier for us foreigners to pronounce the name Wrocław by splitting it into two easy-to-remember bits: Vrots and Love.

Nice to visit if in the neighbourhood of Krakow: The Mnikowska Valley

Krakow has enjoyed a range of big-impact investments in the past few years. What will 2011, and the start Mayor Majchrowski’s third term, bring? As in his previous terms, the independent mayor will be restricted by the fact that Civic Platform (PO) representatives make up a majority on the council. A potentially large-scale project still hovering uncertainly in the wings is the proposed sports centre in Czyżyny. The city has been searching for a year for an investor willing to take on the project. The stumbling block appears to be a lack of faith in the potential to make money from the site.

By the spring, the city should know if a long-awaited 400-million złoty EU grant for the construction of waste disposal facilities will become a reality. The grant, which would be largest in EU history, was applied for in October of 2010 and is currently being pored over by EU officials.

Spring should also bring new hope to the inhabitants of Rucaj as the tracks for their longed-for tram link start going down. It won’t be until at least the end of the year that the project approached completion, however. Drivers will benefit from the renovation of the major ul. Klimeckiego—ul. Nowohucka intersection and, later in the year, a completely new Ofiar Katynia roundabout.

City-government watchers are speculating that 2011 will be the year for a major shake-up in public transport. An addition 800,000 visitors came to Krakow last year, at least 100,000 of them business travels, which is adding strain to an already overworked bus and tram network. Although big improvements to city-centre tram lines were completed in 2010, the number of trams and buses on outlying routes is widely reported as too low. It has been a few years since the price of public transport tickets rose—a hike may now be inevitable if gaps are to be plugged.

Four-to-five thousand new jobs are expected to be created in Krakow’s burgeoning outsourcing sector—an area of expertise for which the city was recently recognized by global outsourcing experts Tholons.

via krakowpost.com

Nice to see this beautiful city developing fast, the renovated Sukiennice with underground museum being a good illustration.