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Poland is a large European country of 39,000,000 people (one of the largest countries in Europe) but not well known to American gay men. Because so few Americans speak Polish (and Poles speak little English), Poland is a particularly difficult country for gay men, especially for a short visit. Moreover, Polish gay culture has developed in its own subdued and almost secretive way-- in contrast with Holland, Germany, France, or the rest of Western Europe. This development is not related to the legal status of gay men, because Poland has a long history of legal tolerance and decriminalization with regard to both same sex acts and male prostitution.

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Despite tolerance, Poland's venues for gay culture (i.e., bars, clubs, etc.) where people of any age may mix, meet, or socialize for the evening don't exist in Poland on a large scale. This article is designed to go beyond existing guides, giving the reader specific information on three cities in Poland. It is hoped that the guide will enable the reader to have companionship within an hour or two of hotel check-in.

Warsaw, the capital of Poland, dominates Polish gay life. There are also another half-dozen cities of about one million, which have gay spots and are worth visiting. Krakòw, the tri-city area of Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot, Katowice, Lodz, Poznan, Szczecin, and Wroclaw are cities of interest.

Travel is easy in Poland. Trains go to all major cities, and there are hotels within walking distance from the train station. Traveling by train through the countryside-- forests, farms, and villages-- is an interesting and inexpensive trip. Within cities, public transport is good, cheap, and convenient. Be sure to get a ticket at a kiosk before getting on a bus or tram. In most cities the gay venues are close together. Taxis are cheap and safe.

Escorts

If you want immediate results, sexually speaking, you may wish to try escorts. Young men for hire are available in several ways. In the cities they hang out and are employed by agencies-with-escorts. Through this venue they are available 24-hours-a-day. Other escorts put their own ads in the Polish gay publications. (Read further for instructions on obtaining these publications). The ads cover all major cities in Poland, and escorts will travel.

Escorts may also be ordered to your room by telephone (and they arrive punctually). They are generally honest, reliable, and pleasant. In addition to the kind of sex agreed upon, the escorts kiss and are often aggressive about it! The going rate for escorts (either in or out) is 200 Zloty ($50 US).

On the prowl

A third way of finding sex for sale is to go to the train stations-- especially in Warsaw where working-class hustlers hang out around the bathrooms. This will be discussed further under Warsaw.

For English-speaking visitors, the Polish language is difficult. Words cannot be pronounced from reading. For instance, in talking on the phone it is difficult to give your address to a Pole because he will not understand your pronunciation. Likewise it is difficult to understand an address in Polish. This is important because addresses of escort agencies are almost never published in Polish gay magazines. If you are staying in a well-known hotel, there is no problem having escorts to your room. It is important to have a telephone and to have the Polish gay magazines (to be discussed later).

Make your own Warsaw Pact!

The Polish capital has the most extensive gay culture. It should be kept in mind that the Nazis completely leveled this city during World War II, and the modern city dates mainly from the Communist era-- unlike most other European cities.

The architecture and planning are not altogether aesthetically pleasing. The Palace of Culture and Science was erected during the communist regime in Warsaw and is the most conspicuous structure in the city. The entire downtown area has been constructed around this building-- which is a point of navigation and orientation.

Two gay guesthouses, which have the same owners, have recently opened in Warsaw and Krakòw. The idea of a guesthouse in Poland is an appealing and cozy one. However, I stayed in both guesthouses-- and neither is a guesthouse in the sense to which I am accustomed. (For example, Mae's Bed and Breakfast in Amsterdam and KM Saga Guest Residence in Budapest-- where the owners live on the premises and are helpful to the guests). The Warsaw Friends Guesthouse, at Sienkiewica 4 Apt. 28, consists of three simple rooms with no one on the premises, no telephone, no maid service, no clean towels, and no common area for meeting others. I paid $50 US a night, and was never given a receipt despite two requests. The only positive aspect of staying here was the location near the gay spots in the city. However, most hotels in Warsaw are within walking distance or a short taxi ride. It is housed in one of the few prewar buildings left standing. A guest needs four keys to get to his room-- and taxis, and guests, have a hard time finding the building.

At this point it should be reiterated that you must have a telephone to function in Poland. Most Polish men and escorts have cell phones. In order to access the sexuality of this country, you must have a telephone at your disposal.

Again, regardless of where you stay, it is easy to have people to your room. This is partly due to the fact that prostitution is legal in Poland. At the Ibis Hotel, for example, largely a three-star businessman's hotel, Polish escorts, both male and female, come and go freely. In fact, at night at the Ibis, fliers are left at all the hotel doors announcing the availability of male and female prostitutes for the pleasure of the guests.

The Fantom Klub (Warsaw)

The nerve center of gay sex-life in Warsaw is the Fantom Klub located at UL. Bracka 20a. Many establishments in Poland are situated in places that might be disorienting to North American travelers. They are often located within larger buildings that contain several businesses. In the case of the Fantom Klub, customers have to go through two gates and a second building before coming to a tunnel that is scrawled with graffiti. There are two parts to this club and neither is marked. On each end of the building there are small, inconspicuous buzzers (amongst the graffiti). This is because there are two entrances-- one is for the darkroom side, and the other is for the sauna side of the Fantom Klub. For information on the gay scene in Warsaw, go to the Fantom Klub, where there is always at least one person who speaks English.

At the right side, as you face the building, there is a bell for the bar and sauna. Ring the unmarked bell and you will be buzzed into a basement sauna, and from there you'll be able to operate just as in a sauna in Europe or America.

At the left side, as you face the building, there is the dark room and glory hole maze. Again, press the unmarked buzzer, and you will be buzzed into the basement darkroom and glory-hole complex. The two sections have separate fees, and you cannot go between them. There's a chain-link fence in the middle and men from both sides can play with each other through the links.

Leathermen and other wild types frequent this bar, and it certainly has the heaviest sex scene in Poland. You do not need any ID for clubs or saunas-- just cash. (No credit cards are accepted in gay spots). You do not need to carry your passport at all times. However, it is a good idea to carry a Xerox copy of your passport and visas.

Escorts in Warsaw

There are half-a-dozen agencies with escorts and many individual escorts in Warsaw. Typically, such agencies operate in private apartments with a manager and six to eight young escorts on the premises. The manager usually has contact with even more escorts by phone. Escort agencies place several ads in gay magazines with multiple phone numbers.

Escorts and escort agencies in Warsaw tend to come and go so quickly that it is absolutely necessary to obtain the magazines Nowy Men or Adam. If you are a patron at the Fantom Klub, the manager will call an escort to come to the sauna.

A central, well-stocked kiosk is PKP, AL. Jerozolimskie 50-- an easy to find location in Warsaw. Also try AL. 3-go Maja. Take a taxi to either. The driver will know them. Get your magazines the day you arrive, especially Nowy Men, which has a detailed listing of gay venues all over Poland.

Other useful magazines-- not as easy to find-- are Alex and Onion. These magazines contain ads of escorts working independently or single men looking for love or hook-ups. If you cannot read Polish, write down the names of the magazines that you want and show them to the attendant working at the kiosk. He or she will get them for you, if they carry them. Not all kiosks will have all of the magazines at any one time.

If you wish contact with the escort agencies, call first and ascertain if anyone working there speaks English. Usually the manager speaks some English. The escorts will be 18 or over, the age of consent for prostitution in Poland. Again, the standard price will be 200 Zloty (or $50 US). Escorts are 18 to 25 years old and usually student types. Young Poles are generally not into body building, and escorts usually have nice, natural-looking bodies. They tend to be sexually versatile, but the details have to be worked out in advance with the agency or with the escort himself.

Escorts can be sent to your hotel room, or if you like you can go to the apartment (escort agency) to choose one from a "presentation" which consists of having the escorts introduced one-by-one. After the presentation, the escorts are sent to another room while the manager and client discuss which escort is preferred-- and his sexual proclivities.

The boys tend to be clean, pleasant, and safe. Generally there is nothing to fear with having one to your room. In fact, gay Poles recommend using escort agencies rather than picking someone up on the streets. As in all countries, practice safe sex using condoms-- and look over the merchandise well!

Street trade in Warsaw

A completely different type escort (actually hustler) scene is available at the main train station in Warsaw near Peron 4 (platform 4) in the middle level where the shops are located. Young working class youth, 18 to 22 years old, ply their trade here. Usually there are four or five young hustlers standing at the urinals at any given time-- along with the ordinary men who are using the bathroom. If you go into a stall one may follow and offer sex. The usual fee will be 50 Zloty (about $12.50 US).

I would suggest taking guys you meet on the street or train stations to a bar/sex club, such as Przychodnia Wild, (UL. Prozna 8)-- rather than having sex in the stall (though most gay Poles do not consider sex in the stalls as risky). Buy a drink for the two of you, and go from bar to dark rooms where are private rooms for trysts. Przychodnia Wild (UL. Prozna 8) is located at street level next to the Austrian Embassy-- easy to find. If you pick someone up at the train station, an inexpensive taxi ride will take you to this location. Always take taxis when in doubt. They are cheap!

One gay guide lists Zurawia between Marzalowska and Brack Streets as a locale for hustlers. Visits there, however, proved unproductive. It seems to be a place where Poles cruise for hustlers in their automobiles. There is a small, cruisy park across from the National Museum of Art, at about Jerozolimskie 6.

There are some big dance clubs in Warsaw predominantly for the under-30 crowd. These clubs are well attended on the weekends, though they tend to dry up during the week. They open late and stay open until 4 or 5 in the morning. The focus is on dancing, drinking, and drugs. In Warsaw, the most famous of these are Klub Paradise (UL. Wawelska 5) and Utopia (UL. Jasna 1). The latter is attended by Polish celebrities and can be snobbish with tourists.

Krakòw

Krakòw is a beautifully preserved old city. It was the royal capital for half a millennium. No other city in Poland has so many historical monuments and works of art. In 1978 UNESCO included Krakòw in its first list of destinations of historic interest.

The gay scene in Krakòw is limited despite all of the tourist and artistic activity. It has one sauna, the Spartakus Sauna, at UL Konopnickiej 20. Under no circumstances try to go there on foot or public transportation. It is not far from the center of town, but is located on a busy expressway and is difficult to find. Take a taxi. The sauna is rather quiet and conservative, with a bar and television. The cashier is friendly, fluent in English, and will call you a taxi when you leave.

There is a Friends Gay Guesthouse in Krakòw at Wrzesinska 11, Apt. 7. Again, it is not recommended. Despite the fact that I requested a cell phone in advance, I never received one. The spacious apartment I was given was nice, located next to two other rooms that I requested to see but was never shown. I never saw any another guest coming or going to the other rooms. There was no one on the premises. I felt isolated and a bit unnerved by these circumstances. A better choice in Krakòw (at the same price) would be 3 star Hotel Polonia-- which has both telephone and an old Eastern European flavor. Krakòw also has several 4 and 5 star hotels to choose from.

Escorts in Krakòw

Both individual escorts and escort agencies in Krakow tend to come and go quickly. For current information consult Nowy Men.

The bars Kokon (address: UL Gazowa 21) and Seven (address: UL SW Filipa 7) are mainly youth-oriented weekend, late-night discos and worth a visit.

Wroclaw (Vratslav)

This city in Western Poland has a strong German influence. Its second language is German and many of the people have German backgrounds. The city was Breslau, Germany before 1945. Afterward it was ceded to Poland. Many people in public places spoke to me in German in this beautiful, old city.

Again, a good bet is the three-story Polonia Hotel, not far from the train station, shopping, and Old Town. There is no problem bringing friends into the hotel.

There is only one apartment agency with escorts, The Teen Club, in Wroclaw at UL Swietokrzyska 28/1 (telephone 0-600-754-618 or 0-48-602-626-908). The teen club is something of a misnomer because the escorts are actually 18 to 25. If you go in person to the apartment, ring buzzer number one at the above address and you will be let in. You may visit the apartment 24 hours a day-- and choose from a half-a-dozen young men who are available around the clock. Clients are offered tea or drink by the manager, invited into a large bedroom and introduced to the young men one by one. The price is 200 Zloty (about $50 US), and tipping 50 Zloty (about $12.50 US) is appropriate if the young man pleased you. You may also have men sent to your hotel room. No extra charge for this service.

Some guides list the Pink Shop in Wroclaw. This is a bookstore with video rentals. There is nothing of interest for gay men at this location-- not even a video room.

The H20 bathhouse and sauna at UL Zelwerowiczka 16/18 (telephone 359-27-70) is clean and well appointed with a bar and pleasant service. It is located in a warehouse district. Take a taxi. In fact, all gay venues in Wroclaw (Vratslav) are close and you can go anywhere you like by taxi for $2-3 US.

The major club in Wroclaw is the Scena (address: UL Piitra Skargi 18). It's near the center. Take a taxi. On the weekends it's busy-- crowded with young men and women under 30 who are dancing, drugging, and drinking.

Have a great trip!