Warsaw, Poland

Old Town Warsaw

Warsaw was the first European city I visited. I went there in October 2010 for a conference. First time in Europe, first time hostelling… I didn’t really know what to expect. I had a quick 2-hour layover in London Heathrow before arriving at the Chopin Airport around 2pm on a Sunday. The bus ride to the hostel took a little over half an hour, and I could already tell I was going to love this city. The Eastern European charm that I used to only see in movies caught my attention right from the start. Before visiting Warsaw, I had only been to places where I understood the local language, so this was also a new challenge which I was glad to participate in. 

Piwo

Hostel Helvetia (Sewerynów 7, 00-001 Warsaw, Poland) was the one I chose, based on travelers’ reviews on Hostelworld.com (this should be your go-to website for hostelling, and make sure to read the reviews). It was very well located, only a few minutes from Old Town and right off of Nowy Swiat, one of the main historic streets in the city. Overall a great hostelling experience. The beds were reasonably comfortable, and they didn’t mind guests drinking in the common living room until late. I have to admit that the idea of co-ed showers seemed a little strange at first, but hey, “it’s Europe”, I thought. I was a little jet-lagged after the long flight (Miami-Boston-London-Warsaw), but excited enough to stay awake and do some mild partying with fellow travelers Alex and Jason, from Perth, Australia, and Michal, from Russia. We were later joined by a very sweet Polish girl named Marta, and a few other travelers also participated in our small social event, which merely consisted of drinking cold local beers (Warka, Żywiec, Tyskie and Lech). Good enough for my first night in Europe.

After our free breakfast, the Aussies and I carefully planned our sightseeing day and didn’t waste any time. We knew that the day was going to end with several shots of Polish vodka right outside Old Town, so we had that to look forward to. Bear in mind that fall weather in Poland can be quite brutal, so we often saw locals walking around with grzane wino (‘mulled wine’ in English) to stay warm. To deal with the 20-degree weather (or negative something for my fellow Australians), we thought it was a good idea to grab a cup. We were right.

Palace of Culture and Science

Our next stop was the Palace of Culture and Science (Pałac Kultury i Nauki - Plac Defilad 1, Warszawa, Poland). Because we wanted to learn about culture and science? Well, maybe a little. I think we chose this place because it is the tallest building in Poland, and you can enjoy breathtaking views of Warsaw from up there. We did learn a few things, among which the fact that looking at someone and saying “Angielsku?” (English?) can lead to a 5-minute explanation (in Polish) about something I wish we understood. It was time to have some pierogis.

Pierogis

If you’ve never had or heard of pierogis before, they are basically dumplings which are boiled then either baked or fried. In Warsaw you can find pierogis filled with pretty much anything under the sun. We heard that the most traditional pierogi in Poland has beef and cabbage in it. We ordered three orders of six pierogis each: the aforementioned one, cheese and potatoes, and pork, nicely served with a tall glass of Żywiec. Happiness.

 

 

 

Some information on 'Mur Getta'

With our bellies full, we thought it was time to check out the Jewish Ghetto Memorial  (Plac Bohaterow Getta, Warsaw, Poland). Be prepared to feel overwhelmed with melancholy.  The whole city of Warsaw seems gloomy and sad in October, but this was the saddest part. It’s hard to describe how it felt, but I can say that the three of us didn’t say a word for at least thirty minutes after leaving. A lot goes through your mind after you visit a place like this, and you can’t help but reflect on how tragically unfair times were back then. Trust me; your life does not suck. 

 

 

Royal Castle

Much like Berlin, walking around Warsaw is like a much more fun history lesson. Instead of listening to your boring teacher pretending to know what he’s talking about, you can feel history in each quarter of town. Most of Warsaw was destroyed by Nazi Germany during World War II, so a lot of what you’ll see there was rebuilt less than 70 years ago. The architectural forms and designs were kept in the new structures, and all of it is indeed quite charming.  The Royal Castle (Plac Zamkowy 4, Warszawa, Poland) is one of these magnificent buildings, definitely worth visiting.

 

 

Bar Warszawa

For dinner, we headed over to Bar Warszawa one of the few milk bars left in town (located right outside Old Town). Milk bars were much more common during the communist era, and are slowly disappearing. Luckily, we found one that was open, with very tasty authentic Polish food priced at close-to-nothing. It’s not a fabulous fine-dining experience. Instead, it’s more like cafeteria-like food for the masses. Walking into one of them feels like time-traveling back to the 1980s. The menus are not in English, and the staff certainly does not speak English, so good body language is a plus. This is definitely not the place for picky eaters. Everyone who works there seems to be always in a bad mood, but you will not find comment cards because they simply don’t care. Why would you want to go to a place like this? You can actually find a young crowd there as students generally frequent milk bars due to their abnormally low prices (a meal including soup and a cold local brew will cost you about 15zl, about $5). It is also a cultural experience as you see (and taste) a little bit of Eastern-Bloc Poland.

 

 

We then headed over to a small bar with a local vibe for vodka shots. Pure Polish vodka goes down like water, which may explain why I can't remember the name of this bar. After mingling with some college students, they suggested we try Wyborowa and Zoladkowa Gorzka, before tasting the famous Žubrowka (bison grass vodka). Hint: college students generally speak some English, so don’t be shy and buy them a drink. It’s a nice way to enjoy the city as the locals do, and learn about things they don’t teach you in the guidebooks. They can tell you, for example, where to get the best kebab in Warsaw at 3am, and will kindly stumble there with you. We manage to get to Efes (Aleja Niepodległości 80). Super cheap, super unhealthy, but super delicious.

Karaoke at Nora s.c. Pub As in any other hostel, travelers are always coming and going. If you spend more than four days in the same hostel, you’ll typically meet twice the amount of people, since they generally stay for two nights before heading to their next destination.  After traveling all over Europe, I started to wonder if there were any Australians left down under, or if every Aussie was indeed backpacking in Europe or South America. Chris is another one of these adventure-loving fellows. I met him the day before I left Warsaw. Since it was my last night there, I didn’t want to drink too much before getting on a plane at 7am, so we headed over to Nora s.c. Pub (Krakowskie Przedmieście 20/22 00-001 Warsaw, Poland) for karaoke night. This pub is located about a block from University of Warsaw, and therefore you can expect to find a young crowd having a good time there. Mingling is a must! They want to practice their English, you want to experience the city from a local’s perspective, everyone wins!

I had a great time in Warsaw. We constantly hear that Eastern Europeans are generally cold and rude to foreigners, and I can guarantee that this wasn’t the case in Poland. Everyone was friendly and treated me with respect. They even taught me a few survival words, which to this day I still remember. I will be sure to use them again next time I’m over there.