Impressed on my Visit to Warsaw

I had low expectations of Warsaw.  The Airbnb host’s brother in Edinburgh, who was Polish, had advised against a visit.  So I was very interested to see what Warsaw was like and whether I would like it or not.

I came away pleasantly surprised.

20160902_104416

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland with approx 1.7 million peeps.  Records of Warsaw date back to 1313.

It had the crap bombed out of it in WW2 and therefore a lot of the buildings are around 50 years old.  Even the Old Town was rebuilt from original images to look as it used to.

Vegetarian and Vegan Food

This type of food and healthy eating seems to have taken over Warsaw.  There were more vegetarian places to eat than I have seen in any other city.

Mango Vegan Street Food

I was staying next door to one of these awesome little cafes.  The food was amazing. The best veggie burger I’ve had – Quinoa Burger!

20160901_19314020160901_194601

Coffee Scene

Well, there were heaps of Costa Coffees (eeeek) and every independent cafe that was recommended online that I visited had won some kind of “barista” or “coffee” award.  But the awards didn’t help.

Relax Cafe

Relax Cafe was the worst coffee/ cafe I’ve been to since I tried the coffee in London at Pret a Manger.

Very overpriced for the quality.  This is the second coffee on this trip that I could not drink.  Very sad. 1 star.

20160902_104458

No. I didn’t put mayo and tomato sauce next to my toasted sandwich… it was served this way!

20160902_110905

Forum

Apparently an “award winner”, I found the coffee milky and without depth.  But it looked very pretty.

20160902_12454620160902_12491620160902_125145

After those 2, I quit looking for good coffee and joined the masses at…. yes…. Starbucks!

But I must admit, it was a beautiful relaxing spot.

20160902_155842

Getting Around The City

20160902_134146

Warsaw is easy to get around – trams/ buses/ metro trains.  There are ticket machines everywhere, and for only PLN3.40 (AUD$1.15) for a short trip it was very affordable.

20160902_135718

It was also well laid out for walking.

20160902_103805

20160902_10430820160902_12365920160902_12413620160902_13395820160902_14153420160902_141554

And I learned that their Coat of Arms is a fighting mermaid – awesome and crazy.

20160902_141657

Warsaw Old Town

This is the oldest part of the capital, is normally packed with tourists, and is UNESCO protected.

It has sadly been mostly destroyed many times in history (most recently WW2), but the Poles loved it so much they re-built it time again with crazy architectural accuracy.

It has churches and beautiful defensive stone walls, originally constructed in the 1300s.

20160902_142339

It also has heaps of restaurants and cafes.

20160902_142500

20160902_14301120160902_14521520160902_14352220160902_145553

Warsaw Old Town Square

The Old Town Market Place (Rynek Starego Miasta), which dates back to the end of the 13th century, is the true heart of the Old Town.  Until the end of the 18th century it was the heart of all of Warsaw.

20160902_145843

There’s that mermaid again…

20160902_150310

Reconstructed stone defenses…

20160902_151110

Supreme Court of Poland

Not to far from the Old Town, is the Supreme Court of Poland.

20160902_152728

And the Warsaw Monument to Insurgents (Pomnik Powstania Warszawskiego) 1944

20160902_152858

And if you look across the street, there is the…

Field Cathedral of the Polish Army

20160902_152813

Visiting Warsaw was a great decision, and I would recommend anyone who’s a fan of history, art, culture, (but not coffee) to visit.

20160902_154142

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *