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.
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!
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.
No. I didn’t put mayo and tomato sauce next to my toasted sandwich… it was served this way!
Forum
Apparently an “award winner”, I found the coffee milky and without depth. But it looked very pretty.
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.
Getting Around The City
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.
It was also well laid out for walking.
And I learned that their Coat of Arms is a fighting mermaid – awesome and crazy.
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.
It also has heaps of restaurants and cafes.
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.
There’s that mermaid again…
Reconstructed stone defenses…
Supreme Court of Poland
Not to far from the Old Town, is the Supreme Court of Poland.
And the Warsaw Monument to Insurgents (Pomnik Powstania Warszawskiego) 1944
And if you look across the street, there is the…
Field Cathedral of the Polish Army
Visiting Warsaw was a great decision, and I would recommend anyone who’s a fan of history, art, culture, (but not coffee) to visit.
