The Adventure

I arrived in Warsaw, Poland’s capital city, mid-morning on the December 30th. The station seemed to be connected to a decently sized mall, which was nice firstly because I like malls, and secondly because the weather was not very great that day. It gave me stuff to do for much of the morning as I waited for the rain to clear. When it was “safe” to leave, I found the Palace of Culture and Science just outdoors. The building appears older than it actually is, standing out in the skyscraper-populated urban centre of the city. I kept walking around until I came across a large park. It had a wide stone path, some bridges crossing a creek, and peacocks. As a self-proclaimed peacock enthusiast, I was very happy to accidentally run into peacocks two days in a row. The park also contained some cool old buildings, statues, and what appeared to me to be some sort of old Romanesque ruins. I’ll have to look up the story behind that. Also, I came across what I’m pretty sure were Mandarin ducks, so that was exciting for me as well. I’ve been a hobby bird-watcher for a while and had never seen one before.

Wandering a bit more, I found the old churches that I always look for, as well as a very funky-looking modern one. There was a fascinating war memorial too. Later, I ended up on a train within the city that passed the football (soccer) stadium. By the time it was dark, I was starting to wonder what else there was I could do when I accidentally stumbled across old town Warsaw. Subconsciously, I had been looking for it all day; I guess I should have just looked at a map. The old town was filled with everything Christmas: light shows, trees, performers, vendors. Most importantly to me were the buildings there. It was a bit hard to get a good view because it was dark out at the time and the festivities were everywhere. I still managed to get some cool pictures though, and I enjoyed my time.

Highlight

The highlight of the trip was most likely stumbling across old town. Since I travel mostly for seeing old buildings and getting immersed in the local culture’s history, it’s what I was most excited to see. I also bought some pierogies and borscht in the old town, and ate them on the steps of an old church. Very nice.

Another highlight of the city that I don’t usually cover was the people. I typically keep to myself while travelling (but also just generally) so haven’t really talked at all about the social aspect of my travels (because it was largely non-existent). In Warsaw, but also Poland as a whole, everyone I met was so friendly. The morning of the 30th during a layover in Kraków, some strangers on the street invited me for a drink (which I had to decline because I had a train to catch, and also it was like 5:30). In Warsaw, several people asked if I was okay because I looked cold, I guess, and one of them even gave me a hug in the evening to warm me up a bit. And there are more stories to tell from the next days in Poland as well. Though my experience isn’t too extensive, if I had to give a travel award for nicest/friendliest people, it would go to Poland.

Cost

In Warsaw, I spent $26.05 CAD. As per usual, this covered my souvenir flag, which was $8.70. In addition to the pierogies and borscht in old town ($10.19), I also picked up some veggies, breakfast, and a bag of chips from a grocery store in the morning, which was an additional $7.16. I know currencies values fluctuate, but unfortunately I can’t find the Polish zloty amount for most of it, other than my dinner which was 29 PLN. Anyway, a quick side note about the chips as well; they were goulash flavoured and very good. I recommend trying local flavours of everyday foods in your travels.

Concluding Thoughts

Warsaw was not the most impressive city I ever saw, but enjoyable nonetheless. I also strongly believe that a second trip would be more exciting than my first. The weather, the Christmas festivities, and my lack of direction were all factors that I believe altered my enjoyment of the city. Old town was, of course, the highlight, but it was dark by the time I got there, so I also blame the time of day. Overall, I would say that my opinion on Warsaw is incomplete, and that it’s still worth visiting if you have the chance. I know I hope to revisit someday.