Warsaw / Poland

Day 1

Following on from our time in Krakow we arrived by train which took just under 3 hours. The train had ‘cabins’ with seats of 6, with all of our bags it was quite the mission! Once we arrived we couldn’t check into the Airbnb for a few hours. So we dragged our bags (another mission) to a dim sum place that was super good, and hung out there until we checked in. With only two nights in Warsaw we went and checked out the old town and what was left of the Christmas markets. I found Warsaw to be so different to many other European cities, due to the war and the number of times the city was occupied and flattened, a lot of the city is new, and parts of it felt like New York. 

Day 2

Yet another early start so we could do a walking tour around the old town. We trammed in close and had breakfast, which was cheap and super good again! (Poland really provided some memorable eats) and then wandered through the quiet and empty streets towards the meeting point. The walking tour group was the biggest we’ve ever been a part of which was different, but the tour was still good and gave us a good understanding of the history of Warsaw. Unfortunately, it was one of the colder days and we had to go to a tea house afterwards to defrost! 

After we thawed out we made our way to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising museum as it been both recommend and rated really well. When Warsaw was occupied by the Nazis and Hitler had his ‘solution to the Jewish problem’, the entire Jewish population were gathered into one area of the city and imprisoned within walls. Although heavily outnumbered and under armed there was an uprising with Jewish men and women fighting against the nazis, knowing they could not beat them, but to at least die on their own terms. The museum acts as one giant exhibition and is very eye opening and of course, very saddening. 

With skipping lunch our stomachs grew hungry and we had to check out a traditional milk bar before leaving Poland. We went to one called Bar Bambino which was walking distance from our AirBnb. It was super authentic and Monita was so upset as we only had a chance to eat there once, so we ordered twice! The food was rock bottom cheap, but absolutely delicious and homely, the people watching was amazing and overall a great time. A milk bar is polish style cafeteria that has been around for a long long time, and played a prominent part in Poland’s history during and after both the world wars and continues to this day. Definitely have a read on Wikipedia about it if interested. 

This bought our end to Warsaw and Poland. The next morning we flew to Budapest on New Year’s Eve day. Again, at a stupid early time.