A weekend in Warsaw
My Travel Diary
I have to admit I have never been to Poland before so the opportunity to discover a new city and new country was very appealing to me! The point of the trip was to celebrate my mother’s birthday and to see my grandfather Jack Popplewell’s play ‘Busybody or Lily’ (in Poland) being performed in the Och Teatr owned by the famous Polish actress Krystyna Janda and also starring in this production.
It was wonderful to see and we got to go backstage afterwards and meet all the cast which was a lovely experience.
Of course we had a photo taken!
Warsaw a city that was devastated by the war. During the Warsaw Uprising, the Nazis retaliated by obliterating the city. The ‘old town’ was rebuilt after the war. The Stalinesque Palace of Culture and Science stirs controversy as reminder to the residents of Soviet domination, which leads some to view it as an unwanted legacy and a reminder of the difficult times of communism. It is however impressive to see.
Warsaw is of course the city of CHOPIN, not my favourite composer, but definitely worth going to a one hour candelight piano recital at the Fryderyk Concert Hall.
It is difficult to discover everything about a city in just a few days but walking is definitely a great way of getting around. We certainly walked. There are lots of museums to visit but a good thing to note is that MONDAYS the museums are closed except the POLIN museum.
The first day we walked through the old town which is impressive to see how quickly they managed to reconstruct the area. Even the most discerning eye would find it difficult to believe it hadn’t been there for centuries and not indeed reconstructed between 1945 and 1951.
The shops are for tourists but you will find some good restaurants (later on in my post). It is however a beautiful square to wake up to and we enjoyed staying at the Mondrian Suites where we were warmly greeted by Laura.
After wondering around the old town we found ourselves walking past the Polish Uprising Monument which is impressive to see, then passed by the Pałac Rzeczypospolitej into the Krasiński Gardens where my mother attempted to make the pigeons fly for me for a photo but it didn’t work!
We then walked through the park that leads up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which was moving with two soldiers standing guard and a brazier burning. It also on the ruins of the Palace Saski which they are hoping one day to renovate.
From there we made our way past the Museum of Fryderyk Chopin in Warsaw and then had a rewarding tea and cake at STOR. As my mum remarked lots of young people and I said who cares! I do love my cafes!
We then walked back through the old town by which time my mother was tired (we had walked over 10 kms) and dreading the 4 flights of stairs back to the apartment!
The next day my brother joined us and we once again went for a long walk, this time to the The Palace on the Isle also known as the The Baths Palace which stands proud in the Łazienki Park.
Despite most buildings being destroyed during the war and this being heavily burnt and being prepared to be blown up the plan was never carried out. Some of the original furniture still remains but many features and paintings were destroyed. They have carried out the renovations extremely well and it's well worth a visit.
The weather was glorious and the first signs of Spring were just beginning to show. It's busy on the weekend with lots of families strolling and enjoying the park and I can only imagine how beautiful it will be once the trees have turned green.
We then had a quick look at the the Palace of Culture & Science and then had wonderful birthday lunch at Bibenda which is not far from it. Great ambience but get there early for lunch because the queues on the weekend are long. We finished the day at the theatre.
Sunday we jumped in an Uber and went to the flea market ‘Bazar no kole’ which I could have come away with a few things. We then had a late lunch followed by the Chopin Concert.
Monday Morning we did go and visit the POLIN museum (allow at least 2 hours to visit) but not before trying out another coffee shop that was recommended called TONKA. Great food, cakes and coffee.
I am hugely grateful for the people who reached out to me with useful addresses and places to eat. We also had some good Polish food in the Old Town notably:
Shabby Chic (cafe & books) great for brunch and good coffee
Karmnik where we sat in a window (had to step up) and had a Vodka and Tonic over some food.
Zapiecek - oldy worldy but we had good food and the staff were very friendly
Kuchnia Warszawska - down in the cellars but we also had a good meal here.
We didn’t visit but apparently the ‘Charlotte’ Patisserie is also iconic in the city.
On another note we didn’t managed to visit the studio of sculptor Karol Tchorek which is only open on Tuesdays. It looks amazing and tickets can be booked here
A wonderful new discovery. Plenty to see and do. I hope to go back and I have been told that Gdansk is a good place to discover too.
Joanna x
Lovely to see your post and the photos, it reminds me of my trip to Warsaw a few years back and I had a similar experience to you... I loved the food and learning more about how Warsaw bounced back after WW11. Thanks for sharing.