Before Kiara and I headed out on our last trip together (*screams internally*) to Warsaw, I did have some serious judgement. We picked Warsaw, honestly, because there were cheap flights and hotels. Google Flights has this awesome feature where you can put in your departure airport and then just open up a map, and the map shows you the prices of flights to any airport as you drag around your cursor. So we booked Warsaw. We had not a clue about what there was to do there, or even if there were things to do there, but I figured that it's the capital of Poland, so there must be SOMETHING.
As the trip got closer I got insanely excited to go, and I'm really not sure why. I still didn't reallllly know what there was to do, and I was kind of expecting the city to be drab and a little unsafe. But the thought of going to Poland was just so intriguing and different, like yeah Amsterdam was freaking amazing, but it's Amsterdam, everyone goes there, and everyone knows it's amazing.
I, of course, did some research about what there was to do, and by the time we left last Friday (June 30), I was AMPED. But, if I'm being honest, I still had a strange image of what it would be like-- boring, gray architecture, and dirty, unsafe streets. But, I am formally issuing an apology to the city of Warsaw because instead, I was greeted with friendly people and plazas that looked like this:
But, let's back up. After a bit of a delay in my flight from Dusseldorf, I finally landed in Warsaw Chopin Airport around 10:30 PM. Since it was late, and I had that crazy mental image of Poland, I was debating taking a cab instead of trying public transportation, but I decided against it and expertly (thank you very much) figured out the bus and got to the hotel. Side note, WARSAW IS SO FREAKING CHEAP OMG. Despite being in the EU, they have their own currency, the zlotky (which is pretty weak compared to the dollar or Euro, not gonna lie; 4 PLN = ~1 USD). So anyways, an unlimited ticket for public transportation for the weekend was about $5. FIVE DOLLARS.
So yeah, got to the hotel, raided the mini bar for food because I was insanely hungry (and for some reason couldn't connect to room service to get some $3 fries that I REALLY wanted), and waited for Kiara to get there so we could both pass out.
Saturday started with a super yummy breakfast ($15 in total for both of our breakfasts/coffees/juices) (!!!!!), and then heading off to the beautiful (and massive) Lazienki park to walk around and see a Chopin monument and an incredible palace.
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| 😍 |
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| Chopin monument |
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| Lazienki Palace |
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| Lazienki Park |
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| Lazienki Park |
We then wandered a bit throughout the city as we waited for our free walking tour (not with Sandeman's this time, but still good!). We caught the very end of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, got caught in the rain (story of my life), saw a beautiful theater, and made it into the Old Town, which is probably the most beautiful part of Warsaw.
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| The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
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| The small park and fountain behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
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| Warsaw Theater |
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| Warsaw Old Town |
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| The Royal Castle in Warsaw |
Our tour then took us all throughout the old town and our guide described to us the history of Warsaw, how it became the capital of Poland and the hardships it went through throughout WWII. One of the facts that really stuck with me is that well over half of the city was badly damaged after the war and had to be reconstructed, so despite the buildings looking old and beautiful, turns out they're less than a hundred years old (but still beautiful!)
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| One of my favorite sights in the Warsaw Old Town |
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| Ancient (but reconstructed) defense walls) |
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| Old Town shopping and restaurants |
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| Warsaw Parliament |
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| Warsaw Uprising Monument |
After the tour it was time for my first ever perogies!!!! I was very very excited and not disappointed.
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| And, of course, a Polish beer. |
We were pretty tired out from our day in the sun and so much sightseeing, and had the best intentions of heading back to the hotel, but when we saw a combo bakery/wine shop, we needed to stop in. After some chocolate cake and a cappuccino, THEN we were ready for bed.
Day two started with some pastries at that same bakery/wine shop, and then a trip to TK Maxx (bc nothing else was open yet)!!
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| I almost bought two of the exact same dress, bc honestly why not, but I talked myself out of it |
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| The view from TK Maxx-- I love this! The huge, old building in the middle, with all of the modern skyscrapers around it. |
Since other (*real*) attractions were starting to open up, we made our way back into the Old Town (after getting a really yummy cold pressed juice) (Warsaw is also way more hipster than I expected).
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| More Old Town pics 💗 |
Our plan was to go to The Royal Castle, as admission is free on Sundays, our plan unfortunately not include standing in line for an hour, but hey, we had to make do. And WOW am I glad we did, this castle was incredible. Honestly, I love castles and palaces so much because I love picturing what it would be like to actually live there. Like WHAT?! It's seriously hard to imagine living such a lavish (and let's be real, staged) life.
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| The ballroom |
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| My favorite room, the marble room, all the walls are completely made of marble! |
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| The most incredible throne ever. Honestly, forget the iron throne, I want this one covered in red and gold. |
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| This is a BED!!!! |
We had planned on going to another free museum that afternoon, but we both kind of agreed that throughout the last ten months we have been to an excess of museums, and we'd be cool with just walking around and checking out the city. And eating, naturally.
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| This soft serve 😍 |
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| Mermaid statue in the Old Town Market Square. I still refuse to believe this is a real place and not in some fairy-tale book |
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| Just a random, beautiful, Old Town street. |
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| Marie Curie, who is originally from Poland. |
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| Is it weird that I almost cried when looking at this picture just now? What I wouldn't do for some perogies and a cold beer... |
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| That lighting tho |
And so that was Poland. Shortly after all these pics were taken, we both hopped back on our flights and were back in Germany. I don't know where I got my insane mental image from (honestly, I was picturing war-torn WWII era Poland, I think), but I'm so freaking glad it turned out to be so wonderful.
OH, one last crazy thing that happened. So as we were heading off to our respective gates, Kiara and I looked and each other and were like oh crap...this is our last trip....when are we going to...you're from Florida, I'm from CT....oh no....
Luckily though, she's considering (strong emphasis on considering) a move to Boston after college, and I mean, she lives in Orlando, and I like Disney sooooo......
But I literally asked her, "Oh hey, can you actually give me your US phone number?" So that was a weird thing for me to say, for sure. Things are wrapping up over here, man, and I'm really not sure how to feel about it.
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