Anyways... I wanted a going away photo so I snapped this of Ryan next to a church before we headed to the airport.
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| One of Warsaw's airports |
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| Our first view of Poland |
Our friend Stacy had already arrived in Warsaw the day before so we wanted to try to get to the apartment pretty quickly so we opted to not try the public transportation juggle and get an Uber. I don't know how many times I can say this, but we have been
SO lucky during our whole trip! For instance, there was only
ONE Uber at this airport (it's kind of out of the way from the city) and we got him! Our Uber driver's name was Vadim and he's from Ukraine currently studying in Poland. Our drive from the airport to the Airbnb was about 35 minutes long.... we chatted it up with him (as best we could since he is working on his English... and we know zero polish). When we were closer to our destination he proposed that he could take us around and show us the city when our Uber transaction was completed...which I thought was a super nice gesture! We thought it was an awesome opportunity to get a local's input so picked up Stacy and we were off to explore the city! We drove to the old town of Warsaw... parked the car and walked around.
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| Viewing Tower |
We walked up to this viewing tower and Vadim asked if we would like to go up to the top to see the view.... my response was "Is it free?".... I'm so shamelessly cheap =D. He responded with something like "Follow me". We followed....He paid for us to enter. We were utterly shocked. A perfect stranger just paid for three foreign strangers to enjoy a view of Old Town. The view was awesome. Warsaw is a very beautiful city... so far it has definitely been the most beautiful that we've visited
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| View from the viewing tower |
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| Of course I had to pop out the selfie stick! |
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| Stairs to the top. |
After the viewing tower we decided we wanted to get something to eat... so Vadim took us to a restaurant within Old Town. We didn't sit outside since there was a line but I took some photos of the cute atmosphere.
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| Cute outdoor seating |
Here's some photos of our meal.... we enjoyed it! We paid for Vadim's meal (even though it was only a soup).
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| Our meal started with bread and this spread stuff. I liked it. Ryan doesn't like Rye bread |
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| I got a grilled pork chop thing |
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| Ryan got an egg fried pork chop thing |
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| Our meals ended with a shot of sherry! |
After stuffing our faces we headed off to explore some more of the area. Vadim took us to The Tome of the Unknown Soldier which happened to be right at the time the guards changed! So we were able to witness the new guards marching up to the current guards and switch positions... it was pretty amazing to see how synchronized they were! Apparently they change guards every hour... but when they are on guard they are unable to move at all while in position!
We walked around for a bit more after dinner to explore the Old Town area... here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.
I feel obliged to say that like the other areas we've visited so far I have had a
HUGE misconception of the area. For instance, I thought the Rome and Naples areas were going to be super romantic and charming...and in reality it wasn't (for me at least). For Poland I honestly don't know what I was expecting.... but I definitely wasn't expecting the immensely beautiful, social, clean, and friendly city that we have encountered. This city amazes me... it has been through so much and has made such a huge come-back to be as great as it is! After our long night of exploring the city with our friend Vadim, we said our goodbyes and went to bed.
The next morning we picked up some breakfast from the corner grocery store.... where I found a Dr. Pepper!!!!!!! I have been having some serious Dr. Pepper withdrawals so obviously I had to pick up a couple cans (I'm actually drinking a Dr. Pepper as I type this =D ).
After my elated Dr. Pepper filled breakfast we headed out for the day. The local transit is super close and easy to use... so we took the tram and headed over to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. I learned a lot of Polish history that I was unaware of from this museum, I won't lie.....I was ignorant to the Polish involvement before and after the war.... and really anywhere in between so this museum was eye-opening. The museum was actually pretty interactive and engaging .... which was nice since Ryan and I aren't very interested in museums.
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| Replica of Underground Sewers |
After checking out this museum for a few hours we decided to try out a polish delicacy.... pierogi! Since this was the first time Stacy has traveled with Ryan and I... she learned quickly that we have specific 'personal filters' for what we are looking for in a restaurant. For instance, we went and sat at a restaurant, checking out their menu.... and decided quickly that we weren't interested in what was offered.... I guess what Ryan and I look for is the most
NON-FANCY food we can find. So when we saw that the menu consisted of pierogis filled with things like goat cheese, pork knuckle, duck, and salmon.... we bounced. I guess what we really wanted was "street" pierogis! So we headed to a place in Old Town (which is the touristy area).... but Stacy knew there was a restaurant that specialized in pierogis there.
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| Ryan chewing pierogi...... |
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| Stacy enjoying her beer and pierogis |
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| Fried Pierogi mix |
After a super filling meal we decided to head back to the Airbnb and decide our plan of action for the next couple days. We actually ended up napping for a few hours....... woops. When Stacy woke us from our slumber =P...... we went out for a few drink at a local outdoor bar.
Ryan has been wanting to try Polish Vodka since BEFORE we even arrived in Poland.... so after our first beers (and before our second) we decided to do a Vodka shot!
I'm not much of a hard liquor fan these days.... but this vodka didn't have a smell and went down very smoothly! Definitely a good 'first shot' in the country. Ryan is still looking to get a specific grass based vodka shot that is apparently illegal in the US... maybe we will find it tomorrow?
We were originally going to head to Krakow next, but Ryan's mom just messaged him telling him of his Great-Graandparent's hometown of Poznan.... so we all decided it would be cool to check out that northern town before heading south. So we have one more day in Warsaw then we will hopefully head to Poznan! Stay posted.
Cześć!
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