In an era when as little as five euro allows you to travel to another country a lot can be achieved in 48 hrs. I chose to spend my 48 hrs in Warsaw, Poland, having cheap cocktails, walking around the old town and essentially just living life. This trip came about because it was the only place that suited both my best friend and I to meet (we live in different countries). Warsaw wasn't our first choice. It gets mixed reviews. A lot of people choose the preferred Krawkow when they visit Poland. I didn't have high expectations. I hadn't really heard much about Warsaw let alone really seen anyone go there. When I delved into google, instagram and tik tok there was some references to what a tourist might do but they were hard to find and didn't give me much hope. However, I was in for a surprise.
Day One
Old Town
I started day one off solo in a coffee shop near our hostel. It was Saturday morning. The streets surrounding the cafe and the cafe itself were quiet and gave a peaceful air to the atmosphere. It was like the city had not woken up yet. The cafe was decorated with old coffee pots, ones I'd never even seen before. They offered coffee from all around the world. I treated myself to a black coffee from Kenya and a croissant with jam and butter. It came to about 2 or 3 euro.
After meeting up with my friend, we went to explore the old town. We walked through the cobblestone streets and under the arches of the walls that once defended the city. We came across the market square that to our surprise still had remnants of Christmas (It was February). The square was lit up with fairy lights. People were ice skating around the famous statue of the Warsaw Mermaid. We got a mulled wine from one of the few stands still open and took in the atmosphere. The square is one of the most beautiful parts of old town with tall multi coloured buildings in medieval style. After bombs from WWII destroyed this old part of the city the polish rebuilt it as an exact replica of what it was. If you walk a little further into the old town you will reach another square where The Royal Castle is. There is an option to go into the castle and even go see the palace gardens. Unfortunately we never got the time. We opted for a coffee in Mc Donald's, went upstairs to sit down and got a gorgeous view of the castle outside.
Praga
It started raining so we decided to get a taxi over the bridge to the other side of the city to Praga. Praga is seen as a dodgy part of the city that is up and coming kind of like Phibsborough I suppose. It has cool cafes, art installations, markets and I presume like Phibsbourgh a lot of hipsters. We went to a Museum that had preserved Warsaw's cold war era neon signs. Sounds random I know. Let me explain, the era it documents was a time when large advertisements were made legal for the first time and the city was 'neonised'. After paying 3 euro to enter, we walked around this small but fascinating museum that was a remnant of a different time in the city. We read about the history, watched a short film and took pictures with the signs.
The Palace of Culture and Science
Next on the list The Place of Culture and Science in the center of the city. Probably the most iconic building on the Warsaw skyline, it gets even more impressive at night when it's lit up in purple and red. It was originally built as a gift from Stalin and now houses amenities such as theatres, pubs and an observation deck. For a cool instagram shot go to Swietokrzyska metro station. Stand in front of the iconic metro sign with the palace in the background. It makes for a very cool photo.
Day Two
Warsaw University of Technology
This place is a bit of a hidden gem and is completely free to enter. I could not believe I had never heard of it before. The entire building inside and out is like being in your own personal Wes Anderson film. From the perfectly symmetrical pale pink exterior to the interior of dreams. We walked in and after talking to a confused security guard who told us to fill a form out we were then free to explore.
Since we went on a Sunday we had the entire building to ourselves. Our footsteps echoed as we climbed the marble stairs to the top balcony. From there you get the best view of the entire room. The roof is made entirely of stain glass. The rest of the interior completely white with floor to ceiling balconies circling the entire hall like a theatre. Although a very large space you could hear a pin drop. My friend and I whispered to each other afraid to talk too loud with fear of being kicked out. After walking back down and into the main hall we passed a statue of Marie Curie. This had been her University.
The Library Gardens
Located in Warsaw University the library gardens appear to be another hidden gem. Also free to visit. The library itself had a greenhouse look with greenery growing up the outside of it. Panels loom above with ivy wrapped around them. We noted that this place would be ideal for summer. Unfortunately because its winter the roof top garden appeared closed. Once we had seen what was open of the garden we headed inside to get shelter from the rain. Inside there were a few cafes with students studying quietly. We got a coffee and left realizing too late people were studying and weren't found of our talking.
Transport
We flew with Ryanair which as you know inevitably means arriving in airport that is the furthest away. In Warsaw's case this is Modlin airport located 40km outside the city. But hey when you are paying 15 euro for a flight you can't really complain. Once arriving in Modlin there are a few options for transport into the city. One, a direct bus from the airport. Two, a free shuttle bus followed by a train to the main station in Praga. Three, a taxi. We got a taxi. This is boujee on a budget after all. It took half an hour and cost us 25 euro, so 12.50 each.
After arriving in Warsaw there are a few ways to get around. The bus definitely seemed like the cheapest and most accessible option. There are also two metro lines that go opposite directions across the city (just like the luas lines in Dublin). I could go into detail on all the ways to get around Warsaw, how much it costs, where to buy tickets. But honestly, the city have set up a website just for this purpose (https://www.wtp.waw.pl/en/) and who could explain it better really? We had planned to use all of these various forms of transport to our advantage. However, taxi fare was so cheap over there in comparison to Dublin. We payed around 4 euro per ride (2 euro each). They have Uber and Bolt. All depends what your budget is.
Where did we stay?
We stayed in Warsaw's old town. Although a bit far out from the city centre it was a gorgeous part of the city. We opted for Okey Dokey hostel. We got a room with a private bathroom. The room didn't feel like a hostel but more like someone's spare room (in a good way), very homely. We choose this place because its in the heart of old town. I always like to stay in the tourist area of a city. Especially when I'm traveling with just girls. I feel like the area is likely to be safer. Another trick I like to implement when traveling with just girls is staying in a hotel or hostel rather than an air bnb. My thought process is there's a sense of security there if you run into trouble. If someone tries to follow you home say or you get a dodgy taxi driver. There's someone at the door to stop them following you in. It also gives you the option to book taxi's through the hotel/hostel!
Where to eat?
On the first night we went to Ciao Napoli an Italian restaurant right beside the hostel. It does pasta, pizza and cocktails. We got a cocktail for 5 euro (a nice change from Dublin's 13 euro) and carbonara - highly recommend. For the second night we booked this cool restaurant on the river called Sen. It's very popular so be sure to book if you want to go. The restaurant over looks the national stadium and creates quiet the view when lit up at night. The restaurant serves sushi, and after 11 it turns into a club with a dj. Another cool Japanese restaurant to visit is Kiseki by Alon. It's located in the centre of the city near The Palace of Culture and Science. Again boasting delicious cocktails and a cherry blossom roof. For breakfast we went to Cafe Bristol a resturant in the Hotel Bristol. Breakfast came to around 30 euro each. But that was for two breakfasts, two coffees and a tray of pastries. It was such a treat.
Nightlife
The nights in Warsaw, like in most European cities that are not in Ireland, last untill 5am. In Warsaw, there's no end to the variety of bars and clubs to entertain you for the night. One of our favourites was Czupito Shot Bar. This bar has every type of shot you could imagine, from inflammable ones, to country themed ones, to toast your own marshmallow on the bar ones (the girl scout).
Another favourite of ours was Zamiezanie cocktail bar located in the modern part of the city. This place had Bombay Sapphire gin bottles hanging all over the roof lit up by fairy lights. Here you could get bottled cocktails, cocktails on tap or freshly made ones your decision. We started off with a bottled cocktail called rose lady as recommended by the bar tender, and then I had the best whiskey sour.
If you're looking for somewhere to go out-out (clubbing) there's a really cool place called Level 27. It's a rooftop club you guessed it on the 27th floor of a skyscraper. In summer you can sit and watch the sun set over the city with your cocktail in hand and then party into the night. We had wanted to go to the night market. This place advertises street food and cheap beer under the neon lights. However, it's only open in Summer.
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