Travel Bird | Warsaw - Poland

"Dear Polish People, we are not “invaders”, we are human beings who come to visit your beautiful country. No matter the color of our skin, we deserve respect. Try not to forget that." 

That Ewe Gal 

Hi loves,

I am back with a throwback post of a trip I made early this year to Warsaw, the capital of Poland.  At first, I was really reluctant to even talked about this trip since it has not been all “cute and pretty” there. My friend Loreley, with whom I was travelling, and myself went through a lot of dumb racist commentary and behaviors there.

But still, Warsaw is a small capital with its own charm and you have a few things you could definitely do there. I am going to give you a recap of cool things we did and saw there.

Explore Warsaw Old Town

     

That one was actually easy for us since our Air BnB was located right in the Old Town of Warsaw. We could literally explore all these narrow but charming streets that surround the palace.

We were there early January, a few days after Christmas and NY and the city was still in the warm atmosphere of Christmas Spirit with Christmas carols being sung in the streets by local bands, huge & adorned Christmas trees everywhere, etc… That was a really nice feel. 

Go on a “Warsaw Pub Crawl” with XperiencePoland

I didn’t know it before going there but Warsaw is famous for being one of the European capitals when you can party hard and where alcohol is really cheap. Warsaw is not a very expensive city to live compare to Paris for instance, so when I went there, I was feeling so rich aha!

Anyway, we landed on a Saturday evening so we decided to go party and meet other internationals and locals. And what's better than a “Pub Crawl” to do so? I know, I know, “Warsaw Pub Crawl” sounds a bit tacky... BUT, we actually had a BLAST that night.

There are many “companies” who offer a “Warsaw Pub Crawl” experience. We decided to do it with XperiencePoland because they seem to be well-known for that “cultural tour”. And as I say, it was dope! We gather with other internationals (British, Australians, Germans, Chileans, Indians, Cubans, Americans, Africans...) at a bar called LOKO Pub, in Smolna Street, and we had some pre-drinks games, chatted with other participants and made a few friends for the night. We then move together to 4 different bars before a VIP entrance to a typical Warsaw nightclub with decent music and heavy drinks. I sure did have an interesting night aha! I would recommend you to do the Pub Crawl between Thursday and the weekend because the rest of the week, it might be boring since not so many people are out (maybe not so true during summer).

But for girls, Monday night is Ladies Night in a lot of Warsaw clubs so you can go there and just have free drinks and a good time with your gals (no need to even dress up). That’s what we did with Loreley and it was a funny experience too. But clearly the clubs were empty compared with our first night out, on Saturday.

Go for a beer & late night burgers in Pawilony

               

Pawilony is the area of little bars at the back of Nowy Świat Street. You will find there many little bars where you could party hard or just have a chill night out with friends. Every little bar of Pawilony is structured with the same pattern (2 floors, bar counter on the ground floor and toilets downstairs) but each one of them has their own identity. We went to Klaps which has a naughty and erotic vibe (dildos and pussy power all over the place). We drink an absinth shot called Ruska Heroina (strong but very good). Then, we move to Shot Gun (Pavilion 4) known for having dope ass shots (true, I have tasted some and it was bomb). The third one, Klubowa N°24 (Pavilion 24) didn’t have a particular vibe but it was very comfy and chill. There isn’t a predefine atmosphere in this bar since visitors are the one who build up the mood, so feel to bring your own there ! And finally, Lenistwo (Pavilion 5, 16) , my favorite, known for being the original Warsaw Gin spot, has this dope fairy and fantastic atmosphere with (plastic) flowers. Their warm and casual interior will make you feel like home. 

PS: You should go for a late night burger at the local food truck located right in front of Lenistwo, one of the best burgers I have eaten in my life!! 

For more information, go on the website of the Pawilony bars: http://pawilonynowyswiat.pl/en

Do some cultural visiting & museums

Warsaw is a city with a lot of history, especially since they have been heavily dominated by the URSS for many years. So there is a peculiar vibe to this old communist city. If you are an early bird and like to walk, you can visit Warsaw with a local guide (easily found on the internet) with thematic walks also (Street Art Warsaw, Communist Warsaw, etc…). 

Unfortunately, I am not and we were partying hard almost every night so we did they visiting by ourselves and went in old communist districts to spot some street art, explore the catholic churches of Warsaw Old Town (very beautiful interiors), and we did some museums too. I really love the three museums we did: The Neon Museum, the National (Art) Museum and Chopin Museum.

All three were incredible, especially the National Museum which was HUGE, we couldn’t even finish to explore it! There are very beautiful paintings and historical art work there, and Poland actually had a very vivid cultural and painting movement in the 19^th and early 20^th century, so the cultural inheritance from these periods is quite significant.

          

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Neon Museum is one of a kind and despite being very small; it is a must-see while in Warsaw.

     

      

Chopin Museum was more “classic” but I really liked the fact that they covered the famous pianist's years in Paris as a musician and piano teacher, with some excerpts of letters he wrote to friends, family, etc… 

Chopin Museum

It creates a very intimate mood and the architecture of the museum is stunning! Right next to the museum, you will find an impressive wall fresco that’s worth checking before you go and if you want to have a break, you can go down the streets and have a nice cheesecake at the coffee shop that is located at the first intersection. 

I still have a lot of mixed feelings about this trip. I had an amazing time objectively. But the mentality and not very welcoming attitude of most people there have been a real issue for me. So far I am not planning to go back there, but I guess if you are white or white passing, you could safely go there and have a good time. Polish need to open up more. That could only help to make their country even more attractive to foreigners. 

Stay Inspired.