WARSZAWA

Although I was born in Poland, speak Polish and follow Polish traditions, for the majority of my life I lived in Canada. Since I am now closer to my roots, I make the most out of visiting my homeland and filling up on pierogi, gołąbki, barszcz, bigos and other Polish foods. Warszawa is only an hour flight from Budapest with Wizzair and the shopping, restaurants, culture and views are excellent! Here's a few of the things we did while visiting. Enjoy!

DAY 1: Touring 

We stayed at the Novotel Centrum, right in the centre, and this was the view from our hotel window.

Palace of Culture and Science

Nowy Świat Street is where you can find lots of shops, restaurants, pubs and pierogi (dumplings) houses. It is a historic street which was once a main road leading to numerous szlachta (noble) palaces and villages south of Warsaw. This street was almost completely destroyed during the Warsaw uprising (1944) and after the war was completely rebuilt.

The old town square

Warsaw's coat of arms: the mermaid is a known symbol since the Middle Ages. A well known legend says that a long time ago, two mermaid sisters swam from the Atlantic to the Baltic; they were beautiful women with fish tails, living in the depths of the seas. One of them took a liking to rock in the Danish straits and to this day, you can see a statue of her sitting on a rock at the entrance to the port of Copenhagen. The second swam up to the great seaside port of Gdańsk, then flowed up the Vistula River. According to the legend, at the foot of today's Old Town, approximately at the place where the monument is now, she came out of the water to rest, and she decided to stay. Soon the fishermen noticed that someone was churning waves of the Vistula, tangling the nets and releasing the fish. Then, the mermaid enchanted them with her beautiful singing. A wealthy merchant saw the mermaid and heard her beautiful singing. He quickly calculated how much money he could gather if he captured the mermaid and displayed her at fairs. He tricked the mermaid and imprisoned her in a wooden shed, with no access to water. She was singing and crying at night, until the son of a fisherman and his friends released her when they heard her. The grateful mermaid promised them that if necessary, they too can count on her help. This is why the Warsaw mermaid is armed; she has a sword and a shield to defend the city.

A walk around the castle grounds

Dinner at Magda Gessler's restaurant U Fukiera

DAY 2: Breakfast at Charlotte's

I first discovered this place when I visited Krakow with my friend about two years ago. I loved the smell of the freshly baked breads and pastries and I liked the concept of a long table where you could be sitting next to a random person and strike up a conversation. I love that they make their own chocolate spreads (white and milk) and jams and that it always smells of fresh lilies.

Photos property of MR