72 hours in Warsaw

I have made it to somewhat a routine to regularly search through the current airfares in the attempt to spontaneously book a cheap ticket to a new destination. So, it happened that I found a return flight to Warsaw for as little as 30 Dollars back in November. I know a lot of people will judge this decision to book a ticket cheaper as a night out. And me too, I had ambiguous feelings about it but still my urge to escape my little hometown of Lucerne was bigger. So I booked the ticket and found myself a cheap private Airbnb location for 3 nights located not too far from the city centre. I arrived on November 11^th which happened to be the National holiday of Poland, which I didn’t know in advance. As in lot of countries it happens that on days like these the nationalist, right wing parties go on the streets to riot a bit. I want to keep this blog politically neutral so I won’t go into details about my deeper feelings about this but I can tell you that much that I felt quite uncomfortable as the masses were bigger than expected and there were a lot of petards fired and sirens wailing in the distance.But which I didn’t know either was that on that day basically everything was closed and the buses wouldn’t operate because the streets were blocked. I even waited for 30 minutes out in the freezing cold before the taxi driver told me that he wouldn’t be able to drive me to my final destination either. So, I ended up walking to my Airbnb but midway my phone went on a strike, I assume because the cold wind was draining its battery, so I was left without Google Maps and only vaguely knew how to pronounce my polish street name. Luckily, I had about memorized  which direction I had to walk and was able to get further directions along the way from locals. When I finally made it to my accommodation, it was around half an hour past the defined meeting time, the Airbnb host wasn’t there anymore and I had to hit up a stranger and ask him if I could use his phone to contact my host about her whereabouts (remember my phone still was dead). She told me that I should meet her again in two hours, so I found myself a cozy café in an attempt to reanimate my dead phone (I was only half successful). Later, I was finally able to settle in to my airbnb accomodation (and learned that I didn’t have wifi, which is only half as bad as I thought first)and  could finally drop the stuff that I’ve been carrying around for what felt like an eternity.With all the back an forth I’ve lost most of the day and was quite exhausted as my flight was really early in the morning as well (probably the downside of the cheap prize, but hey you can’t have everything). I only crawled out of my nest when dinner time got closer and I was craving for something to eat. I haven’t really informed myself properly about the things to do in Warsaw but believe me I did quite the research on places where I could eat hehe. For anyone who hasn’t been to Warsaw yet: Warsaw has a good amount of vegetarian and even vegan restaurants to offer! I will provide you with a list of the places I can recommend further down, in case you’re interested.The next day I went to the old historic town of Warsaw to see the beautiful little coloured houses. It’s a nice area but for me honestly it was too crowded with tourists. Also, I hadn’t prepared myself for that cold of a weather and I I had a hard time concentrating on anything else but feeling cold. So get yourself prepared with some extra layers or at least check out the weather forecast (like any normal person would do). The best prove for how cold it actually was, was that the cold was sucking the life out of my phone and that one phone charge wouldn’t last me longer than 15 minutes. So as I was kind of dependent on Google maps, as I had pinned down all the places I planned to visit (I provide you with a link to it further down), my tour basically consisted of getting myself from coffee shop to coffeshop in a desperate attempt to keep my phone alive. I don’t know if anyone else had experienced this before or if it was just a problem of my phone, but I would advise you to carry an extral battery with you or just have a proper printed city map with you so you’re not as dependent as I was.After having visited the old town I headed off to the other side of the river to visit the Neon meseum, which exhibited the remaining Neon signs that Warsaw carried. You don’t need to plan too much time for the visit as its quite a small room and you basically would be able to see it all within 15 minutes or so. Still, it’s a funny sight and the entrance fee is set at an adequate price so you won’t lose much in case you don’t like it.I ended that day by paying a visit to the Vegan Bistro which was recommended to me via Instagram. I loved the pierogis and easily would have had space for seconds but I needed to leave some room for the Vegan Cheesecake at Vegemiasto (apparently one of the best Vegan cakes in town) later. I’m sure I could have fitted much more activities into that day but me personally I prefer strolling around and giving myself some time instead of rushing through all the planned activities one could actually fit into one day.The next day was even less eventful as after having some nice breakfast/lunch at Vegemiasto again I headed off to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews where I spent all the afternoon and didn’t exit before dawn. This is  a must-see museum in Warsaw, which has even been awarded, dealing about all of the Jewish history of Poland. I was particularly interested in the part covering WW2.  I’ve been to a lot of museums about the happenings of WWII and I dare to say that I knew a fair amount but it was still very touching to read about all the personal stories of the Jewish people involved in the tragic events. I wouldn’t recommend this place to families with young children as the museum is not particularly interactive and most of the information you get is through reading and that especially little children wouldn't be able to process that kind of information.I ended my last night feeling quite sick, so I didn’t happen to go to the awesome Vegan burger place (Krowarzywa) which you will find in the recommendations down below. But in case I ever come back to Warsaw I will NEED to pay it a visit.After all it was a calm weekend spent in Poland with freezing temperature which added to the melancholic vibe the city carried (especially when you keep in mind the cruel history of this polish town). Still, it was something different and I think I’ve seen and learned a lot on my trip there. I was especially impressed by the great selection of cafés and restaurants and wouldn’t have minded eating my way round town all day long. I’m keen on getting to know other Polish cities like Gdansk or Krakow as I expect to get to see more of a traditional Poland there (you have to keep in mind that a great part of Warsaw was destroyed during WW2 so most of the houses are dominated by a modern architecture). To sum up, Warsaw is definitely a town worth a visit!In case you got this far I hope you enjoyed what you read and that you could get a better image of what you might expect to see in Warsaw.Do widzenia, bye!As promised here is a list (plus a map) with all the recommended places:Food and Drinks

• Mango street food

I had a quinoa burger (as I found out only later as the waitress wasn’t able to tell me the English translation of the burger I ordered but I trusted her recommendation blindly anyway) which was topped off with mangopurée which added a great fresh flavour to it. I can very much recommend this place.

• Vegemiasto

Especially known for its generous offer on vegan cakes. I only tried the Vegan Cheese cake which tasted amazing but I have to say that I think I’ve never tried a cake as filling as that one before. I was so full that I didn’t even bother to have dinner anymore around 4 hours later. But definitely worth a visit and I’ve heard they have as well a great lunch offered to a fair price. But try to be on time as this place can get quite crowded and especially if you’re not alone it could be hard finding yourself a seat.

• Vegan Bistro

This place was recommended to me by a polish girl via Instagram. This place is awesome for Vegans (or anyone really) who want to taste some real authentic polish food. I’m not vegan, I’m “only” vegetarian but in my few attempts to a vegan diet I always found it the hardest to miss out on all the local cuisine while travelling which I was so curious to try. Therefore, I love the idea of authentic  and local vegan food. Especially it’s hard to get around some typical polish pierogis while you’re in Poland and this bistro has a great  a variety of differently filled pierogis, which you should definitely try!

• Krowarzywa

I wanted to go there my last night as this is apparently THE best vegan burger in whole of Warsaw and I’ve been recommended this place by various people. Unfortunately, as I told you, I got sick the last night and wasn’t able to go but whenever you’re around Warsaw you should definitely give it a go!I’ve pinned down a lot of other places which, given my limited time, I wasn’t able to check all out. Have a look on the map below to get an overview of the places which I have pinned down on Google Maps.Culture

• Neon museum

I found this on tripadvisor and I liked that it was not a “classical” museum but something a bit more funky and modern and also more of a visual stimuli. It is situated on the other side of the river and is a bit far off but with public transport you get there quite easily. This museum has declared it its mission to save the last neon signs from extinction and pay them tribute in their exhibition. This place is especially nice when you want to get some cool photos. Pay this unusual museum a visit!

• POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews

Located on the grounds of the former Warsawer ghetto, this museum is a must visit when you’re in Warsaw. Already the architecture of this majestic museum alone would give you a reason to visit. But more importantly, it provides you with an insight into the whole history of the Jews in Poland which we all know is a very moved one. But I have to admit that I was a little overwhelmed at first as there is a whole lot of reading to do and there is not really a proper order of the information that is provided. Be aware the museum is enormous and it took me around 3h to get through, so plan in enough time. So therefore, and for the sake of having a red thread that helps to guide you through the exhibition, I would recommend you to get an audio guide. I visited the permanent exhibition but there are also some temporary exhibitions on offer but in the aftermath I was glad I only booked the standard ticket as I wouldn’t have been able to process any more information after the 3h stroll around the exhibition. But still, it’s worth a visit as you can pick up tons of information about the Jewish history and the exhibition is very well thought through.

• Old town of Warsaw

This is definitely a must-do when you’re in Warsaw. This is the historic old town of Warsaw which is one of the few remains of the aftermath of World War II. There you see what people probably expect to see when they think of a typical polish town. But be aware of the big masses of tourists whirling around you, which unfortunately takes some of the authentic touch away from it (as the case with many other places as well). Still, it's a nice sight.