Have you ever arrived at a party and realised that no one you know has arrived yet? But there’s a free bar, so you grab a drink and mingle?
Lesson learned: the mingling bit is significantly harder when you’re in Poland, and everybody else is speaking Polish.
Nevertheless, I had a great and productive two weeks in Warsaw. As most people know, the city was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, but the modern replacement which rose from the ruins is a lot more attractive than the Soviet brutalism you might imagine. Meanwhile, Old Town is quite astonishing as a monument to rebirth and reconstruction.
A baseball player (don’t ask) in Warsaw’s Old Town
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944
Another reminder of the uprising
MARIE CURIE WAS POLISH
Not sure what this was doing in the middle of Warsaw, but I like it
Only 1444 km away!
Other highlights included ordering French food with Steven (with a horrified “that’s not French…” reaction when it arrived), museums to the Warsaw Uprising and Jewish History, and my artificially-engineered multi-stop journey home on the last night just so that I could try the underground system. (Clean, bright and purple, with trains arriving every few minutes, if you were wondering.) I also enjoyed a walking tour which ended in free vodka shots – and very refreshingly cold they were too!
As a wonderful bonus, Katie and I also spent one of the weekends in Prague. Everybody always says Prague is beautiful, and it didn’t disappoint. After taking an overnight sleeper train – which I will always find inherently joyful and thrilling, especially when there’s no messing about with passports or border controls – we took a walking tour to take in all the main sights. And man, this walking tour was good. Our guide, Karel, was engaging and charismatic, and a perfect introduction to the city. (A city no less charming for the fact that beer is literally cheaper than bottled water.)
Is there anything cooler than a transnational sleeper train?
Welcome to Prague
Not pictured: Weeping Angels descending from Prague Castle to kill us
Scenes of death made us awkward
After a ‘Premium Economy’ upgraded flight back (oh ye gods of yield management pricing), I arrived back in Chicago in time for another Groupon Summer StreetFest. And a heatwave. As April and I laboured over a game of giant Jenga, it felt more like a military exercise…
Sue Buxton, Abigail Osbiston, Katie Sharing, Agata Zniszczol liked this post.
Two places I definitely want to visit!
It’s a pity you didn’t let me know when you were visiting Warsaw, haven’t seen you in ages 🙂
Przemek Piątek Sorry to have missed you! I know you could have shown me the best vodka 😉 hope you’re well!