Tag: PL

Poles don’t eat Polish, or hardly at all. Restaurants that specialise in traditional local cuisine are far in between (except in the tourist areas) and it’s much easier to find Italian or Middle-Eastern food.

In that regard, Varsovians and Berliners are pretty much alike. In other regards they are not. One city has clean streets and friendly, considerate people… and the other city is Berlin.

It really is amazing how Berlin looks much more like what I expected Warsaw to look. Sure, both have their fair share of shabby old buildings, but Berlin is the city with rubbish piling in the streets.

The Warsaw locals I interacted with were friendly and helpful and the younger ones have a decent command of English. All-in-all a nice city, I can see myself coming back.

Bit of an overcast day, but still loads of people out because of the public holiday.

Berlin is pleasantly well connected to the capitals of Germany’s eastern neighbours. The direct train to Warsaw takes under 5.5 hours and runs a couple of times a day.

Except for the failing air-con during the final two hours, it was a nice trip. Upon arrival in Warsaw, police presence seemed a bit on the heavy side. Nothing to worry about though, soccer was on.

Accommodation is an airbnb apartment in the Praga district, close to the eastern train station. It’s fairly laid back and not touristy at all. The mix of near-ruins and well-restored buildings makes it look similar to Berlin in parts.

With an afternoon to spend and the sun out, we walked across the river to the old part of town.

Everything seems very quiet, but that’s probably because May 1st and 3rd are public holidays, prompting many locals to leave the city for a long weekend away.