I've shared about my old goal of traveling to one new country per year. After visiting Ireland for the first time in the summer of 2022, I visited my second new country in the fall of 2022, Warsaw Poland.
It was a very short trip, less than 48 hours, but I still took as much of an opportunity as I could to explore the beautiful buildings in the city center, try some local food, and just get a feel of the city.
I walked. A LOT. I really don't feel like I've truly experienced a city until I walk its streets and eat is food.
Sadly, Warsaw was mostly destroyed in 1944 by Nazi Germany after the Warsaw Uprising.
More than 85% of the city was destroyed. The Polish rebuilt the city between 1950 - 1970 based on old drawings, photos, etc., painstakingly trying to rebuild to restore the former beauty and glory of the city.
The Old Town is completely restored and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was really, really beautiful.
I saw the Old Town in two different lights. I spent a whole afternoon in daylight, walking through various parts of the Old Town.
We also did a nighttime walking tour with a local friend who took us around.
He grew up in Warsaw and had many stories to tell about the city and what it was like to grow up there. He also shared current stories, such as how the past several months have been crazy, with so many Ukrainian refugees streaming into Poland. Even his own family was lending a hand, taking in certain refugees for the night. It was heartbreaking to hear from someone who was seeing this crisis unfolding firsthand in his own country.
We visited famous statues and sites, such as a statue of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and a giant papal cross (9 meters!) that marks the spot where Pope John Paul II visited Poland for the first time after he became pope.
Tomb of the unknown soldier.
A view of Warsaw's Vistula River.
It was close to Christmas, and thus decorations lined the pretty streets.
Pierogies + More
For dinner we went to a cozy, traditional Polish restaurant in the Old Town called Gospoda Kwiaty Polskie.
Of course we had to try pierogies, and we sampled several different fillings. We were tickled to learn that they call Chinese dumplings "Chinese pierogies". I guess each culture must use words they know to describe similar-looking foods from other cultures.
It was fun to try the Polish staple (though I still prefer the Chinese version!).
I ordered a soup, and they strongly recommended that I get the version that's a bread bowl, since it's quite traditional. This was a nice, heartwarming meal on a cold, nippy November night.
It was quite special to have a local host us, and I very much appreciated this initial introduction to Poland. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but I'm glad I had a chance to see it and learn more about it.