Monday April 13th was my last full day in Warsaw before I would continue on to Lublin. I had already visited multiple museums, done a couple of guided tours, independently explored multiple neighborhoods, and spent a full day on a side trip to Łodz. I was covering some ground. This left me time to check out a secondary sight of interest on the south side of the city, Wilanów Palace.
I had seen the nickname 'Poland's Versailles' and figured if I had a few hours I should put in the effort to see it. Wikipedia says it was visited by 3,000,000 people in 2019. That's an average 8,219 per day, assuming it's open 365 days of the year, which probably isn't the case. Seems high based on the traffic I saw. But I was there on a Monday morning in April, which I'm sure is not prime time. I did see dozens of school kids, though. I'm willing to bet 50% + of the 3,000,000 annual visitors are students passing through involuntarily.
My journey started at my new favorite bus stop, Ordynacka 01, which had universal Monday morning bus stop vibes a little after 9am.
The trip took around 40 minutes. It's a pretty straight shot south. As you move through the city the surroundings become increasingly suburban-like. This stretch of tidy rectangular compounds with well kept bike lanes caught my eye.
Also liked seeing one of the universal signs of spring, which is OOH ads for lawncare products.
Hopped off the bus at Wilanów 02. If you come by public transportation like I did you need to get across a pretty major intersection. Below is a maps screengrab followed by a little video clip for some area flavor.
It wasn't 100% clear how or where to enter. And there weren't too many other people around. But I followed one group in hopes they knew where they were going and ultimately wound up at the entrance.
(View looking back out to the main road)
(View toward the next entrance into the property)
Started working my way around the south side perimeter, taking pictures as I went. Understandably the gardens were not yet in full bloom. Still pleasant nonetheless.
Around back I spotted a school group and sort of followed them at a distance in case they would lead me to the building entrance.
We curved around the west side / back of the buildings, around to the north, and finally to the east / front side. Nice piece of property.
Once I got inside I did an accelerated lap of everything, taking pictures as I went. Looking back through the photoroll I see a few themes that I'll illustrate below:
* Kids on a field trip
* Fancy rooms with art on the walls
* Collections of stuff
* Fireplace mantels used to display bird knicknacks
* Sassy / quirky statues
The schoolkids I encountered were pretty well behaved. But it was early.
The rooms were fancy. I'm partial to the darker, wood paneled decor myself.
Collections that caught my eye had an Asian theme.
Birds on the mantel is a choice that works for me. I prefer the rooster to the falcon, personally.
As for the statues, there is probably an explanation for what's happening but I didn't look it up.
My verdict on the visit? It was fine. Marcin, my guide on Sunday, had suggested it wouldn't be his strongest recommendation. As he put it, if you want to see Baroque palaces there are better options in Europe. Fair enough. I did enjoy the journey back and forth on the bus / tram and the opportunity to see more of the city. Plus, it's userful to have the perspective of first hand experience to make my own recommendations down the line.
On my way back to the bus stop I passed by a couple of food outlets that must be gold mines if the palace really receives 3,000,000 visitors per year.
Pulled out Jakodjade to confirm the ride back downtown.
Was happy to see the reco to connect from the bus to a tram. I do like a tram ride.
Took a few more vibe shots on the way north.
I saw a few of these billboards during my time in Warsaw. Regrettably I did not find time to get myself a 'Hot Dog Amerykanski'. Next time, Poland.
In researching what to do in Warsaw beyond the top historical sites I found Saska Kępa popped up in a number of YouTube videos and blog posts. It sounded like a relaxed, comfortable residential area that would be worth seeing, so I carved out a bit of time to see it.
It's on the east side of the Vistula river, in the southern part of the Praga district.
Once again I took advantage of the great public transportation system to quickly get over there by bus.
5 stops on the 111 and I was at Rondo Waszyngtona 02, which is very close to the top of Francuska street, and from there you just walk the 4 or 5 blocks that comprise the heart of Saska Kępa.
I did not have time to linger. My entire visit was probably 20-30 minutes, but that was enough to confirm that if I ever get back to Warsaw I would make more time to enjoy a meal and a longer stroll in this neighborhood. It had some nice looking homes ...
... lines for local ice cream shops, and people enjoying pizza by the slice on the sidewalk ...
... multiple solid-looking restaurants ...
Gruzinka is very well reviewed, and seems like a strategic choice for maximizing time in the setting sun.
General energy overall reminded me of Andersonville (Chicago) back in the day.
(Not sure what the current Andersonville vibe is since I haven't been there in 12+ years. Hopefully it's still pleasant. Initial search results below are promising.)
My tour at the Polish Vodka Museum was scheduled for 6:20, so I took a Bolt over there. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't this:
Turns out the museum is part of a larger complex, Centrum Praskie Koneser, which Google sums up as "Former distillery complex turned arts & event center with gallery shows, concerts, bars & dining." Yes. Cool place to spend some time. Seemed similar to Elektrownia Powiśle, which I checked out Friday afternoon.
Once I confirmed my presence for the tour I joined the others browsing the merch in the very well-presented shop.
If you're a vodka drinker and have room in your bags for some souvenirs, this is the place to be. I'm not a vodka drinker and packed only a carry on, so I just admired the diplays while waiting for the tour to begin.
It started with a short video about the business in general, as well as specifics from the Wybrowa brand in particular. I unfortunately didn't get the name of the marketing executive who was featured, but she was apparently a pioneer as woman in the Polish spirits industry in the 70s. Would be a fascinating profile if there was a longer documentary on her life and career.
We got a lot of history and explanation of the process. If you're really into it, this tour is for you. A good solid hour of education before you get to the tasting. If you're impatient and just here for the tasting, maybe bring a flask to tide yourself over.
I found this little showroom fascinating. I could have spent 20 minutes here solo digging all the retro and special edition labels.
Need to keep an eye out for these beauties this fall. Something for the display case for sure. I might even drink it.
We finally got to the tasting room. I thought I had better notes about what we tried but can't find them now. We got a couple of grain vodkas and one potato vodka. I do remember that I liked the first one best, and it was an Ostoya wheat vodka.
Pro tip: the tour provides you with a cheap bag of airline pretzels to cleanse your palate between tastings. Wish I had thought to bring something like an Obwarzanek.
By the time we wrapped up it was 745p and transitioning into evening. The Centrum Koneser was lit up with some light Sunday night activity.
My thought was to grab the metro back to my apartment. Dworzek Wilenski wasn't far and that would take me right over to Nowy Swia Uniwersytet. I walked along Zabkowska, which was quiet.
Found the metro. I couldn't find a turnstile that would accept my Jakodjade app ticket, so I needed to deal with the paper tickets. That delayed and annoyed me somewhat. But soon enough I was on the platform taking picture of the platform's 80s vibes.
Back at the apartment I ate some pierogies and this awful cup of soup thing from Zabka.
I have a thing about eating alone at restaurants when I'm traveling in countries where I don't speak the language. Specifically, I don't do it. Except for McDonald's. So instead of enjoying a meal at Coś Na Ząbkowskiej, I ate some mediocre pierogies.
FYI, if you're looking for more Warsaw Metro content, I like this guy's videos. Good stuff in general, and here is his take on Warsaw's M2.
