A Busy Friday in Warsaw: Part I - POLIN Museum and the Copernicus Science Centre

I had an ambitious plan for my first full day in Warsaw. To start I wanted to get over to the POLIN Museum right as they opened at 10am. Using the absolutely essential Jakodjade app, I saw I needed to get grab the 111 bus from the Ordynacka stop that I would become very familiar with over the next few days. Smooth and easy 16 minutes.

Weather was cooperating with some beautiful blue skies and crisp spring temperatures.

Simple (subdued?) exterior architecture belies a lot of engaging exhibits that await on the inside.

First thing that drew me in was the massive glass wall looking onto the small park that surrounds the museum.

Even though I got there at 10:15am --- 15 minutes after opening --- the few chairs set up to rest and take in the view were already occupied. The guy way in the corner was on his giant laptop. Huh? As I think about it now I'm wondering if this area was open regardless of needing an entrance ticket ... not sure exactly where my ticket was checked. But obviously these folks could not have already done a meaningful tour of the exhibit, yet here they were lounging in the chairs. Odd.

I made my way into the main exhibition downstairs with my audio guide, which does a nice job. Until last year's Krakow visit and self-guided tour of Wawel Castle I wasn't really an audio guide kind of person. But now I've used them on a few occassions and generally find them helpful.

I made my way through in about 90 minutes. Easy to see how you could spend 2-3 hours there if you really wanted to take in more details. And I do think a guided experience would be worthwhile. There were one or two aspects that I found personally interesting but they were just barely touched upon by the audio guide. With a human guide I could have dug into those a bit more, skipped over others, etc.

I don't remember the significance of the goose, but it was a striking feature and I felt compelled to snap a foto.

The reproduction of a synagogue was impressive.

There was also a good amount dedicated to what typical daily life was like in traditional Jewish neighborhoods.

A very worthwhile stop. Easy to get to on public transportation. Even easier if you want to grab a Bolt ride over. Can combine it with a homey meal afterward in their cafeteria if you like.

But that was not in my plans. I had a 12:40 entrance to get into the Copernicus Science Centre, which is across town, up alongside the river.

Took a few vibe shots on my way over.

Including this guy, who I am learning is "Frugon", the mascot for Frugo.

This was the first of a handful of OOH placements that caught my eye. Seems like the brand and the mascot have plenty of quirky / zany advertising work to enjoy online if that's your thing. Their website is a good starting point.

Anyway, back to the main thread ... In my pre-trip research I saw a lot of praise for the Copernicus Science Centre, so I felt compelled to check it out.

This was a misfire. Don't get me wrong, it looked pretty cool. And the various school groups and families I saw all over the place seemed to be enjoying their time.

But for me it was a little chaotic, a little loud, and was going to take more effort than I was ready to offer in order to really engage with the various exhibits. If you're going with kids and you're accustomed to visiting science museums and digging into it all, could be a great place to pass some time. Especially if you get a bad weather day and need to entertain the young'uns. I did a pretty full lap to take in the space and then kept it moving.

In the next post I get lunch at Elektrownia and then spin around the Warswaw University Library Gardens.

I Went Back for More Poland

Been a couple months since I posted here. I had been spending a lot of time preparing for my latest trip to Poland. About this time last year Judy and I spent almost two weeks visiting Krakow, Wrocław, (including a day trip to Bolesławiec), Poznan, and Gdansk. Last month I did a solo mission for 12 days to cover some places we missed, spending time across Warsaw, Lublin, Rzeszow, and Zakopane, with side trips to Łodz, Kazimierz Dolny, and Zamość. Now that I have settled back into the home routine here in la CDMX I can start with the recap notes.

On the way over the first thing I noticed is that our World Cup benefits are becoming tangible. While I'm not particularly looking forward to whatever 'World Cup effect' we'll have here over the summer, I'm not mad that our airport is getting a makeover.

Some parts are still very much a work in progress ...

Some parts are looking pretty good ...

And some of the money-making souvenir shops have definitely been upgraded ...

Also plenty of corny, pandering sponsor ads in rotation as you stroll through ...

I was probably 85% recovered from a random food-poisoning bout and wasn't enthused about what the airline meals might do to me. So I prepped with a Carl's Jr chicken sandwich and some stomach settling meds, with full intent to not eat again for the next ~18 hours until I touched down in Warsaw.

Flight was taking off around 8pm, so I settled into 41H and managed to rest pretty well most of the way. My sleep-on-the-plane skills have leveled up these past few years.

Lufthansa got me into Warsaw on schedule. Travel gods smiled on me as my trip was perfectly timed. Most of their strike disruptions were over in time for my departure. And my short-haul trips between FRA > WAW and KRK > MUC were not impacted by their jet fuel price driven cancellations.

Arrivals concourse at WAW was nice. Consistent with the contemporary retail & food aesthetic of most modern airports I've seen recently.

Having not eaten in nearly a day, McDonald's was just what the doctor ordered. This would be the first of many MCD's meals over the next two weeks.

Went with the McCrispy or some such and gobbled it down before heading out to the ground transportation area. I wasn't sure what to expect when ordering a Bolt here, but the approach is pretty smooth and smart. Rather than get connected with a specific car, you get a code, then get in a line that functions just like a taxi line.

When your turn in line comes you hop in the car, give the driver the code, and you're off. Smooth. It's right next to the taxi line, too. Kind of interesting to see, especially in light of the drama, tension, fines, and violence around getting Ubers in / out of Benito Juarez in la CDMX.

It was a quick and pleasant ride to the apartment I would be staying in (Apartment Piano, which you can find on booking.com). Location was great. Easy enough to get to the center of the city or over to the Royal Route.

Apartment itself lived up to its description. Cozy, quiet. Only issue I had (and it became a consistent issue across multiple places I stayed), was with the induction stove top. More on that in a later post.

I rallied for a walkabout to the old town and snapped some vibe shots as I went.

(Shot of the Chopin Institute, which was right around the corner from where I stayed)

(I believe that is the Ordynacka 02 bus stop. I used its cousin Ordynacka 01 more as it was sending buses in the other direction.)

(View of Czapski Palace back there)

(And a couple of shots from the Rynek)

Finished the evening with a Biedronka run to stock the fridge a bit.

Overall a smooth day of travel, setting the table for the next 11 days in Poland.