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.
