This trip was very special, as the main reason was the wedding of two very dear friends in the Czech Republic. We spent last year's carnival with them (read about our trip there here) and a few months later, they got engaged and invited us to their wedding this year. We took advantage of the fact that we were there and took a quick trip to Poland and I've told you all the details below.

Road map

With this wedding in mind, we thought it made sense to take a week off and enjoy them after the big day (they didn't go on their honeymoon). Since we didn't want to disrupt them too much, we only stayed in the Czech Republic for 4 days and spent the other 6 days exploring a country that was still new to us, very close to them: Poland.

We read some things about the country to put together the itinerary and despite many people speaking very highly of it, Zakopane and Gdansk, we chose to calmly get to know the two most famous cities, Krakow and Warsaw. In the end, the script looked like this:

NOTE: Although we only spent 6 days in Krakow and Warsaw, I think you can see them in just 4, but the pace will be a bit faster. If you want to visit Auschwitz (we didn't go), I would say you should set aside at least 3 days for Krakow, as you will need 1 for the concentration camp, 1 for the Salt Mine, which is a must-see, and 1 for the city itself. I think you can see Warsaw in just 2 days.

We flew from Dublin to Prague and took the train all the way to Warsaw, from where we caught the plane back to Dublin. I've put the cities on the map to help you visualize the route:

Transport

Well then. From Prague airport to the central train station, we took a super cheap bus that took about half an hour. We bought the tickets at a flashy ticket office of the bus company and paid with a debit card, because we thought the exchange rate at the airport was pretty bad.

To move between the cities we visited, we only used trains. I found everyone very comfortable and punctual, but we couldn't buy everything for Internet (there were 3 trains in total). Explanations below:

• We bought the train in advance Prague – Otrokovice for the CD company website for 20 euros for the two of us, because we wanted to make sure we would arrive in our friends' city one day before the wedding.
• We even tried to buy the one from Otrokovice – Krakow for the website because we wanted a specific train and a cabin with two beds to sleep in (it was a 7-hour trip during the early morning), but since it involved another country, they said that we could only buy it at the ticket office. As soon as we arrived at the train station in Prague on Friday, we bought our double carriage for Tuesday for 119 euros for the two of us, but if you don't care about privacy, you can pay much less and travel in a carriage with more beds or even sitting. We loved our carriage, but poor Celo couldn't sleep well. I'll tell you about the trip later. post from Krakow, ok?

• From the Krakow to Warsaw There are several trains per day that range from 14 to 35 euros per person (EIP – 150 zloty (35 euros), EIC – 139 zloty (33 euros) and the TLK – 60 zloty (14 euros)). We preferred to buy tickets on the spot and ended up taking the most expensive one, which at least was quite comfortable and even had on-board service.

Hosting

We slept 3 nights in Krakow and 3 nights in Warsaw in accommodations VERY GOOD LOCATED. Both are located in the historic city centers, do not have breakfast, have reviews above 8 and cost less than 60 euros per night. 🙂

• Krakow – Pergamin Royal Apartments (see on Booking.com)

This accommodation is located right on the Royal Route next to the main square, which means it couldn't be more central. We were lucky enough to get a quiet room that didn't face the street, but if it had, I think it would have been a problem because the street is very busy. wifi It's OK, there's no elevator, the room was quite small and since the reception is open 24 hours and was very close to our room, I thought the noise was a bit disturbing at times. The bathroom had a weird smell, so maybe because of that last point, we wouldn't stay there again (I just realized it's an old problem). It's a shame, because the location is perfect.

• Warsaw – Ego Apartments (see on Booking.com)

Excellent value for money! This mini apartment is located next to the main square in the old town and is on the ground floor of a typical building. The street is very quiet, there is a 24-hour market in front, the sun shines nicely, it is very clean and has a great decoration. clean and functional. We loved it! The front door of the building is usually closed, so you have to leave through the back door of the building which opens onto a patio with a super nice garden. The owners are also super attentive and were very punctual when handing over the keys. I highly recommend it!

Coins

The currency in the Czech Republic is the Czech crown and in Poland is the zloty, but we left Dublin without either. When we were in Prague, we left our money to be exchanged at a currency exchange office near the train station, and in Krakow we went into several currency exchange offices spread throughout the city (there is one every 10 meters) while we were walking around, until we found one off the main street with a good exchange rate. It was obvious that the currency exchange offices that advertise the rates in huge letters are the worst, so avoid them, okay?

(Yes, we now have Polish coins in our collection! Yay)

Food & Drink

We found Czech and Polish cuisine to be very similar, with lots of meat (mainly pork), potatoes, vegetables and soups. I thought it was all very tasty, but after a few days I was dying for Japanese food! We ended up going to a great restaurant in Warsaw, Sakana, which has a very interesting scheme. I will tell you more about it and all the other restaurants in posts of the cities.

About Polish dishes:

• Of course we tried the famous Pierogi, a ravioli that you can find in every restaurant with different fillings. I tried several and they were all delicious, but I confess that I missed a tomato or white sauce to complete the dish.

• I once tried beetroot soup in Brazil Borscht in a Russian restaurant and I fell in love! In Poland they call it Barszcz and of course I ordered it again. I tried it in 2-3 restaurants and they were spot on. I recommend it!

• From what our guide said, the strong point in Krakow is duck, so we made sure to go to a restaurant famous for this. I was a little apprehensive at first about eating a little animal that I think is so cute, but after the first bite, I relaxed. It's delicious.

• They have a lot of dishes with cabbage – which I don't like very much – but if you want to try the country's main dish, its name is Bigos. It's a mix of meat, cabbage, onion, potatoes and herbs. We didn't even try it...
• We tried the Zapiekanki also, which is nothing more than a baguette with filling on top that looks more like a pizza. It's a quick snack, but I don't know if the calories are worth it...lol.

About Polish drinks:

• We tried some Polish wines, but we didn't find any good ones. It might have been bad luck, I don't know, but I need to record it here so you can be prepared.
• On the other hand, we ordered some beers and they were very tasty. Especially when the sun was shining and we were sitting in Warsaw's main square eating sausages. The perfect combination, right?
• On the way back to Dublin, we made sure to buy a bottle of vodka. Wyborowa. A great memory, right?

About prices:

I think one of the things we enjoy most about Poland is that we eat well – one of our hobbies – It’s really cheap. We carefully chose our restaurants through TripAdvisor and we loved the choices. To give you an idea of the price, a dinner for the two of us with starters, main courses and wines cost no more than 40 euros. It’s worth it, right?

Attractions

Our tours of both cities were limited to squares, castles, fortresses, cute streets, restaurants and many churches. In fact, we have never been inside so many beautiful churches in our lives! 🙂

Most of the attractions are free or very cheap. We didn't buy anything in advance and did everything on our own with the help of guide we bought from DK, but I think the “free” walking tours with few tourists they must be interesting, because the guides must tell many details about the Second World War. As we went in a week before two big holidays in the country (May 1st and 3rd) and the cities were full of tourists, we skipped them tours. 

Oh, an interesting piece of information is that Krakow was not destroyed in World War II, but Warsaw was completely devastated. Both are beautiful, but it's interesting to see the impacts of war...

• WHAT WE DID IN KRAKOW

We followed the route suggested by our guide and passed by the city's main tourist attractions, such as the Wawel Castle and Cathedral, the Sukiennice, the Barbakan and the most beautiful church I have ever seen in my life, the Church of St Mary's. So many colors and details in one place! We also walked through the Jewish quarter, passed in front of the house of the famous Pope John Paul II – Polish, in case you didn’t know – and went into many other churches.

Another day we took a train and went to see the salt mine. Wieliczka, which is simply spectacular. We spent about 4-5 hours there and thought it was worth it. Oh, the train takes less than 30 minutes to go and 30 minutes to return and it's easy to go without a tour. We bought the tickets there on the spot without any problems.

Some people have asked me if we went to Auschwitz and the answer is NO. I've never been interested in visiting, but I would go if Celo really wanted to. I already know what happened there and I don't need to be there to be terrified by everything that happened, but I respect those who think it's necessary to go there to feel that energy. Anyway... If you want to go, there are several tours which last almost the whole day, because it is a little far from the city.

• WHAT WE DID IN WARSAW

We walked around the historic center and ate well, in short. Just kidding...lol. We visited the Barbakan and the old city wall, St John's Cathedral, the delightful old town square, the Warsaw Uprising monument, the University of Warsaw, the urn containing Frederyk Chopin's heart and many little churches and important streets. A Polish girl we met told us to visit the Castle on Sunday because it would be free, but when we got there the line was so long, so long, that we ended up not being able to go. Totally bad tip…

The Journey in Photos

And as always, to finish this post Summary of our trip, plus some photos to get you in the mood for Poland: