Poland is located in Central Europe. Today, the culture has interweaving ties with the Germanic, Hungarian, Latinate communities. So in other words, Poland is like your half-Asian friend where you have the best of both worlds right in front of you.
How I Got There
As usual whenever I travel, I either take a United flight or search for the cheapest flight on kayak.com. I wrote an article about how I stick to flying on United as much as possible to cash out big with my miles.
For this trip, I took a train from Berlin to Warsaw. Hehe.
I had the privilege of visiting two of the biggest cities in Poland: The capital, Warsaw, and Krakow. Here are my top 3 favorite things I did in Poland:
1. Warsaw – Palace of Culture and Science
Google Maps location here. I made it to the top of the palace, and took a shot of a gorgeous panoramic view of the city of Warsaw during sunset.
Taras Widokowy
Palace of Culture and Science
Here’s the building itself (that you would enter to see the view from the above picture). Quick Candy Bar Fun Fact – the building was constructed in 1955 by a Soviet architect. The building is one of the largest clock towers in the world.
2. Krakow – Wawel Castle
Old Town is the obvious must-see, but I later discovered that this is an absolute must-visit in Krakow. The Wawel castle included many historical buildings like the beautiful Roman Catholic church.
Krakow – Wawel Castle
Another Candy Bar Fun Fact: this is also the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world.
This area is conveniently located right next to the Vistula River, so I sat down at a restaurant by the water for a candle-lit dinner. It was incredibly romantic, minus the part where I dined by myself.
3. Krakow – Lake Zakrzówek
Google Maps location here. Nature, serenity, tranquility. If you google “Top 5 Things to do in Krakow”, I’m not sure if this will show up. But this was one of my favorite spots. I took a half day to hike up to this point and strolled around the beautiful lake.
Krakow – Lake Zakrzówek
Honorable Mentions
Krakow Kościuszko Mound. I took a really cool Instagram photo up there, but I decided to not publish it because I only looked 99% good after 5 takes.
Warsaw Old Town was rad.
Warsaw Łazienki Park (where I saw a live piano performance. Wow!)
Where I Stayed
I stayed at Wanderlust Warsaw, but I believe that hostel closed down. I wrote a separate article on How I Choose Where I Stay when I Travel.
If I Had More Time, I Would Have…
Visited Zakopane to visit the beautiful landscape of the Southern part of the country which would include: Morski Oko, Tatra National Park.
Those could be a week-long trip itself. The pictures look beautiful.
Closing Remarks
My impression of Poland was that it’s a country in Central Europe. What does that mean? There’s the Western world within Poland contrasted with the influences of Eastern Europe all in one country.
The rich history of Poland was and still is intriguing to me – and to me, Poland is one of the more underrated European countries.
