Warsaw - the beginning of the end

[German version below] 

From Riga to Warsaw by night bus in 13 hours and we have already arrived in the last city of this incredible 20-day trip...! There are no train connections between these cities in the Baltic States (as mentioned in the last blog post). We drove through Lithuania completely and even got off once to touch Lithuanian ground. Now, does it count that we were in Lithuania and are allowed to scratch off this country on the map 😉

Early in the morning at 6 o'clock after only a little sleep we finally disembarked in Warsaw. The train station is located in a very modern district with many high-rise buildings including the Palace of Culture - a landmark of Warsaw. We didn't expect such a modern side of Warsaw at all.

Our accommodation, the Oki Doki City Hostel, is a 15 minute walk from the train station. It seemed a little chaotic to us, but the room was really neat and clean. In addition, the hostel organizes events several times a week that you can participate in for free. On that evening, for example, we could have sung karaoke. Actually, that's a really good thing the hostel offers!

In Warsaw, we also started our city explorations with a Free Walking Tour. It focused mainly on the Old Town (and a little bit of the New Town). The tour was overall very successful and interesting. In the course of it, we even learned a typical Polish dance - Polonez.

After the Free Walking Tour, we had a delicious Italian dinner in a small restaurant in the New Town. The soups in particular were amazing!
After that, we took a walk through the Old Town and visited the Jewish Quarter. Warsaw was the setting for many historical events, with the Jewish population playing a major role. There are numerous interesting historical (or other) museums, but we didn't have time for them.

On our very last evening, we went to the highly recommended 'Aioli' restaurant near the hostel for a nice dinner. Afterwards, we ended the evening with an apple cider at McDonald's. The lounge at McDonald's was actually more cozy than in our hostel (if you can even call it that...)

Warsaw is an incredibly interesting city with a lot of history, for which you should definitely take more time, we think 3 to 4 days. We will definitely come back!

Sooo, that's the last city of our wonderful Interrail 2.0 journey. It was a great time again and we will miss it!! <3 

______________________________________________________________

Our 20 days journey is coming to an end! From Denmark we traveled through amazing Scandinavian and Baltic countries to finally reach our last destination: Warsaw.

It took us 13 hours by bus from Riga to arrive in the Polish capital. But as we have traveled overnight, we didn't miss a day!

Due to our early arrival, the city welcomed us with empty streets and a beautiful morning sun. Our hostel was located just a 15 minute walk from the central station where you'll find Warsaw's modern part with all of its skyscrapers as well as the Palace of Culture and Science. 

The hostel's location couldn't have been better, but other than that we weren't really happy about its interior and its not so friendly staff. Still, it's a very decent price for such a central location, therefore, the Okidoki city hostel can certainly be considered as a possible accommodation.

Still we don't want to talk about accommodation but about Warsaw itself. It has so much to offer that one day is definitely not enough!

During our single day in the city, we mainly focused on the old town and its surroundings. Of course, we started sightseeing by attending the Old Town Free Walking Tour. What else in our case? 🙂

The Tour was led by a young Polish man who made the tour interesting while also entertaining. One time he made us all dance the Polish traditional dance Polonez. It is supposed to look like an elegant polonaise, in our case it looked more like an awkward walk. Still, it was fun!

During the Old Town Tour, we learned more about Warsaw's complete reconstruction of its old town. The old town was fully destroyed during WW2. Anyhow, what we get to see today is rebuilt under consideration of its historic shapes and buildings.

The most visited and famous sights in the Old Town include Sigismund's column, the Royal Castle, and the Old Town Market Place with its landmark, the mermaid. On Wednesdays, the entry to the Royal Castle is free, so we took the opportunity for a visit inside. It is certainly interesting!

The other half of the day, we explored Lazienki Park and Palace as well as judicial, Jewish landmarks. If you have one or two days more, definitely make use of all the historic sites and museums that Warsaw has to offer. We regretted not having enough time in this city, but for us, it is a reason to come back. And also, in general, we liked the city a lot, which shines with its modern part and its old part at the same time.

In Warsaw, we could end our amazing journey in the right atmosphere. We had a nice dinner at a place called Aïoli, in the end, it became our favorite restaurant of the entire journey!