We spent 2 weeks in Poland exploring historic old towns, hiking in the Tatras, learning about Solidarity and eating lots of incredible food.
Itinerary: Krakow > Zakopane > Warsaw > Gdansk
Krakow - such a charming little city. We did a Rick Steves walking tour of the old city which helped paint the history of Poland and the tumultuous times leading up to today. Like many other European cities, the jewish quarter (Kazimierz) has become a young, hip, artsy place with cheaper rents and lots of great restaurants, cafes and bars. We visited Auschwitz which was very sad and intense; both of my great grandparents died there and I was the first family member to visit. It gave me a lot to be thankful for as my existence was solely a result of their courage to get their children out.
Zakopane - a small, quiet town nestled into the foothills of the Tatra Mountains that border Slovakia. We ate at a few different karczma’s and had incredible food at all of them. We hiked Giewont the first day (\~10miles) but bailed when we hit the chains because there was a huge queue for them. The weather was cloudy, cool and a bit damp for most of the hike but when we got up on the ridge, the views were spectacular. My favorite part of this hike was seeing many sisters (nuns) hiking in their full getups + hiking boots. I spent well over 30 minutes trying to come up with cool names for their hiking club. My 2 favorites: Walking for Wafers and The Hiking Habits. The next day we hiked to Morskie Oko (\~10mi) which was less interesting as its a long uphill walk on a paved road with lots of other people, cars and horses pulling carriages. The lake is beautiful with mountains surrounding it on all sides. If we had more time we would have ventured into some more off the beaten path trails. If you plan far enough in advance there are huts to hike up to and stay the night. Getting to/from Zakopane from Krakow was easy; the bus is cheap and relatively comfortable.
Warsaw - not sure we gave the city a fair shake bc we met up with friends who we havent seen in over a year to see Bad Bunny. This meant we spent most of our time hanging out in cafes (Cor on Stare Miestro has great coffee). The Bad Bunny show was a lot of fun, but stadium shows are the worst. Terrible sound and horrible logistics (no water or bathrooms easily accessible). One night we went by the Vistula and came across so many young Varsovians enjoying life — a bachata club, karaoke under a bridge, World cup viewing parties on barges — it was really nice to see and partake in; definitely a highlight for us. Great vibes.
Gdansk — what an absolute gem of a city; maybe our favorite of our Poland adventure. I’m shocked i don’t see more travel content on it. The city felt a bit like Copenhagen, but more affordable. The old city is beautiful, the food is incredible, the people are lovely and it is home to solidarity which helped forge modern poland (post soviet union). We did 2 Rick Steves walking tours here too. I highly recommend the Solidarity Museum, its fantastic. Society could benefit from learning more about it.
Food highlights: goulash, potato pancakes, zapikanki, pierogi, zurek, lots of sausage & cutlet schabowy (schnitzel by another name).
All photos are shot on Fuji XT-30II + Tamron 17-70mm. Recipe is a modified version of Lecia X.
this is part of a larger trip thats at 14 months and still ongoing. I’m working to write up all of it. see other trip reports:
Turkey: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/s/mZRjoQiWOD
Uzbekistan: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/s/zY1uByqU1K
Kyrgystan: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/s/Mb97PZR65u
Kazakhstan: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/s/gd6fyKfq2k
Nepal: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/s/KswFApxpFr