From World War II Ruins to Michelin Stars: Our Warsaw Journey

From Kraków we took the train to Warsaw. This time it really was a first class experience, with upgraded seats and snacks and sandwiches. The main line between Krakow – Warsaw – Gdansk seems to be very busy with tourists, professionals and locals.

Warsaw is the capital and by far the largest city in Poland, with a population of around 1.8 million people. The city was almost entirely destroyed during the war – basically flattened. So virtually all the buildings in the main part of the city were built afterward, either by the Soviets or after the regime fell in 1989.  

We chose a hotel in the Praga district, on the east side of the Vistula River. We learned later that the Soviets watched the Nazis destroy Warsaw from this area and then marched in and took over after they left. Praga therefore has more older buildings, but also plenty of more modern Soviet-style housing complexes. 

Our hotel, the Moxy Praga, is in the Koneser complex, a former vodka distillery now turned into a hip business and residential area. There were lots of restaurants, bars and plenty of young people working there at banks and software companies. There was a Google for Startups office there too.

Our hotel had an industrial vibe with funky common spaces, an elevator that looked like a shipping container, and plenty of snacks and drinks to buy. It was definitely a hotel catering to a younger traveler – no closet, a tiny bathroom and lots of street noise from the adjacent mall. But the bed was comfortable and it was nice to explore an area off the regular tourist trail. 

Exploring Warsaw Old and New

The next day we headed down to the center of town to do some exploring. We started at Palm Tree Circle with a big artificial palm tree in the middle, and followed the modern streets along the former Royal Way, the route the Kings of Poland used to travel between Old Town and their summer home. 

We made our first stop at the National Museum of Art and saw its large collection of Polish art and several school groups visiting.

Afterward we made a little detour and found the Palace of Culture and Science, thanks to Rick Steves we knew the nickname for this place is “Stalin’s Penis.” It was built in 1955 and was supposed to be a gift to the city. It’s still the second tallest building in town thanks to its pointy tower. We didn’t go in but we did walk around it. There is a pleasant park out front with lots of trees and fountains but there was not a lot of activity. It might have been the time of day, or maybe just no one goes there. It was hard to tell.

We continued walking towards the Old Town, stopping to admire the sculpture of Polish astronomer Copernicus, in the center of many concentric rings and a sweet little Chopin bench, one of many black marble benches in town that plays music on demand.

Soon we were hot and hungry and we stopped at one of the first places we saw – a hot dog shop! It was a tiny little shop and served dogs with crazy toppings like hot Doritos. Not exactly fancy Polish cuisine but we were saving that for later.

Old Town and New Town

After lunch we wandered in and around Warsaw’s Old Town and the nearby New Town. The Old Town has roots back to the early 13th century as one of the first settlements in the area. The Royal Castle was built in the early 14th century but became the official political capital in the late 16th century. The New Town nearby became the first settlement outside of the walls and was more of a working class district. 

Both areas were almost completely destroyed by the Nazis in World War II, but have been rebuilt over the years. The Old Town and the Royal Castle were meticulously restored based on old documents and paintings from the time. The New Town is a bit more casual and less touristy. 

We enjoyed strolling around both of them and before we left, we stopped in for a brief visit at the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Museum. She was born in the building and grew up in the neighborhood before she moved to Paris to study. We learned a lot about her – I knew that she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize but I didn’t realize that her daughter and son-in-law also went on to win Nobels as well. She had a fascinating life and although she lived and worked for much of her career in France, she never forgot her native Poland and used both of her names proudly. 

After our visit to the museum we walked through a pleasant city park and took a tram back to our hotel across the river.   

Michelin Star Meal

There are only a few Michelin-Starred restaurants in Poland and I wanted to make sure we tried one while we were there. After doing some research, I decided on Rozbrat-20, a small restaurant in a quiet residential area in Warsaw. They had just received their Michelin Star in June and we visited in September. I purposely booked us a table early, figuring it would be easier to get, and I’m glad we did because the place was absolutely packed when we left. 

We live in California and we’ve been to plenty of fine dining restaurants over the years, but relatively few Michelin-starred places. Rozbrat-20 did not disappoint. We went for the full tasting menu with wine pairing and it was probably one of the best meals I’ve ever experienced. Mark admitted it was better than the hot dog place.

Each dish was exquisite in look and in taste, small bites that added up to an amazing experience. Our sommelier was so enthusiastic about all the wines which made it really fun and the complete service was just outstanding. We were there for a few hours but the time flew by, and we left full and happy.

More education – two outstanding Warsaw museums

After a pretty relaxing day of walking, art, modern buildings and delicious food, we spent our second full day in Warsaw learning more about the past visiting two museums, the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the POLIN Museum, 1000 years of Jewish history. Looking back on it, it is hard to believe we did both in one day since they were both very intense experiences.

Warsaw Uprising Museum

Everything I knew about the Warsaw uprising before our visit came from the movie the Piano. At a high level, I knew that the Nazis had forced the Jews in Warsaw into a confined area and then basically tried to starve them to death, until finally some residents tried to fight back and had some small victories before getting crushed by the German soldiers. 

What I didn’t know is that there was the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, depicted in that movie, but also an uprising of the entire city that lasted for almost two months in the fall of 1944. Polish resistance fighters worked with the Soviet Army, to fight back against the Nazis later in the war and try to take Warsaw back.

The museum covers the entire history of the effort, starting with the Polish Home Army’s collaboration with the Soviets in other parts of Poland before the uprising, to the capitulation to the Nazis on October 1, 1944. They also discuss the Allies handing over Poland to the Soviets at Yalta, and the aftermath and attempts to erase the uprising from the official history during the communist period. There are so many artifacts, from soldiers’ uniforms and weapons to vehicles, to a giant replica of an Allied Liberator B-24J bomber hanging from the ceiling.  

The museum opened in 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the start of the Uprising. They have made an incredible effort to resurrect and restore this history once Poland won its freedom from the Soviet Union. Beyond all of the exhibits, experts continue to collect photographs, insurgents names and burial places, information about the civilian losses and oral history from the witnesses and share it all online. Polish citizens who have family memories and stories are encouraged to share so they can continue to record and restore the record.

Walking through the museum, we were happy to have the great audioguide that walked us through the exhibits, but something that I also found really helpful were written summaries of the history, double-sided in English and Polish, that we could take home and read to better understand the full context of the events.

The most memorable part of the museum for me was the 5 minute movie – City of Ruins, a birds-eye view of a 3D reconstruction of the destroyed capital as it would have looked in the Spring of 1945. After walking through Warsaw the day before, it was hard to believe it had been almost completely flat 80 years before. 

POLIN – 1000-Year History of Polish Jews

At the eve of World War II, approximately 3.3 million Jews lived in Poland, the largest community in Europe. By this point in our trip we had already seen plenty of monuments and history of the Holocaust, but this museum was different. POLIN is a space dedicated to sharing the rich cultural history of the Jewish community in Poland, from the Middle Ages to today.

The museum was really unique and inviting, from the moment you step into the beautifully designed building to the thoughtfully designed exhibits. We used the audioguides and explored the whole place, spending about three hours there. 

One of the nicest touches I found was the accessible design –  when you entered an exhibit area, there were a set of easy to carry chairs that you could take with you from room to room so you could have a place to stop and get a closer look or watch one of the many installations or videos along the way. Every room gave you an idea of how long you could expect to spend there. 

We learned so much –  from the first Jewish merchants who traveled to Poland to the many others who migrated during the Crusades and continued persecution in Western Europe. The community thrived in the brief period between World Wars when Poland had its short-lived independence. The museum also discusses the continued migration after the war when many Jews left for Israel and the United States.

At the end of the museum there was a short film interviewing current local residents answering the question – am I a Jew or a Pole? 

The whole experience was thought-provoking, even for this half-Polish lapsed Catholic. I’d highly recommend it for anyone visiting Warsaw.

Just in front of the museum, which is situated in the former Warsaw Ghetto, is the Ghetto Heroes Square and the beautiful and moving monument there to those who fought and died for their liberation and for a free Poland.

Penguins and Gelato 

On our way back from the museum to our hotel in Praga, we found a couple of very important landmarks – one we sought out and the other a happy accident. 

I had been looking for restaurants online and noticed that there was a gelato place not too far away from our hotel. And not just any gelato – it was Pallone, just like Mark. We made it there for a sweet treat and we were not disappointed. They not only had delicious gelato, they had some great Italian coffee. 

While we were looking for Pallone Lody (ice cream in Polish) I also spotted a sign for a penguin bar. It was a little confusing but we did finally find it, and had a cold Polish beer outside in the early evening, enjoying the atmosphere. A perfect end to our visit to Warsaw.

Leaving Warsaw

Warsaw was a surprise for me. I expected it to be a drab Soviet-era metropolis but in reality it was a thriving and very youthful place, with a great food scene, lots of bars and clubs and fun neighborhoods to explore. I’m glad we stopped and spent a few days in Poland’s rebuilt and reborn capital city.