Great Blog

Quick note to talk about a blog I just heard about that is written by some English students in Poland, there to check out the country before the EURO Cup in 2012:
http://misja21.blox.pl

Blog Description:
"Gazeta Wyborcza", the country's leading daily, has invited journalism students from City University London to visit 21 biggest cities in Poland and determine whether they are ready to host the UEFA EURO 2012 championships. What is it like for foreigners to meet Polish people? Are any of the common stereotypes actually true? Here is our editorial project, Mission 21.

I think this is a fantastic resource because of how expansive it is; I did not have a chance to visit many of the cities that these bloggers have gone to, such as Opole and Szczecin. And there is a lot of great information on food, activities, and sites to see around the country.

Polish Favorites: Tourism around Poland

First, I will give general information of cities I would recommend seeing before giving more detailed thoughts on Warsaw, where I spent the most time and saw more tourist spots.

Other than Warsaw
1. Tri-City (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot)
This area was a big favorite with many others on my program. Gdansk has a lot to see and to do: Solidarity Museum, the famous shipyards, Old Town area, and historic sites (meeting halls, monuments/statues, churches, etc.). Gdynia is a very green-looking area and has more famous places and monuments, important to WWII history of the area. Sopot is just a very pretty, yet sometimes expensive, seaside town. It reminded me of resort towns/cities in the US, such as Atlantic City. It has a beautiful boardwalk and a bustling little area on the shore with hotels, shops, and restaurants. It was nice to come here to see the great Baltic Sea.

2. Wroclaw
I swear, whenever I mentioned going to or having been in Wroclaw, the Polish people I would be talking to would not stop praising the city as their favorite or somewhere they were dying to visit. The Americans on my program tended to overlook this city - except for one girl who may have visited after the program ended and the students who would ask me about my thoughts on Wroclaw when I spoke of it - but anyone I knew who was Polish or had a chance to go were only positive about it (which was uncommon for most places, since there were usually good and bad comments about anywhere from Warsaw to Krakow). Not exactly sure what I recommend most, except maybe the Panorama Raclawicka (http://www.panoramaraclawicka.pl/en/what_to_see.html) and walking around the city and over its many bridges (especially seeing Old Town and the Rynek). I also hear the zoo is pretty great.

3. Krakow (Nearby: Auschwitz & Wieliczka Salt Mine)
Visiting Krakow is not a one-day event; it really does need a few days to see a better amount of the city and some sites nearby. Krakow has its Old Town with the amazing Rynek, which houses the famous Sukiennice, churches, and tons of stores and cafes/restaurants. There is also Wawel (cathedral with royal tombs and castle), the newly-opened Schindler Factory Museum, Nowa Huta (for Social-Realist architecture), other churches, Kazimierz (former Jewish district that now has synagogues, hip galleries and cafes, plus the best zapiekanki in town - so I've heard), Jagiellonian University (such as the library and Collegium Maius), monuments (Battle of Grunwald Monument and Kosciuszko's Mound), St. Florian's Gate, the Planty (park with walkway around Old Town), and many other museums (I heard the Ethnography Museum is good).  For trips outside the city that are not too far of a bus or car ride away, my main recommendations are Auschwitz in Oswiecim [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/] and Wieliczka Salt Mine (very popular with the other American students, who licked everything, which is allowed) [http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?id_language=2].

4. Honorable Mentions
For a few hours or if there is a lot of time to visit around Poland: Lodz (I recommend Manufaktura [http://www.manufaktura.com/EN/HomePage/Default.aspx] and walking along Piotrkowksa Street), Poznan (did not have much time there, but the Stary Browar [http://www.starybrowar5050.com/en/miejsce/idea] and Old Town's Rynek are great), Torun (see the birthplace of Copernicus and the university named in his honor, plus walk around the pretty brick Old Town, see the leaning tower, and maybe try some fresh piernik (gingerbread) - there is even a museum for it where visitors can make their own; I also walked the bridge connecting one side of the city to the other, not by choice but it was still a nice way to say "hello" and "goodbye"), Lublin, Legnica, Malbork Castle (on the way to or from the Tri-City area)

5. Places I would go
Some places I would see if I had more time (and may see in the future one day): Rzeszow, Bialystok, more of the Baltic Coast, more of Poznan, Białowieża National Park, Zakopane/Tatra Mountain Region, Zamosc, Gniezno

Be Our Guest: Polish Food Favorities

Thought I would give some information about some restaurants and foods I liked while in Poland... It's my extended "Best Thing I Ever Ate..." in Poland edition.

FYI: ** Means I like it a lot. :)

1. Chains (Polish or International)

-Dessert: Ice cream, sorbet, chocolate, etc.

• Grycan: this is all over Poland, so should not be too difficult to find in a big city; I prefer sorbet because I like fruit and the displays for all of the ice creams and sorbets are always so pretty here. http://www.grycan.pl/
  
• E. Wedel: there are candies sold all over and then there are the special E. Wedel cafes (pijalnie czekolady - named because they are meant to be places for drinking the chocolate, but foods are also offered at them); thick hot chocolate, chocolate fondues, and other desserts - made right in Warsaw at the Wedel factory in the Praga district.
  http://www.wedel.pl/

-Vegan, vegetarian, salads...

• Salad Story: decent chain of quick-service salads; the menu is decently large and varied; I've had a smoked salmon salad ("Rybaka") there and a few others looked pretty good as well. The prices are inexpensive and this is a fast meal when on the road or at a mall. http://saladstory.pl/
• **Green Way: great VEGETARIAN chain in Poland, yes, a POLISH chain that is meatless. The USA cannot exactly claim its own and Poland beat the US to it. :-P This place has a set menu and daily specials (meals and soups of the day). I have been to several of these in Poland (Toruń, Łódź, ate at two of the three in Warsaw) and know they are cute, fast, tasty, and inexpensive. I LOVE soup and this place had a lot of great soups, many of them being famous Polish soups (sometimes with the same recipe, but with any meat removed if the directions call for it). Some of the best foods I had in Poland were here: zupa grochowka (split pea soup) and krupnik soup. http://greenway.pl/
• **Loving Hut: the only FULLY vegan place in the city, it is part of an international chain of places serving only vegan foods. I strongly recommend the Heavenly Salad; this place is cute, quick, and inexpensive. Plus, it is healthy, animal-product-free, and mostly Asian-inspired dishes. http://lovinghut.waw.pl/

-And there is always Pizza Hut... at least it's much nicer outside the US: http://www.pizzahut.pl/ ;)

2. Non Chains

-Warsaw

• **Malinova: considered the BEST ice cream in Warsaw. The shop is adorable and the place is close to where I lived and my spring semester school. There are rotating flavors and I tend to hear they are either good or amazing, so it seems that anyone wins with whatever is chosen. :) As with Grycan, personally, I go for non-dairy/sorbet and fruity. This place was a favorite among me and my fellow American abroad students.
• **VEGA: not easy to find, but really inexpensive, fast, and tasty. This is another "bar" or quick service lunch spot. I think the soups are pretty good and all of the salads and sides that were made always tasted great (I love me some shredded beets and other "surowki" - sides/salads). http://www.vega-warszawa.pl/index.php
• POLKA: one of the two Magda Gessler restaurants I ended up dining at while in Warsaw. I liked the salad with grilled cheese and tomato sauce. http://www.restauracjapolka.pl/
• **Jumbo Salad: another place that is not so easy to find (it's in an apartment complex neighborhood area, not exactly close to the beaten path since VEGA is at least directly off of a major street), but worth the trouble (sadly, I only went once, but it was pretty close to my area). This is another adorable place with good, fast, inexpensive food. I had a salad with crab meat and vegetables, which was tasty. I wish I had gone again, but I am glad I went at least one time. http://www.jumbosalad.com/
• Giovanni Rubino: I did not go to too many Italian places while in Warsaw, but this is a good choice near Old Town. http://www.giovanni.pl/
• **Literatka: another good choice near Old Town, but this one is mainly Polish food. The outdoor sitting area is very nice when the weather allows (but the inside of the restaurant looks really pretty as well). I really enjoyed the dishes I had on my visit there: fish soup and a salad with sun-dried tomatoes and grilled salmon. http://www.literatka.com.pl/
• **Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem: this is another Polish/Eastern European/Russian restaurant that was well-reviewed by me and others I know who have gone there. It has a neat newspaper menu and the Communist theme is interesting (I loved their website and name-dropped the place a lot before ever going...). I had a tasty meal there of borscht and seasonal salad with grilled chicken and strawberries. This place seems to be pretty memorable and eating outside is recommended if possible. http://www.czerwonywieprz.pl/
• Salad House: another salad bar place with a good-sized menu. This one is similar to Salad Story and Jumbo Salad, but its location is close to city center and the Swietokrzyska Metro station.

-Gdańsk

• Velevetka: This place has dishes that are regional for near the Baltic Sea area and this city in particular. I remember the pickles served to the table were a great combination of sweet and sour. I had a regional (Kashubian) fish soup that had large pieces of salmon in it and was quite tasty. http://www.velevetka.pl/
• **Kresowa: more Polish/Eastern European/Russian cuisine. I drank some clear barszcz (one of the best I had in Poland) and I REALLY liked my main dish: white fish (cannot remember what kind) with cooked, shredded beets on top. Unfortunately, I was with a large group on a busy Restaurant Deal Weekend in the area, so our service was not amazing and we waited a lot, but the food was delicious.

-Kraków

• Da Pietro: good Italian cuisine near the main rynek. I remember having another good fish soup here as well. http://www.dapietro.pl/
• Wesele and Miód Malina: two good Polish restaurants near the rynek (Wesele is in the rynek, but Miód Malina is not too far from it). At Wesele I had a salad with duck meat and was quite surprised at the way duck meat looks and tastes; it was almost as if it were red meat... http://www.weselerestauracja.pl/ and http://www.miodmalina.pl/
• **MOMO: along with many of my favorites in Warsaw, this place is vegetarian/vegan-friendly, with a lot of organic and healthy foods. Plus, it is in a cute little location with great prices, fast service, and a varied (somewhat daily) menu. I had some tasty miso and vegetable soup. Also, I remember having as part of my main dish some zucchini and broccoli in a sauce that was GREAT.
• Horoscope: [http://www.restauracja-horoscope.pl/horoskop.html] I did not eat at the actual restaurant, but ordered my first ever zapiekanka at their to-go window. It was delicious, plus hot and fresh from the oven. Kraków seems to be THE place for zapiekanki, as I also saw (but did not try, though my friends were eating them and offered to give me a bit) a well-known and strongly recommended place called "U Endziora" at Plac Nowy in the Kazimierz district of Kraków. This place may be a little kitchen with a window in a market square, but it also may serve the best zapiekanki in Poland... My friends raved about them as they ate, but they also were a bit under the influence and it was late at night (in Polish, but good pictures: http://prowincjalnawioska.blox.pl/2008/08/Bylam-U-Endziora.html). I encourage the use of garlic sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and chives (but there also could be chicken, bacon, ham, salami, peppers, onions, ketchup, mayonnaise, and other toppings).

-Lublin

• **Mandragora: this is a Jewish restaurant in the main area of Lublin. It was here that I had another fantastic soup, this time a great cabbage soup. Also, I finished off with a warm Israeli drink that had cinnamon and bits of apple. Yum. http://www.mandragora.lublin.pl/

-On the road

• Brovaria (Poznań): great location in the main rynek. I really liked my lunch here: a grilled tuna salad with fruit slices and vegetables. http://www.brovaria.pl/EN-H28.html
• Random food/milk bars (Legnica & road): Now, milk bars are a mixed bag... some are nicer than others in looks and some are better than others in dishes, while at one place alone there could be both great and inedible foods. The price is so cheap that you may be given what you pay for, but it is an experience whether your food turns out well or not... at least the price was not so high that it would be a complete waste of money and time. Give them a chance and they could surprise... and maybe even give a second chance if the first time does not turn out so well. I am a fan of borscht (well, I am a soup lover in general), especially Ukrainian borscht, which I had at a bar on the road and at a restaurant in Legnica. Both were great.
• **Don Giovanni (Legnica): good Italian food in the rynek. I had a grilled salmon salad that was really good and the entire menu looked great. http://www.dongiovanni.legnica.pl/
• **Krotoszyce Palace (near Legnica): gorgeous palace and grounds, commonly used for weddings and other important events. The restaurant is great with a wonderful menu. I really liked my lunch main dish of a green bean salad with sun-dried tomatoes and sliced turkey (usually served with grilled tuna, but the waitress said they were out of tuna or some issue and asked if I could replace it with turkey) http://www.palackrotoszyce.pl/

3. Products

-Eko chipsy: dried apple chips

http://www.bioavena.pl/

-Cisowianka: lekko gazowana (lightly carbonated water)

-Whomus: Hummus

http://www.whomus.pl/

-Sonko: rice cakes/waffles and other crisps

-piernik/gingerbread

4. Street food

-gofry: freshly made waffles with or without toppings. Warm with strawberry jam, that's how I did it. I also would have tried with other jams or with fruit (not really into whipped cream or other syrups and sauces).

-zapiekanki: PLEASE do not eat any ho-hum zapiekanka. Seek quality, which may mean waiting in a line and/or for a fresh zapiekanka to be made for you on REAL baguette bread, toasted in an oven with your toppings of choice (cheese, mushrooms, chicken, etc), with sauce(s) (ketchup, mayonnaise, garlic sauce), and seasoning (chives). I trust certain fresh ones made in Kraków. Go for the real deal, a big and fresh one over the sad wannabes at any gas station or stand.

-kebabs: I am not much of an expert and they are everywhere. It seems there are a lot of good places to go for these and they are common in any city with at least a few people (from big cities to smaller towns). If there is a line waiting for them, then that might be a good indication for taste. I wish I could say more, but I went to a pretty good one in Kraków and I heard of many good ones in Warsaw. I just do not eat much meat, so I had to wait to find a vegetarian version, which means I was not a good judge of where to eat them. Sadly, there are probably a lot more bad or mediocre ones than good ones, but that goes for anything.

-pączki: I am not really a fan of these Polish baked goods (I find it difficult to call them donuts), but this is another item where I stress looking for freshness and quality. Please go to a good, known place where they are warm, soft, and delicious. It does not matter too much about large selection versus no selection over fillings, but what does matter is quality. I know, based on recommendations and Fat Thursday/Pączki Day, that A. Blikle is good (only one filling, but this place is a chain considered to sell the best pączki in Poland) [http://www.blikle.pl/] and Cukiernia Pawłowicz (MANY filling choices from rose jam to chocolate and cherries) in a stand on Chmielna Street in Warsaw.

-cupcakes: recently popular in the US, now becoming very popular in Poland. My first-hand recommendations: Cupcake Corner in Kraków [http://cupcakecorner.pl/], Lola’s Cupcakes in Warsaw [http://www.lolascupcakes.pl/], and Goodies in Warsaw [http://www.goodies.pl/]. All have interesting flavors, fillings, and toppings in cute, little shops.

The Devil Is In The Details...

So the "Three Cities" - "Trójmiasto" of Gdansk, Gdynia, and Sopot - are beautiful. I really enjoyed this area and seeing the BALTIC SEA! :-D Sadly, did not touch it, but not sure I would like even putting a finger in (which was all that was technically allowed for my group. ;) ) I wish our stay were longer and I would love to see more or return soon (especially in summertime).The train trip went by pretty quickly and we even saw the Teutonic castle in Malbork as we passed:

Not my personal photo, of course. ;)

On Friday, we went and checked in to our hotel. It was so nice to be in a proper hotel, not a hostel or dorm. :-P I stayed in a room with two other girls and decided to take a fold-out instead of one of the two twin beds. It was a cute room. We went out to dinner at a restaurant that specializes in regional cuisine. I had a Kashubian (that part of Poland has people known as Kashubians, who are influenced by Polish and German culture) fish soup and a salad with smoked salmon, vegetables, fish eggs (thought "eggs" on the menu were from a chicken, heehee ;) ), and vinaigrette. My meal was all pretty good. Afterwards, I hung out some with the other students and we went out for a bit at night. We walked around the city some before going to bed before a day of major touring of Gdansk. We had a European continental breakfast (eggs, kielbasa, bread, rolls, dry cereals, whole fruits, drinks, tomatoes, cucumbers, crepes/nalesniki, sliced meats and cheeses, etc.) before going on a walking tour of Gdansk. We saw statues, fountains, monuments, the town hall, a special meeting hall, an older church (climbed ALL the way to the small viewing deck on top, a whopping 400+ steps - my calves still feel it a bit when I climb stairs),  a Solidarity Museum, and the famous Gdansk/Lenin Shipyards where Solidarity/Solidarność began! After that, we had some time to relax (in the middle of the tour we did have a coffee break; I had a soy latte (that I left unsweetened) and a parfait of yogurt, flakes, and fruit) and do as we please before a LONG (we happened to go to Gdansk on a weekend with deals similar to those in places that have Restaurant Weeks with special menus and prices for certain dishes, which made restaurants and cafes participating in these half-prices much busier than usual) dinner at a mixed-ethnic restaurant (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, etc.); I had some delicious clear borscht and a fish that was cooked with shredded beets on top and salads/coleslaws/shredded vegetables/sides. It was one of the best fish meals I have ever had. I finished off with some fruit in whipped cream (sadly, each course took an hour, which caused a three-hour or so meal). On Sunday, after packing-breakfast-checkout, we took a bus to different sites around Gdansk, Gdynia, and Sopot: ports, piers, monuments, parks, etc. before having lunch in Sopot (I had a decent fish soup and a small salad with mixed seafood on it). I had a nice chat with other students and the amazing tour guide we had both Saturday and Sunday. The weather was great on Sunday and our trip ride back was fun; it is a great time when the entire program group can spend some time together.

Today, my Polish class was cancelled so that our abroad group could visit the Polish Parliament buildings. After that fun tour (reminded me of visiting the UN), I had a quick lunch at Green Way (cabbage and other vegetable soup; tofu and vegetables in tomato sauce on top of kasza with sides) before a shortened history class (we left early to go on another walking tour with our Jews in Poland class). The last tour I went on today included both places I had and had not seen: various monuments and markers of the former Jewish ghetto, famous Jews, or areas where many Jews had been before the Holocaust drastically cut down their population size. I visited a lot of places and learned so much these past few days. :) I especially enjoy the feeling of being and of seeing new places. Ahh, it can give quite a rush and giddiness in me. :-P

Pictures here: photobucket.com/kab1221

Under Pressure

Watched the movie "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" earlier and now "Under Pressure" is in my head. :-P I watched "Modern Family" from last night and now I am about to catch up with "United States of Tara." I packed and depart for Gdansk tomorrow morning.

A couple of the photos from Wroclaw:

Marcin and I

Pawel, me, and animal statues

I am looking forward to watching Thursday NBC shows sometime after the Gdansk trip. I also have the Spring Break and Krakow area travels that I am excited about coming very soon. :)

Neat travel blog I heard about today: http://anywherethereisanairport.com/

Bigger Than Us

Bleh weather today. I actually had coffee from a machine this morning for warmth and to wake me up a bit. It was raining when I left class (during Polish, there were issues with the disc for the movie we were supposed to watch, so we watched another series instead). We watched one episode of the series "Dekalog": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092337/ This is a series that details one of each of the Ten Commandments in each episode.

The episode we watched was "Thou Shalt Not Steal" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094989/]. It was about a young girl who kidnaps her "sister." Not sure I want to reveal too much. :-P A good actor from "Pan Tadeusz" was also in it. After class, I had some reimbursement money given to me and headed back to the dorm. I have a make-up class this afternoon/evening and may just hang out in my dorm until then (doing laundry tonight, unfortunately...)

Weekend trip weather: (I hope it stays closer to this rather than change to anything bad...)
http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/weekend/PLXX0005

Parliament trip is now scheduled for Tuesday morning. :)

Cool Warsaw websites:
http://warszawazadarmo.pl/
http://wrszw.pl/

Another train website:
http://www.tktelekom.pl/

Savior's Square / Plac Zbawiciela

I saw fireworks again. :)

Tomorrow, in Polish class, we are watching another film: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934108?refcatid=31

This weekend is the Gdansk/Gdynia/Sopot trip and then on Monday afternoon my Jews in Poland class is going on a tour of "Jewish Warsaw." In this class, we also began to watch a DVD with different clips of stories from survivors of Auschwitz. It seems the more detailed the accounts are and the more I learn about Auschwitz, the worse this place (I have already seen in person) becomes... not that a concentration camp can ever really seem any better... but it is almost unbelievable. 

My politics class had a discussion about Polish mass media today, which was interesting because we heard about different present-day magazines, television channels, and radio stations. Since I have a field trip for my Jewish class on Monday afternoon, I will sadly be missing a speaker coming to this politics class - a well-educated economist and friend of our professor. We also may go visit the parliament buildings next week with our politics professor, specific date and time in the process of being scheduled.

The weather today was very unpredictable. The last few days have been not-too-great weather-wise, but today was actually nice for a few hours mid-day. But, while I was in my last class, the sky darkened to gray and then it was chilly and began to rain on-and-off (drizzling right now). I hope the weekend weather on the Baltic is nice for our touring!

You Are A Tourist / Danzig

Today is cloudy, cool, and may rain later. I only have one class later in the afternoon. Before that, I have to pick up some items from the CIEE office. After class, it is the weekend. :) Plans include, a day-trip to Łódź tomorrow and going to see some parks (if the weather allows, of course) on Saturday and Sunday, before I go to a classical music performance on Sunday evening (which is the anniversary of the Smoleńsk plane crash, so our group was warned about demonstrations and other activity going on that day, especially near the Presidential Palace).


Yesterday, our CIEE group had a meeting about our trip next weekend to Gdańsk (also with stops in the other two of the "Three Cities": Gdynia and Sopot). We leave Friday morning (not early!) for a train ride that is about five-and-a-half hours. We are staying at a hostel (Dom Muzyka: http://www.dom-muzyka.pl/) and will go out to dinner on Friday to a place that serves local (Kashubian) cuisine (Velevetka: http://www.velevetka.pl/). On Saturday we have breakfast at the hostel (which is apparently well-reviewed by previous students) before going on a day of tours: Gdańsk's Old Town and the Museum of Solidarity. We have some of the afternoon off before dinner in the evening at Kresowa (which is more international cuisine to represent all of the different kinds of people who came to the city because of its commercial importance). On Sunday, another breakfast before touring Sopot (one main attraction for us Americans seems to be this: http://2bored4fun.blogspot.com/2009/05/crooked-house-in-sopot-poland.html) and Gdynia. We have lunch in Sopot before going on a train in the afternoon back to Warsaw.