Perogies in Poland — Tumbleweeds

Day 1 - Travel Day

After a short, uneventful flight, we arrived in Warsaw, Poland where we took a taxi to the perimeter of the old city and walked to our hotel which was within a pedestrianized area. Although we could easily see our hotel, we had quite a challenge actually finding the entrance, as it was a bit hidden. We rang the doorbell and were let in, then climbed a flight up where we were warmly greeted at reception. Since this old hotel was a UNESCO World Heritage site, it did not have a lift (elevator), which was a shame, as our room was another two flights above the floor that the reception was on. We were actually given the choice of three rooms on that floor, which were all decorated differently – we chose the whimsical Alice in Wonderland themed room, which was very comfortable, despite the lack of air conditioning (while we were staying there the temperature rose to 30˚C!).

Our first stop was at a nearby Polish restaurant, Zapiecek, which was recommended by the hotel. Although it was part of a chain, it is beloved by locals and we feasted on traditional Russian Perogies (filled with cheese and potatoes) and Bigos, a stew made up of sauerkraut, fresh cabbage and chopped sausages. Polish food has been one of Melissa’s favorites her whole life, whilst Colin, who had never really experienced it, became an instant fan.

One of the things that became immediately obvious, was how super-cheap food at local restaurants was, particularly compared to the prices in London, or even Venice! Paradoxically, anything bought from an American chain costs about the same as anywhere. For example, you could pay the same price for a Grande Americano at Starbucks, as you would for a two-course meal in a Polish restaurant. This made deciding what to eat very easy 🇵🇱!!!

We strolled around the Old Town as sunset approached and admired the beautiful architecture around the market square. The buildings we saw were all recreations of the medieval structures that originally stood there until they (and most of Warsaw) were systematically destroyed by the Nazis in WW2, as punishment for the Warsaw Uprising. One might feel that because the buildings are recreations, they are not significant – however, it’s hard to not be seriously impressed by the fortitude of a country and its people who rebuilt an entire city after such complete and senseless destruction.

Day 2 - Warsaw

Our second and final day in Warsaw was comparatively low-key. It was still sweltering outside, but that didn’t stop us from walking 20 minutes to a modern laundromat to wash our clothes. While we are quite proud of traveling with only two carry-on sized suitcases and a small bag (super light), this does come with the disadvantage of frequent laundry stops – the perils of minimalism!

Conveniently located next to the laundromat was a Costa coffee shop (an English chain) so we drank coffee and worked on our Sorrento blog as we watched our clothes tumble round and round in the machines. Interestingly, doing laundry was one of the things that was not cheap in Poland, costing us about £12.50 to complete two small loads.

After returning to our hotel, we went out for a lovely meal of (you guessed it!) pierogis, cabbage rolls, with steak tartare at a restaurant called Portretowa. This restaurant was utterly charming and authentic in its décor (including a man dressed as a chef holding a giant sized wooden spoon outside).

After resting up, we went out again for a walk, this time along the wall enclosing the Old Town and the Barbican, which was once used to fortify the city. We ate (another!) meal of pierogis, which, while in Poland, we apparently couldn't get enough of.

On our way back to the hotel, we enjoyed being serenaded by one of the small gypsy boys playing their accordion on the side of the road. After this, Colin started noticing them everywhere (including in Krakow) – they are known as Polska Roma and travel together in families, pretty much outside of the law.

Day 3 - Warsaw to Krakow

After breakfast at a nearby restaurant called Warszawski Sznyt, we caught our train to Krakow and slept for part of the 2.5-hour journey through the countryside.

Immediately after arriving in Krakow, we instantly fell in love with this city – which has been the highlight of our trip so far! It has such an energetic vibe, filled with young adults, but not so overcrowded with tourists so as to be frustrating. Plus, the Polish people are so gentle and kind! We walked the 15 minutes from the train station to our hotel, which was mostly through a very modern mall, and then through Planty Park, which surrounds the Old Town in a circle, where the original city walls once stood. As we arrived at the hotel, we were pleased to discover it had both a lift and air conditioning, which was a little ironic as the weather had now significantly cooled down. Melissa bought a scarf from one of the vendors in the market square and Colin put on some clothes that he had packed for the Scandinavian portion of the tour.

We spent the remainder of the day walking around Old Town, enjoying the architecture which, unlike Warsaw, was left remarkably intact after WW2.

Day 4 - Auschwitz

Today was a day that we had long planned and yet were both dreading. The day proved to meet our expectations as it was indeed overwhelmingly shocking and saddening.

The tour to Auschwitz, involved a 1.5-hour drive from Krakow, which left very early, at 6:45 am. Upon arrival we were met by our tour guide: a young, knowledgeable woman who was able to maintain a balance of sensitivity, while providing factual information about what we saw in a straightforward and non-editorial fashion.

Before entering the grounds, we were given a short break where we were able to use the bathroom facilities and have a coffee/snack, as no food or drink was allowed to be consumed on the grounds, so as to respect the memory of so many who suffered and were murdered there.

After going through airport style security, we entered the Auschwitz 1 camp, passing under the cynically, infamous sign that reads in German, “Arbeit macht frei” ("Work brings freedom"). Prior to the war and before becoming a concentration camp, the buildings here were Polish army barracks. As such, the structures were made of brick and were three stories in height. To the uninitiated, they might even seem like well-built unassuming buildings, however during the holocaust each building held up to 1,200 prisoners each, under unimaginable conditions. Our guide warned us that this was palatial compared to the housing at Auschwitz 2 – Birkenau. We had an opportunity to tour the permanent exhibits that were set up in the various barrack blocks and left only being able to imagine what living conditions were like. One exhibit that stood out in our minds included walls full of pictures of the prisoners – these pictures were like mug-shots we know today. However, in addition to the photograph of the prisoner, details such as their date of birth, date they arrived at the camp and date of death were listed, along with the reason they were imprisoned. (e.g. they were Jewish; Intellectual; Handicap; homosexual, etc.). Amongst everything that was so unjust about this, it was clear that prisoners rarely lived for no more than a few months (if that long) under the horrible conditions that they were subjected to.

In addition to these barracks, we also viewed other exhibits which included some of the canisters of poison (Zyklon B) used in the gas chambers, piles of suitcases, shoes, spectacles, human hair, and even baby clothes, which were the most difficult to see. We were repeatedly reminded by our tour guide to think of each item as one human life. It was devastating.

Then next exhibit in Auschwitz 1, was to view the ‘killing wall’, where prisoners were shot to be made an example of. Finally, we toured the crematorium where the victims were murdered by being gassed. We just couldn’t get out of there fast enough as it was so incredibly difficult to make our way through this place where so many people had died – We felt like we were surrounded by ghosts.

After a quick lunch we were taken a few kilometres away to Auschwitz 2 – Birkenau.

Whilst the concentration camp that we visited in the morning was used to perfect the murder and genocide of Jewish people and other prisoners, this camp was purpose built to be a killing factory. When movies that depict Auschwitz are made, such as 'Schindlers List', it is this camp that is depicted. The first thing we saw were the train tracks leading through the gate to where prisoners would be sorted into those who would be immediately sent to the gas chambers and those who would be held for slave labour. While some of the barracks were made of brick, most were wooden structures, and all were just one story high. Very few of the wooden buildings still stand, only their chimneys remain, after being burnt down by the Nazi’s in an attempt to destroy evidence of their crimes as the red army approached in January 1945. This site was by far much vaster, barren, and if possible, bleaker than the first camp. In fact, one of the things that we took away from the visit was the scale of the cruelty and horrific murder. In all, it is estimated that the Nazi’s murdered 1.1 million people, mostly Jewish and just in Auschwitz.

Our ride back to Krakow was sombre. The bus broke down on the side of the road, but fortunately the driver was able to quickly fix the problem and we were on our way back to Krakow after only a short delay. First world problems, indeed.

Neither of us were in a mood to do much else that day. We did have a lovely meal of steak with wine, where we talked about the experience of our visit.

One thing that should be noted is that prior to visiting Auschwitz, we had spent several hours at the Holocaust exhibit at the Imperial War Museum in London. This by far is one of the best museum exhibits in London in our opinion, and we felt it prepared us with background information that complemented what we saw and learned in Auschwitz.

Day 5 - Krakow

After a good night’s rest at our hotel, we started the day with a breakfast of coffee and an ‘Obwarzanek’, which is a bagel-like ring of dough with a very large hole. We wish we had taken pictures of these to show you, but they were so good they were eaten before we thought to do so! These were very inexpensive and were purchased from street carts which were on (nearly!) every corner. It was hard not to notice, but the (usually) older women who manned these carts all seemed to look very similar. We began to jokingly refer to them as the bagel-clone-ladies!

After our breakfast, we visited St Mary’s Basilica in the town square, where we admired the stunning alter and decorations. How had we never heard of this church before? It is completely underrated (not unlike the rest of Krakow) and is possibly one of the most beautiful churches in all of Europe.

Afterwards, we walked to the nearby Jewish quarter and stopped for lunch. We had pierogis (naturally), with cabbage roll filling, the most delicious pork chop, known as a Kolet Schabowy, which was served like a schnitzel, and blueberry and strawberry filled pierogis for dessert. We then found the Jewish cemetery where Colin was given a skullcap to wear, known as a Yarmulke or Kippah. This cemetery was destroyed during the war and its tombstones were often used as paving stones. This meant that most of the graves in it were newer. However, many fragments of tombstones that were destroyed, were recovered and used to build the wall surrounding the cemetery as a memorial.

Colin wearing Yarmulke at the Jewish Cemetery

We then walked to Schindlers factory museum which sadly was closed, but we took a few pictures of it. This factory was made famous in the movie, “Schindlers List”, which told the story of how Oskar Schindler saved the lives of countless Jewish people by employing them.

We walked back to our hotel through Planty park and rested up for the long day of travel ahead of us.