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Krakow

Warsaw and the Last Bit

Matthew Alfred Jones

• 5 min read
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Skyline of central Warsaw at sunset, featuring the Palace of Culture and Science surrounded by modern skyscrapers.
Photo by Iwona Castiello d'Antonio / Unsplash

Warsaw

6th August

Destination board on a PKP Intercity train showing the route between Warszawa Wschodnia and Kraków Główny.
The destination board for the Marszałek Piłsudski InterCity service, linking Warsaw and Kraków on one of Poland's busiest rail corridors.

When I got there, it was time to get a daily tram ticket which only cost about £5, which is cheaper than the London underground for the day.

Warsaw public transport 24-hour ticket held on a station platform.
A 24-hour Warsaw public transport ticket — excellent value and valid across the city's buses, trams, metro and local trains, making it easy to explore the Polish capital.

The first destination was the Fryderyk Chopin Monument, which I also ended up renting an electric scooter for, as it was quite a bit away from the nearest tram stop. Fryderyk Chopin was a famous Polish composer and is considered a genius for the works he has done. I started getting more into classical music more after watching an anime called "Piano of the Forest", in which Chopin's music features in it quite a bit.

Chopin Monument in Warsaw's Łazienki Park.
The famous Chopin Monument in Warsaw's Łazienki Park, depicting Poland's celebrated composer beneath a stylised willow tree and serving as one of the city's most recognisable landmarks.

It was almost time for the reason why I came to Krakow, so got on my way and made my way past Presidential Palace, Warsaw University and Warsaw Castle. Eventually I made it to the Fryderyk Concert Hall, where I would be listening to a piano recital for 1 hour.

Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw.
The Church of the Holy Cross on Krakowskie Przedmieście, one of Warsaw's most important historic churches and the final resting place of Frédéric Chopin's heart.
Main gate of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.
The ornate entrance gates of the Presidential Palace on Krakowskie Przedmieście, the official residence of the President of Poland and one of Warsaw's most prominent historic buildings.
View across Piłsudski Square towards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Saxon Palace colonnade in Warsaw.
Piłsudski Square in central Warsaw, where restoration work was underway near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — one of Poland's most important national memorials.
Sign for the Fryderyk Concert Hall in Warsaw.
The Fryderyk Concert Hall in Warsaw, one of the city's best-known venues for performances celebrating the music of Frédéric Chopin.
Grand piano beneath a portrait of Chopin in the Fryderyk Concert Hall, Warsaw.
The intimate concert room at Warsaw's Fryderyk Concert Hall, where a grand piano sits beneath a portrait of Frédéric Chopin, ready for an afternoon of the composer's music.

I then decided to get on a tram and go for a ride quite far out, where I then swapped the tram for another electric scooter for a bit, before getting on a different tram, and was rewarded with some beautiful views over the Vistula River.

Two blue rental e-scooters parked on a pavement in Warsaw.
One of the easiest ways to get around Warsaw — a pair of rental e-scooters waiting beside the pavement, ready for a quick trip across the city.
Sunset view across the Vistula River in Warsaw.
An evening view across the Vistula River, with the setting sun reflecting on the water as Warsaw's skyline and riverside greenery stretched into the distance.

After getting back late at night to Krakow, I made a bit of a stupid mistake, as I parked the car at the station earlier in the day, but the place I parked it was the park of the car park that wasn't open that late at night, so I ended up having to get a taxi back to the apartment and then getting an early morning tram to collect the car after the station car park opened, to avoid having to pay an over 24 hour parking fee.

6th and 7th August

The last few days were miserable with rain, and I wasn't well to be honest, so stayed in the apartment, got a nice pizza one of the days and on the last day, I was well enough to go out to a restaurant that specialized in goose.

Pizza topped with salami, ham, mushrooms and melted mozzarella.
Dinner in Kraków: a freshly baked pizza topped with salami, ham, mushrooms and plenty of melted mozzarella, enjoyed after a day exploring the city.
Cover of a Polish restaurant menu decorated with red flowers and illustrations of two geese.
Menu cover for Restauracja Gąska, featuring floral artwork and traditional Polish cuisine branding.
Bowl of deep red borscht served with small dumplings floating on the surface.
Traditional Polish red borscht (barszcz czerwony) served with dumplings.
Burger with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a fried topping, served with thick-cut fries on a wooden board.
A hearty burger and golden fries served on a wooden platter at a traditional Polish restaurant.

Warsaw

6th August

After dropping the car off and getting to the airport, I decided to pay £30 for the airport lounge for 3 hours before the flight, which included food, drinks (non-alcoholic) and a nice quiet space, so what did I do. I got out my laptop and started playing FF14 on it.

Close-up selfie of a person wearing glasses and a straw hat, with backpack straps visible indoors beneath a grid-pattern ceiling.
Traveler in a straw hat and glasses posing for a selfie indoors.
Entrance to the Business Lounge at Kraków Airport, marked by a large illuminated sign above sliding glass doors.
The Business Lounge entrance at Kraków Airport offers a quiet space for travelers before departure.
Gaming laptop displaying Final Fantasy XIV, with a party of characters gathered in a futuristic dungeon environment.
Playing Final Fantasy XIV on a laptop while waiting at Kraków Airport.

The flight back to Frankfurt was delayed and was painful as that eventually only left me about 20-30 mins to race across the airport and catch my connecting flight, luckily, I made it with minutes to spare and so did my luggage as well.

As one adventure closes another one will eventually get planned, so until next time!!!!