31. Warsaw Part 3

The next morning, we had a leisurely breakfast in the apartment while we planned our Saturday activities. We had one of the nicest yoghurts ever, bought in the local Żabka supermarket. 

Having been on our feet for six hours the day before, with the guided tour and the Pretenders gig, we felt like we needed a much more relaxed day today. 

We used our 72-hour Jackdojade tickets to travel into Centrum by bus (great value at just over €8).

The clear blue skies were a great backdrop to Warsaw's biggest tourist attraction, the Soviet-built Palace of Culture and Science that still dominates the city centre skyline. 

We hit the shops in the city centre for a few hours until we decided we were hungry enough for lunch. 

We decided to try out one of the sandwich shop suggestions the tour guide had listed on her very informative map. As usual the portions in Poland were huge and we brought the leftovers back to the apartment. 

We got the metro back instead of the bus and it was clean, efficient and modern.

We headed out for a walk and dinner in the early evening. Once again, the tour guide's map provided the inspiration for our restaurant choice. 

We walked just 10 minutes to Goṣciniec restaurant. We ordered a shared starter of eight fried pierogi, where we were able to choose our own mixed selection.  For main course, Tricia had a breaded pork escalope, served with potatoes and cucumber with dill, while I had chicken and spiced vegetable pancakes.

Afterwards we went for a stroll along Nowy Świat, filled with restaurants and bars, where there was a buzzing Saturday evening atmosphere. It was hard to believe that the buildings were all modern reconstructions.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast in the apartment, packed our bags, cleaned the place up as per the usual HomeExchange agreement and headed to Warsaw's biggest tourist attraction, The Palace of Culture and Science. 

It was opened in 1955 as a gift to Poland from the Soviet Union, after a build which only lasted three years, which is remarkable given the quality of the finish inside, with extensive marble surfaces. 

It contains theatres, cinemas, concert halls, exhibition halls and most popular of all, a 360⁰ wraparound viewing terrace on the 30th floor with superb views across Warsaw. 

The four photos below show the views from each of the four sides, with Polish architect Daniel Libeskind's award-winning curved apartment block, measuring 192m in the first photo. 

A really good value and very tasty lunch followed in a self-service restaurant on the 6th floor. The restaurant wasn't really advertised and we just came across it. There didn't seem to be any other tourists dining in it. Another very filling, tasty and superb value meal.

And that was it .... Tricia was heading home on a late night Ryanair flight, while I was getting a FlixBus to Kaunas. We were both departing from Warsaw West Bus Station, within 30 mins of one another in late afternoon. 

We loved the weekend in Warsaw. It was so good to have Tricia there, having spent my first 10 days travelling on my own. 

What amazed us about Warsaw are the huge attempts being made to recreate the city centre in a traditional style, with full streets looking like they have always been there. 

The new financial centre with its skyscrapers shows what an economic powerhouse Warsaw is becoming. We saw practically no homelessness, begging or litter, but that has essentially been the case in every Polish city I have visited. 

The number of designer outlets and luxurious brands all across the city show that there are certainly plenty of people with money about the place.

Warsaw shows all the signs of a city that is slowly shaking off its Soviet past and is embracing its life in the EU.