In Warsaw we had found this really cool looking place called Design hostel loft 22 which has repurposed an old factory in the Praga area and turned it into really unique, beautiful rooms/apartments. It did not disappoint on this front with it being very stylish and fun to be in. It did make it a bit of a confusing place thoughh as there were more photographers renting out rooms for a shoot than actual guests. The stylish designed bar area was also the shared kitchen, which meant you didn’t really feel you could use it and it definitely didn’t feel like a hostel. Still very interesting place to stay for a short time though.
Praga used to be considered a very rundown place, definitely not tourist-friendly. However recent years have seen an influx of students and creatives moving into the area and it is now a really upcoming and interesting area. This did also mean the place we were staying though was in a courtyard with 3 clubs/bars- which looked great but not within our budget or want after the last few days. As it was a Saturday we asked for a quieter room, not on the courtyard, and we were treated to one of the bigger apartment lofts overlooking the park for one night. Full Brooklyn loft vibes with big windows, wooden floors, exposed bricks and even a bathtub in the middle of the room- which we fully made use of that evening.
After freshening ourselves up we headed out into the late afternoon sunshine to explore Praga side of Warsaw. We headed past the green Praga park full of trees and Warsaw zoo to walk along the sandy paths of the riverfront. From this side of the river there were great views of the main Warsaw skyline- full of modern skyscrapers and old royal palaces. We wandered along- weaving in and out onto the paths along the river covered by trees- every now and again small sandy paths leading out to small beachy areas or stoney outcrops from which lots of small groups had made their base for watching sunset. The area was full of life with people enjoying the paths for exercising or having some beers whilst watching the sunset. It is somewhere that would be ‘the place to be’ in summertime and we did even see a beach bar that gave us full Gili T/Bali vibes. We wandered under many of the city bridges, seeing the many trams and trains head over into the city. It was enjoyable just watching the sun setting, before heading back to the hostel via a supermarket to get a quick pot noodle dinner to make up for having several meals out recently. In the evening we made use of having a bath in our room before eating dinner and having a drink in the hostel bar and playing hive for a while.
The following morning we had to wait to move rooms to the original one we booked so headed out to lidl so we could buy some baked goods and juice to have back at the hostel for breakfast to keep costs down. The room we booked was still really nice, and if anything more practical than the first apartment. Once we had moved all our stuff over we headed out across the bridge to explore the Old Town of Warsaw. We wandered past the palace, a lot of different churches and lovely old buildings and into the main square. There were tourists shops here but it didn’t feel overwhelming and the square was beautiful with painted houses, and traditional music being played. We ventured around the old town walls and then along the ‘royal route’. There were hundreds of police about and as we had to go through a full police bag check to enter part of the royal route- we believe a parliamentary building, where a stage had been set up and speeches were being held.
Along the route we stopped at Specialy regionale- a restaurant serving tradtional polish food. Originally we were going to try duck pierogis there but they ended up being the same prices as meals so we ended up having meals- Dave trying a different version of Bigos (sauerkreut meat stew) and me have a large schintzel with fried cabbage and boiled potatoes. All delicious and the restaurant itself was very busy but quaint with traditional polish artwork on the walls.
Following lunch we turned off the royal route and headed to the palace of science and culture where we bought tickets for the observation deck (20zl each). After being whizzed up to the 30th floor in 6 seconds via elevator we were provided with 360 views of the city, where you could see the scale and varying skyline of Warsaw. Definitely worth if for the small amount of money. Full and exhausted at this point we opted for once to get the metro back over to the Praga area- for 3zl we got a 20 minute ticket and were able to get over there in 5 minutes, instead of another hour of walking. Sometimes paying is worth it! This meant instead that we could take a gentle wander around Zabowska street- the main area for restaurants/bars in Praga and to the koroner? area- which is a new complex of shops, bars and restaurants with a very london vibe. In the evening we made the most of the comfortable sofa in our room to chill out, get ready for moving to Torun the next day and had another cheap pot dinner.
Thanks
Alex
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