BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE AND CHEAP FOOD: Chasing gnomes in Wroclaw

May 25, 2019May 11, 2019 / The practical explorer / 6 Comments

Wroclaw is a small but beautiful city in Poland. The old town centre is picturesque, and you can spend a few hours wandering around and spotting the hundreds of bronze gnome statues scattered all over the town.

There are plenty of things to do, including many cool restaurants and bars, so it’s a good option for a long weekend.

To the north of the old town there are a few islands in the river Oder where you can visit local churches and museums or walk by the scenic promenade.

Szczytnicki Park is a large park with some famous local attractions. It is a bit far from the city centre but the walk there is interesting.
Central Market: a large market with a good selection of fruit and veg and other local produce.
Transport: it is easy to walk everywhere on foot, but the city is covered by a good network of trams which are very convenient. You can buy tickets on board with a debit or credit card. Tickets for 3.40zl.

As ever, we also checked out many vegan places:

Vega: a vegan restaurant at the heart of Market Square serving a great selection of Polish dishes. The pierogi were great! Lunch for two including drinks for 47zl.
Mihiderka: a place with several locations across Poland serving delicious burgers and many other vegan dishes. Lunch for two including drinks and tip for 68zl.
Krowarzywa: a cool vegan burger place serving lots of delicious combos. Lunch for two including drinks for 70zl.
Ahimsa: a Middle Eastern and Asian vegan restaurant with a good varied selection. Dinner for two for 68zl.
4Hops: a bike-themed craft beer bar with a large selection of beers on tap. A pint for 12-17zl.

RELAXING IN KRAKOW: Narrow streets and cool bars

September 4, 2015August 31, 2015 / The practical explorer / Leave a comment

krakow09

Krakow is perfect for a relaxing break. The city centre is relatively small, so you can see loads just by wandering around.

krakow06

DAY 1

We started our first day in Krakow visiting the Barbican and the city walls, located at the entrance of the Old Town.

krakow10

It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for walking around. The Old Town of Krakow has a great Market Square (the largest medieval market square of Europe), with lots of shops and cafes.

krakow16

krakow13

krakow08

We stopped for lunch at Green Day – yes, they have a veggie restaurant called Green Day!! A meal for two and drink cost £5.50.

krakow12

We continued along the narrow streets all the way to Wawel Castle – but we saved that for the next day.

Not far from the Old Town we stumbled upon Frania Cafe, a bar which is also a launderette and it was pretty cool.

krakow05

Heading back to the Old Town we found a few more nice bars, so we stopped for a beer at the Beer Gallery, a Belgian bar near the market square.

krakow15

DAY 2

One of the best things in Krakow is that there is a park which goes all around the city walls. This is a great place for a walk, so on our second day in the city we made our way through the park to get to Castle Hill.

krakow17

This is a great place to visit – you can see the many areas of Wawel Castle, visit the Cathedral and you also get great views over the river.

krakow20

krakow30

krakow33

krakow31

After leaving the castle, we went to the Jewish Quarter, an amazing neighbourhood full of history which is now home to lots of cool shops are cafes.

krakow02

Wolnica Square is the perfect place for a little break, so we stopped for lunch at Cafe Mlynek.

krakow01

We found lots of cool independent shops in Jozefa Street. The Jewish Quarter is also great for drinks, so we stopped at Bill Hickman (amazing décor), Propaganda (perfect soundtrack) and Strefa Piwa (they have the best beer map painted on the wall) – all really great places.

krakow35

This was the end of our Poland adventure! Check out this post for tips on how to organise your trip.

krakow34

krakow03

krakow32

krakow19

krakow18

krakow14

krakow11

krakow07

krakow04

A SUNNY DAY IN WARSAW: Cold beer and vegan food

August 30, 2015August 30, 2015 / The practical explorer / 2 Comments

warsaw08

Warsaw was great – I didn’t really know what to expect, but it’s a beautiful city with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of cool places for eating and drinking. What else do you need?

warsaw15

We started our day in Warsaw at the Science and Culture Palace, which hosts lots of museums and other cultural hubs. You can go up this impressive building to get nice views over the city (tickets at 20 zloti per person).

warsaw14

warsaw04

warsaw03

After taking in the view, we started walking towards the Old Town. We stopped for a quick drink at Aioli, a nice place for a cocktail on a sunny day (drinks looked amazing but were a bit watery). We then made our way to Novy Swiat (the Royal Way), a busy thoroughfare full of bars and restaurants.

warsaw01

For lunch we stopped at Vege Bistro, a little vegan cafe that served delicious pirogi (traditional Polish dumplings). A meal for two cost 53 zloti (around £9).

The Royal Way leads to the Old Town, which was completely rebuilt after the second World War – about 85% of Warsaw was destroyed then. This is a beautiful area to wander around for a few hours, stopping to lounge in the sun at one of the many cafes.

warsaw19

warsaw18

warsaw17

warsaw16

We found a great Belgian bar just off the Old Town. The Elephant Pub has a great selection of Belgian beers and is very nicely decorated. Perfect to recharge for a little bit.

warsaw05

Our last stop of the day was Poznanska Street, which is full of cool bars and restaurants. We had pizzas at Vegan Pizza before heading back to the hotel.

What a nice day!

HOW TO DO IT:

warsaw12

Go: We flew Wizzair, as they tend to have the cheapest options for Eastern Europe. The flight takes around 2h so it’s easy to go after work.
Money: Poland is really cheap. A beer costs less than £2, and you get a meal for about £5. Things are really good quality, so it’s the perfect place to indulge.
Stay: We stay at Mercure Grand Warsawa which was by far the best Mercure I’ve ever stayed at. We only paid £35 per night – bargain!
Food: Polish food is not traditionally veggie, but there are lots of veggie places around. We took recommendations from Happy Cow and were really spoilt for choice.
Train to Krakow: We took the express train to Krakow, which takes about 2h30. Tickets cots £7, and that even includes a free beverage! (shame on you, National Rail!) The train was great and the trip very enjoyable. You can spend the time gazing at the countryside outside or having a cold beer at the bar.