This is the site in the centre of Warsaw, at Piłsudski Square, where Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on his first Papal pilgrimage to Poland. The Pope was instrumental in the transition of Poland from a communist influenced country to a fully fledged democracy. It was when the Pope said:
“I cry out from the depths of this millennium – let your Spirit descend and renew the face of the earth. The face of this land.”
Located near to the Chopin Museum, this is a literary cafe and that’s something which I don’t think should be readily ignored….
Books, which can be purchased either individually or by paying 10zl (around £2) per kilo.
The cafe’s interior, all clean and comfortable.
The coffee was well presented and had a richness of taste to it. There’s not table service here, or at least I ordered at the counter, with the staff members being helpful and friendly. As per usual, I ordered in Polish and the staff member replied in English with the price, so my accent is obviously coming along beautifully.
Raisins? The little gingerbread figure was an agreeable touch.
Anyway, very lovely and reasonably priced. There’s also a nice lawned area to the side of the cafe, ideal for sitting outside during the warmer months of the year.
I like when cities do this, putting old photographs or paintings in locations which show what the area once looked like. This is Krakowskie Przedmieście, part of the Royal Route in Warsaw, with this artwork painted by Canaletto (not the famous one, but his relative also known as Bernardo Bellotto). Many of the buildings have been reconstructed due to damage during the Second World War, but not much has really changed in terms of the overall layout of the area.
This is puzzling, Warsaw had a Brewdog, but it was open for just under one year. I can’t work out why they shut it, whether it was a lack of trade or there was a problem with the building. It must have been an expensive exercise to open the bar for just one year and I’m a little surprised that there wasn’t the trade for it. There was a lot of press attention when they opened, but very little coverage of the closure. It also means that there are no Brewdog outlets at all in Poland, surprising given that some neighbouring countries have them…..
Located by the Royal Castle are two segments of former pieces of Sigismund’s Column, with the more modern replacement today being one of Warsaw’s landmarks.
This is the current Sigismund’s Column, which was first constructed in 1644, with this one being completed in 1949.
There are two pieces of column, this section stood between 1644 and 1887 when it was replaced by new granite.
The end of the 1644 to 1887 column.
This section (which is also the section in the main photo) dates from 1887 and it stood until 1944, when the Germans blew up the column and destroyed it. I’m pleased that these sections survive, they tell a story of their own about the history of the column and give it extra resonance.
Christmas may be over, which is good for me as a tourist as the city of Warsaw isn’t packed, but the Christmas tree at plac Zamkowy (Castle Square) is still there.
There has been a church on this site since the fourteenth century, although the first building was destroyed in 1655 during the Swedish Wars. The current building dates from 1707 and like the nearby St. Hyacinth’s Church, it had to be repaired after Napoleon’s troops used it as a garrison. Again, like the neighbouring church, it was mostly destroyed during the Second World War.
The nave of the church, which reopened in 1956 following repairs which restored it to its pre-war look.
There was the sound of running water, which in UK churches is normally because some wit has stolen the lead from the roof, potentially destroying centuries of heritage and history. Anyway, here the matter was much more positive, it was a water feature for the church’s crib scene.
And a camel.
Another quiet church, although I’m sure it gets a lot of visitors in the summer, with a measured Baroque style.
This Dominican church was constructed in the early seventeenth century and Father Abraham Bzowski arrived here in 1603 with eleven holy brothers. The church was though mostly destroyed during the Swedish War in 1655 and then rebuilt in the early 1660s. There was a reconstruction needed after Napoleon’s soldiers used it as a garrison and the frontage was also redesigned in the 1820s to put a new facade and row of shops in front of the church.
During the Second World War, the church was used as a hospital for insurgents and was badly damaged by the occupying Germans, with over 1,000 people dying here. Some guides mention that some of the bodies of those killed in the vaults of the church couldn’t be removed at the time, so remain there at rest.
The church was restored between 1947 and 1959, but the facade wasn’t put back and so the entrance is set back from the road again.
The nave of the church, which is all relatively plain, perhaps inevitable given the historic damage which has been done to the building over the centuries.
A partially damaged tomb, with the tomb on the left of the above photo being the one below, showing the damage done to the church.
Despite the location in the heart of Warsaw and its somewhat turbulent history, this church was today quiet and peaceful and retained a sense of serenity.
And for an afternoon coffee, I stopped at this cafe, which means “I like it” in English. It looked well reviewed, although I only realised later that it’s one of the best rated cafes in the city. It’s a relatively small cafe with a downstairs which has three tables and a handful more tables are located upstairs. There’s a quite heavy door to open to get into the building, with a curtain behind it to keep in the warmth, which adds something to the historic charm (the door I mean, not the curtain which doesn’t have much history to it).
One thing I’m often confused about is whether a cafe offers table service or whether I’m meant to order at the counter. However, it’s all clear here, there’s a sign explaining that it’s table service, with the staff member having a big smile and seeming friendly. As usual, there was perfect English spoken.
These looked rather lovely and the cafe also sells food such as salads and breakfasts.
The chocolate and hazelnut cookie was indeed lovely, with the latte having a pleasant flavour and being at the drinkable temperature that I like. The prices were reasonable, about £3 for a coffee and cookie, with the environment being clean and comfortable.
There’s not much negative at all about the restaurant on TripAdvisor, just two 1 star reviews in the best part of ten years, which is quite an undertaking. The downside of that is there aren’t any TripAdvisor reviews to amuse me, so it seems this is just a reliably consistent cafe, a quite charming little place. Although it’s not the most spacious of cafes, this situation improves during the summer months when the outside seating can be used.
This old town restaurant specialises in craft beer and food, but it was the former which was the reason for my visit. The restaurant is very well reviewed for its beer, a little less so for its food, although it appears to be a location growing in popularity.
There was a friendly welcome from a staff member who showed me where the bar area was, with the barman being keen to engage about the beer options.
A particularly well presented board displaying all of the beers in a clear manner, a nice touch.
My first drink was the milk stout Sweet Sixteen, which is from the local Maryensztadt Brewery in Warsaw. There was a touch of coffee to the beer, but I thought it was served too cold and that hid a lot of the flavour. Fine, but unexceptional.
So, moving onto the second drink, which I was tempted into after I was offered a sample. It’s the Gwiazda Północy, from the same brewery, but this was quite brilliant. Strong, but not too heavy, with a rich smoky flavour that almost tasted like it had a touch of whisky for some reason that isn’t apparent to me, but perhaps it’s something to do with the barrel. Unless I’m confusing the smoked flavour for whisky somehow, but the aftertaste of the beer was quite decadent (to misquote Jay from the Inbetweeners). A delightful drink, although I had asked for a small rather than large beer, but I was pleased they gave me the latter. Whether it was creative upselling or they knew I’d like it, I was pleased to have this much of it.
It’s perhaps not surprising that the restaurant was otherwise empty on a weekday lunch-time in January, but the atmosphere was comfortable even though I was pretty much the only customer. The prices were towards the higher end of the scale, but given the location and the quality of the beer, they weren’t unreasonable.
