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Tag: Warsaw

Warsaw – Warsaw Beer Festival (Funky Fluid 1/3)

As far as I’m concerned, Funky Fluid are the best brewer in Europe at the moment and thanks to them for giving me stickers so I can show that love. There are three parts to this Funky Fluid love as the beer festival is taking place over three days and I’ll be there every day at their stall.

This is actually day two, but I don’t think anyone will worry that I’ve posted the days the wrong way around. Just looking at these tempting options, let alone the 2024 Bourbon County Stout.

This is the Gelato XTREME : Tropical Shake from Funky Fluid, an 8% sour, and it’s made of 40% fruit which pushes beer to its absolute limits. It’s an 8% ABV and punchy in taste but not boozy, like an adult fruit juice. Innovative, packed with mango and verging on perfection once again.

This is the Gelato White Fluff from Funky Fluid and it’s deeply clever, a mixture of sweet and sour. There are tastes of marshmallows alongside peaches and pears. Smooth, decadent and innovative.

I love innovation in beers and Funky Fluid merrily push at this, in a similar way to how Vault City play about at the margins. All very lovely.

April 4, 2025
Warsaw – Warsaw Beer Festival (Miastolas Brewery)

This is a brewery that I haven’t come across before, but they had some interesting sounding beers so I thought that I’d get a flight to experience their offerings. The service at the bar was personable, engaging and I liked that they suggested an order to drink the beers in which I always think shows an attention to detail.

OK, from front left to front right, and then back left to back right.

(i) Tańczący Wilk – a clean and malty beer with a bitter ending. Not my favourite beer style, but decent.

(ii) Dobry Wiewiór – a very dry stout, roasty with chocolate notes.

(iii) Kot Browarny – a really decent DIPA, hazy, a little dank, tropical, stonefruit and very agreeable.

(iv) Pachnący Motyl – you have to like lavender to enjoy this, it’s effectively an IPA with a heap of lavender. Luckily, I liked it.

(v) Cherry Wild Ale – I love sours, but I can find wild ales a little bit too much sometimes. However, this one wasn’t overly sour and it had lingering flavours of cherries and it didn’t have a chemical edge.

(vi) Coconut and Vanilla Imperial Baltic Porter – this was very boozy, thick and rich. Lots of coconut and vanilla flavour, a big ABV (10.4%) and a very drinkable beer. Not perfectly smooth as it was so punchy, but I quickly forgave that.

All told, I was very impressed with this little selection, I’ll look out for the brewery in future

April 4, 2025
Warsaw – Warsaw Beer Festival (Goose Island)

I accept that I might need to get out more, but this is just magical, a combination of my two favourite breweries in the world, Funky Fluid and Goose Island. I’ve visited the Goose Island taproom in Chicago and there’s no shortage of posts on this blog about the outstanding Goose Island outlet in Shoreditch before it closed. One of their highlights, brewed in Chicago, is the annual Bourbon County Stout and I thought I’d be missing out as I hardly dare visit the US at the moment and there’s now no UK outlet of this marvellous beer. However, I was surprised and delighted to see that Funky Fluid have brought some of this excellent beer to Warsaw Beer Festival.

This is possibly the best beer in the world, or at least, it’s up there. It’s the 2024 edition of Bourbon County Stout and it weighs in at a mighty 14.7%. In terms of the taste, this is incredible, it’s smooth and hides its booziness with some ease. There’s the flavour from the Bourbon barrels and there’s chocolate, cherry, coffee, fudge and vanilla going on there, tastes almost competing with each other. The maturity of this beer is incredible and it has travelled well, but these rich and decadent stouts don’t struggle with that. Outstanding, it’s a glorious chaos of tastes, it’s rowdy and aggressive, but yet calm and settled.

It might be possible to read between the lines and note that I liked this.

April 4, 2025
Warsaw – Metro System (Visiting Every Station)
I obviously need a new project since I only have about 18 ongoing ones….. It’s not a great secret that I have a moderate obsession with trains, metros and trams, although coaches and buses usually annoy me, so I can be picky rather than randomly loving all forms of public transport. The evolution of metro systems also intrigues me, I’ve been on a couple of systems in China which were expanding at an insane rate, and on systems which don’t seem to be getting bigger any time soon.

The Warsaw Metro system (Metro Warszawskie) is the only rapid transit system in Poland and it’s of a manageable size as they only have two lines. After many failed starts to the project, the first section didn’t open until 1995 and a second line has since opened. The first line goes from north to south and is the M1 (the blue line) and the second line goes from east to west and is the M2 (the red line). They cross at just one place, Świętokrzyska, and there are plans to extend the lines and also to open new lines.

So my intention here is to cause mass excitement for my two loyal blog readers with no end of posts about the history of the network, but I’m also going to visit every metro station and try and find something interesting to write about all of them. To check this will sufficiently interest me, I’ve already visited eight of the metro stations and I haven’t lost engagement yet, so I think it’s safe to start posting this. I’m starting with the M2 line, but to get us going, here is a list of all of the stations. I’ll eventually hopefully link to all of them. And, yes, I should probably get out more if I think metro systems are this exciting, but there we go…. I’m not saying this will be fascinating, but it’ll keep me sort of quiet for a little while.

OK, given all of that, here is a list of the currently operational stations on the Warsaw Metro system, based on the network status since the last openings in September 2022, grouped by line:

M1 Line (North-South) – 21 stations
- A01 Kabaty
- A02 Natolin
- A03 Imielin
- A04 Stokłosy
- A05 Ursynów
- A06 Służew
- A07 Wilanowska
- A08 Wierzbno
- A09 Racławicka
- A10 Pole Mokotowskie
- A11 Politechnika
- A13 Centrum
- A14 Świętokrzyska
- A15 Ratusz Arsenał
- A17 Dworzec Gdański
- A18 Plac Wilsona
- A19 Marymont
- A20 Słodowiec
- A21 Stare Bielany
- A22 Wawrzyszew
- A23 Młociny
M2 Line (East-West) – 18 stations
- C04 Bemowo
- C05 Ulrychów
- C06 Księcia Janusza
- C07 Młynów
- C08 Płocka
- C09 Rondo Daszyńskiego
- C10 Rondo ONZ
- C11 Świętokrzyska
- C12 Nowy Świat-Uniwersytet
- C13 Centrum Nauki Kopernik
- C14 Stadion Narodowy
- C15 Dworzec Wileński
- C16 Szwedzka
- C17 Targówek Mieszkaniowy
- C18 Trocka
- C19 Zacisze
- C20 Kondratowicza
- C21 Bródno
April 4, 2025
Warsaw – Hopito Parkingowa

This is one of two Hopito outlets in Warsaw and this is their newer venue, which I usually always visit when I come to the city. The service is always personable and efficient, it’s a comfortable and on-trend atmosphere as well. The venue’s craft beer list is available at https://hopito.ontap.pl/. There are usually twenty-one taps available with a well curated range of beers, including sours, porters and some rarer beer styles. The team members are knowledgeable, keen to engage and willing to offer samples. I’m not entirely sure why it’s named as Parkingowa, but that’s the name they use on Untappd and so that’s what we’re using here, although I’m sure there are better things to name it than after car parking. It’s located on ul. Żurawia and it’s won numerous awards over the last couple of years.

I haven’t had a flight here before, but there were a number of tempting options (including from my favourite brewery, Funky Fluid) and so I couldn’t choose just one. The flight was branded with the Hopito logo, as were the individual glasses.

The beers, from left to right, are:

Gelato : Royal Orange from Funky Fluid and I wish that all orange juice tasted like this. It was a smooth beer with a suitable level of sourness, with flavours of mango and peach in addition to the orange.

Crisis Identity from Browar Monsters, like a sweet, malty chocolate delight, with a rather decent lingering flavour.

Born in the USA from Funky Fluid, clean, light and tropical. A credible beer, although I think that Funky Fluid’s strengths lie elsewhere.

Mochi Green – Kiwi, Banana & Mochi from Magic Road. A rather lovely pastry sour, with the kiwi and banana being evident and it’s a nice and smooth beer.

The Last Call from Harpagan, an oaty and roasty beer.

This was an interesting selection of beers, it’s always a delight to see what they have here.

This is the n’duja pizza and it’s the first time I can recall having burrata on a pizza and it was quite marvellous. The heat from the n’duja was in contrast to the creaminess of the burrata, with the base having a richness of flavour and suitable leopard spotting. The pizza is the equivalent of less than £10 and for the quality, I thought that was a bargain, even though it’s one of their most expensive options. Decadent and delicious, I might come back and have this pizza option again at some point later in the year. It would be hard to eat this without a knife and fork, it’s something of a creamy and saucy delight.

There’s quite an artistic feel to the interior and although it was quiet when I visited in the late afternoon, it gets busy in the evenings and on weekends. The toilets are a little challenging to get in given the arrangement of their beer barrels, but where there’s a will then there’s a way. The atmosphere is informal and relaxed, with customers needing to order their food and drink at the bar. The venue’s pizza oven is visible behind the bar to add to the authenticity of the whole arrangement.

The venue is centrally located and under 100 metres from one of my favourite hotels, the Novotel, although that’s been a little pricier than other options recently so I have stayed there for a couple of years. I will definitely be coming here again, it’s in my opinion one of the best craft beer bars in Warsaw with an excellent selection of craft beer and some delightful pizza.

April 1, 2025
Warsaw – Popeyes

I’d better add the caveat here that I’m aware that there are better restaurants available in Warsaw, and I’ve gone through probably hundreds of them over the last decade, but I was moderately surprised to see an outlet of Popeye’s opening in the Polish capital. They opened their first venue in Wrocław in July 2023, which is a reminder to myself that it’s years since I’ve been to that rather lovely city and I must go back. They now have around ten venues and are rolling out more across Poland at the moment, as part of an international expansion. I first tried Popeyes in New Orleans around a decade ago and have kept fond memories of it.

One of the reasons I found it handy to pop here was that I needed to charge my devices up and they have power points. Everything seemed clean and ordered, with team members visibly cleaning the venue on a regular basis.

I ordered via a kiosk, but you can order at the counter if preferred.

Served promptly and looking delicious, the chicken tenders in the bag were moist and tender. The chicken wings were cold so I took those back, but they politely immediately made me more without querying the matter, and they were much better, although not anything to write home about. I’m not sure that things are quite as smooth as in their UK and US outlets, but I suspect that they’ll give KFC something of a run for their money. The reviews are a little mixed here and there are a few people disappointed that they’ve made the menu a little Polish orientated rather than offering some of the US options such as shrimp.

Anyway, there’s some more food content as I’ve been writing too much about bridges.

January 26, 2025
Evening Meal in Warsaw, Breakfast in Rome and Lunch in Guildford (Wizz Air Multipass)

Firstly, I didn’t quite intend this odd way of getting back to the UK, but I had gone to Warsaw for a few days and needed to get back for something. I’ve been using my relatively new Wizz Air Multipass, which I’ll post an update about soon as I’m rather pleased with it, and the only way of getting back was via Rome.

So, I started yesterday evening from Warsaw’s central railway station.

There’s the flight at 20:40.

Always a delight to be in the Preludium lounge, which is the Schengen lounge so it’s one I’ve only been in a couple of times over the years (and I think one of those was because of Covid and they only opened a couple of the lounges). Thanks to Priority Pass for this.

Boarding.

I had been randomly given an aisle seat, but a cabin crew member came over to me and said they were looking for an English speaker to sit by the emergency exit door. It’s always odd this, a Hungarian airline flying from Poland to Italy, but I was an ideal choice I decided. I certainly had enough space and the flight was less than half full.

Safely into Rome and there was a little collection of artefacts to look at.

I was genuinely impressed at Rome Fiumicino airport, it’s been well designed, it’s spacious, modern and functional. I have been to Rome before, but this reminded me that I haven’t been in several years and I must go back.

I found a seating area and I thought it was interesting that the police checked the passports of most people in the seating area. The airport says that only those with tickets can stay overnight, so perhaps this is their way of checking someone isn’t there rather too frequently. The police were very polite and the time passed quickly.

I went through security at 03:00 and it remained quiet in the non-Schengen zone for some time after that.

A rhino.

There are a range of times for the Plaza Premium Lounge and most suggested that it opened at 05:00. I meandered nearby so I knew where to go, but it seemed open at 04:40 and I asked about the opening time and the friendly staff member said I could come in immediately. Thanks once again Priority Pass.

I didn’t have any of them, but the hot food options.

Just delightful. I’ll write a fuller report of this lounge, but this is very much the sort of breakfast I was hoping for.

And then pastries came out, and they were delicious.

And a double espresso to keep me awake. Rich and decadent. With several meringues (I kept getting more) to provide the sugar boost.

Second flight and I was fortunate to have an aisle seat again, with no-one in the middle seat.

Into Gatwick Airport.

A quick coffee stop in Redhill.

And then Wetherspoons in Guildford.

All really rather lovely, but longer reports to follow for my two loyal blog readers.

January 20, 2025
Wednesday : Warsaw to Heathrow T3 with Finn Air (via Helsinki)

Yet another breakfast photo, woooo….. I posted this one as there’s a bay leaf on it and I enjoy it when people complain at Chipotle because they think part of a tree has landed into their food. For anyone who wants to see irate people on Twitter, just Google “chipotle bay leaf”. Another cheap and cheerful breakfast, which was suitably filling. I’m not sure why they’re providing biscuits for breakfast, but I didn’t quibble with what I thought was an innovative idea.

I’ll miss Warsaw, but I’ve gone on about that before. Note how bloody hot it was. That made it easier for me to leave the city, so I could escape the rampantly high temperatures that I had endured.

My journey to the airport was far from ideal, I had intended to walk to Warszawa Powiśle railway station to get the train. Unfortunately, this ticket machine en route didn’t supply the ticket I wanted, entirely because the sun was so bright that I couldn’t see the screen properly. There’s no good comes from this extreme weather I’ll say, no good at all.

There’s the railway station I need, but I was on the hunt for a ticket machine. The railway station ticket machine wouldn’t sell me the ticket that I wanted and I couldn’t remember whether the train itself had a ticket machine on it as I always pre-purchase them to avoid any little issues with the guard.

I swore quietly at the situation, then decided to instead walk one stop along to Warszawa Śródmieście as there’s an S2 train to the airport around every thirty minutes. There’s the Palace of Science and Culture in the boiling hot temperature. I was pleased to note that a lot of Polish people seemed to be struggling with the heat. Although I mean that in the way that I’m pleased I wasn’t the only person who was uncomfortable, not that I was pleased Poles were struggling with something.

This wasn’t the train I needed, I just like taking photos of double-decker trains. I should probably get out more….

I was slightly annoyed generally that there were indeed ticket machines on the trains, as can be seen by everyone else buying their tickets on them. I’d mention I was more annoyed that I hadn’t just risked it, but I like to live in a low-risk public transport world.

And that was that, after 20 minutes I was at the railway station saying goodbye to Warsaw for the last time in what will likely be for some months. My journey today was to fly back to Heathrow, but due to problems with British Airways, they were flying me back via Helsinki. This isn’t ideal in many ways and is the second time that they’ve had to do this. One day the rail service will be fast and cheap enough to do this journey back to London without needing to fly, but we’re nowhere near there that stage yet.

That gave me time to visit the Preludium Executive Lounge in Warsaw Airport, again which I’ve written about before. As an aside, the security process was extremely efficient, once again in Warsaw I was through into the lounge area within ten minutes of disembarking the train. Polish efficiency that is.

It wasn’t particularly busy, so I sat near to the food (at the counter behind, not literally this near) with my laptop being productive.

The lounge has finally got rid of the pre-packaged food that it has for some time, replacing it with help yourself food items so that guests can make their own salads or whatever they’d like. There’s also hot food and most importantly, big tubs of chocolates. What a time to be alive….

Chicken wrap with olives, what more could anyone want from their brunch? I say brunch, it was still breakfast time, but I’d already had breakfast at the hotel and it’s bad luck to have two breakfasts.

One quick beer before leaving. I’m not sure I needed that, but it’s another one for Untappd.

The flight was already boarding when I got there. It’s rare that I cut things so fine, although I don’t want anyone thinking I had been unusually reckless, they were just boarding a little early.

Down the airbridge, this is Finn Air’s Embraer E190, registration OH-LKM, an aircraft they’ve operated since it was brought into service in 2008. For anyone wondering why there are so many photos on air bridges, it’s usually so I can get the aircraft registration number, such is the level of detail that I demand for my two readers.

This was a nearly full service, so no photos of the interior. I was pleased to get my free blueberry juice and the service was all efficient and felt a little more professional than my outbound flight. There was a bigger business class section than on the way out, they had the delights of a salad and bread for their morning meal.

A little cloudier than Warsaw, I enjoy knowing that I’m unlikely to get heatstroke in Helsinki. These short stops in Helsinki are slightly sad from the point of view that I’m not leaving the airport to see the actual city.

Back in the non-Schengen lounge at Helsinki Airport and the staff were as friendly as before, with everything being just as ordered and welcoming as I remembered. They have the same self-scanning desks to get into the lounge as their Schengen one elsewhere in the terminal, but they don’t seem to use them here.

The pods and I went to investigate the showers here for the first time. They’re all self-service, you just type in the keypad on the door and if they’ve been cleaned with more towels put in, then they’ll open. When leaving, press a button on the keypad and it alerts the staff that the shower needs cleaning and restocking.

This is much better than the food selection at the Finn Air Schengen lounge. I noted that they were unlikely to run out of plates as well.

Meatballs in pepper sauce and these were delicious. There was also a broad bean tikka masala, which sounded a bit too vegetable orientated in its design to me.

Self-pour beer, meatballs, rice and I even got some roasted vegetables for reasons I can’t remember. I probably got muddled up.

I hadn’t noticed this before, but the text of what they’re doing is readable by clicking on the image, effectively they want some rye spirit ready in 2023 to mark Finn Air reaching 100. A rather lovely idea and not long left now, they thought ahead by starting this process in 2017.

After a quick dessert and some more meatballs, back in the open space of the airport terminal. I wonder if this international terminal ever feels busy and cluttered, it’s hard to imagine that.

The flight was showing a slight delay, but nothing frightening.

Having this much space makes the whole boarding environment feel much more relaxed. Note power points everywhere, no-one is leaving Helsinki without their devices being fully charged.

The airbridge photo again. Finn Air have two separate parts of the waiting area in the gate, so priority passengers were able to board first. A couple of people, whether through accident or design, tried to board in a lane they shouldn’t have done, with the Finn Air staff politely sending them back to the end of the queue, thereby forcing a little walk of shame.

It’s Airbus A319, registration OH-LVL, which Finn Air have operated since new in 2004. I can also confirm that I didn’t overheat in Helsinki Airport.

I’d deliberately put myself on an aisle seat towards the back of the aircraft and this was another flight, with just about every seat taken. If a flight is looking busy, I’d rather just sit at the back and stay out of the way of people trying to navigate their way around the crew with their trolleys.

The drop-down screens showed a variety of television programming throughout the journey, including Tom & Jerry. This reminds me that British Airways has taken screens out of all of their short-haul aircraft, although I recall they only displayed the live map, never anything as exciting as Tom & Jerry cartoons.

I wasn’t tempted as I had just been in the lounge, although I did think from the photo how small the cheese platter was. They didn’t seem to sell much, a few items here and there, but in the main customers just requested the free water or blueberry juice.

And that leads me neatly into the now obligatory photo of blueberry juice.

Back into Heathrow T3, nearly every time I use a Travelator I remember Liam’s children being endlessly excited by this exciting “it’s like an escalator but flat” device. To be fair, they’re not wrong.

I had a fair amount of time at Heathrow Terminal 3, but more about overnight stay there in the next exciting post in this series.

July 3, 2022
Tuesday : Leaving Katowice for Warsaw

After a relaxing and productive week in Katowice, it was a late morning intercity train back to Warsaw, costing around £10. As a summary of Katowice, I’d merrily recommend it as a destination and the budget airlines service it well from many cities around Europe. A former manufacturing area, it’s modernising and has plenty now for tourists to do and plenty of craft beer options. Not that craft beer options are the be all and end all of choosing destinations, but it should obviously be a factor….

I’m always a little nervous when two trains are departing at the same time, but mine was the 10:53 to Gdynia. Not the 10:53 to Krakow.

The platforms haven’t been much modernised in terms of facilities, as I made reference to in another post. But, everything was clean and organised and there were sufficient benches available.

Then the excitement starts, the train is showing as being delayed in Austria, as it was coming from Vienna. Obviously, the Polish bit of the journey was all fine, but it turned in around twenty minutes late. It was also evidently going to be a busy train given the number of people waiting for the service.

I can confirm it’s a relief to me when a train turns up when the app I was using it said that it would. I always leave lots of spare time in any travelling schedule, as I like to worry about things and always assume they’ll happen (my friend Liam would knock out all those frivolous gaps if he was arranging my travel, but he isn’t so I needn’t concern myself about that). Although I did think that this delay would be eating into my drinking time.

The train came in back to front, so I was standing at the wrong end of the platform. I muttered silently and traipsed to the other end of the platform and after getting to my carriage I was asked by a young Polish women to help her with getting her luggage on the train. The damn bag must have weighed about 30kgs, but I had to pretend that it was easy for me to manage lugging up the steps onto the train. The older Polish intercity trains aren’t very good for those with disabilities (although I think there are alternatives) and not are they easy to lift bloody heavy luggage up to. It was quite busy, and my reserved table seat had three of us, so this photo is after they left at the stop before me in Warsaw. The train made up the lost time, the guard was helpful and the power worked, all rather lovely.

A photo of the railway civil engineering project that is taking place just outside of Warsaw, I have to keep my content exciting for my friend Liam.

The whole of Warsaw to choose from, but of course, I had to go back to Hoppiness. This is the delectable Gelato : Orange Creamsicle from Funky Fluid, an ice cream sour packed with oranges from Portugal. I suspect this must have counted for three of my five a day, with the burger being as delicious as ever and there’s a tomato and lettuce in it, so that’s the other two of my five a day. I was careful not to impale any part of myself on the stick coming out of the burger.

I might have taken a photo of this before (I forget….) but it’s a pedestrian crossing which comes from all angles. Cars are very good at stopping for pedestrians at this junction, and indeed across Poland, but it’s an odd arrangement. The white hatching in the centre is part of the pedestrian crossing and it cuts across to all three pavements.

I always like looking at the Pomnik Chwała Saperom, or Glory to Sappers Memorial. It’s visible at the far end of this park, Park Sapera, which is currently being renovated and improved. Everything in Warsaw seems to have been either recently improved or redeveloped, part of why I very much like this city. Things seem to work and are constantly getting better in the city, which isn’t the case in other places that I’ve visited.

A monument in the park which I haven’t noticed before (I mean I haven’t noticed the monument, not the entire park), although there are literally thousands of memorials, tablets and plaques to the bravery of Poles in the Second World War, so I imagine I’ll still be noticing new ones for many years to come. This one is dedicated to the “Kryska” Home Army Grouping, although that included men from other European countries, who died during the Warsaw Uprising.

The Glory to Sappers Memorial I’ve written about before.

But this is the first time I’ve noticed there’s a list of names to the side of the memorial. Another list of the brave men who died in World War Two, so much of a generation wiped out by the hatred of a few national leaders who caused the conflict. These lists will be in Ukrainian cities in a few years, marking the bravery of those who lost their lives fighting for their nation and the right to be free.

And back again to the Ibis Budget in Warsaw for my final night in the city, probably for some months. I’ve written about this hotel before, so won’t bore my limited readership with further irrelevant prose…

I love the view over the Vistula and there’s the national stadium visible on the other side of the river. Very peaceful.

July 2, 2022
Monday : Siedlce to Mokotów Holiday Inn Express via Warsaw Bars

Continuing this story of a soggy Siedlce railway station…. The railway station was constructed in 1866 and, to be honest, it probably needs a bit of modernisation in the way that similar locations are being transformed across Poland. The original buildings were burnt down before the Second World, replaced with rather functional post-war structures and then modernised a bit for when the Pope visited. Handy arrangement that, get a new railway station by the Pope visiting, perhaps he could pop to a few places in the UK that I think need one.

Same sort of train as I got to get to Siedlce, operated by Koleje Mazowieckie. On time again, very reliable.

And not at all busy. Spotlessly clean again.

Back into Warsaw Śródmieście railway station, which always feels Russian to me.

I mentioned in a previous post that there’s only one track here and the railway carriages can be accessed from either side, it’s a bit more obvious in this photo.

I hadn’t been to Hoppiness in Warsaw on this trip, so I treated myself to a decadent and suitably rich beer, the Fruit Machine from Browar Monsters, including passion fruit, white guava, pineapple and vanilla. Very healthy and nutritious.

I couldn’t resist a little trip to Cukiernia Sowa either, one of my favourite Polish chains that I frequently mentioned. I can’t claim great entertainment of new places to write about here, since this is another repeat visit, but quality deserves checking on again and again.

The Siedlce rain reached Warsaw and so I panicked and rushed into a pub for safety. I sat with this beer in PINTA for over an hour, not because it was annoying me somehow, but because it was so rich that it deserved to be savoured slowly. Oh, and it was still raining outside, so I wasn’t going anywhere. And what a beautiful beer, another from PINTA themselves, as this is their taproom, and I had several in this range of imperial stouts at the Warsaw Beer Festival a few months back. This beer was no less delightful, being smooth, rich, velvety, coconuty and a perfect drink for when it’s wet outside. Or indeed when it’s dry outside. That reminds me, I must go back to the Warsaw Beer Festival next year.

There’s the outside of PINTA when it’s not pouring down with rain.

Another tram journey as I was heading towards a hotel I had never stayed in before, the Mokotów Holiday Inn Express.

I may have mentioned before, indeed on several occasions, that I’d like to see more tram services in the UK. They’re much better than buses, they’re easier to board and usually quicker.

I popped to Lidl for two things and they have self-service checkouts, which I’m not sure whether or not is a thing in the UK ones. Anyway, I was third in the queue, and the woman in front of me said to go ahead of her as she had about fifteen things, then so did the woman in front and then the woman in front of her, so I didn’t have to wait very long. I kept trying to say no, as I wasn’t in a rush and hate queue jumping, but I admire the Polish style about these things. It’s a warm feeling about humanity in general. Anyway, there’s a nice bridge to cross the road with.

And the view from above the road, with the tram lines sweeping through. A thoroughly modern city, but I’ve mentioned that about Warsaw before.

My abode for the night, the Holiday Inn Express.

This is one of the best rooms I’ve had in a Holiday Inn Express, not least because the air conditioning worked and the windows opened. It was rather lovely listening to trams clanking on by, I like that sort of street noise, but I could have shut the windows if I didn’t want to hear it. The room was clean, the staff member at reception was friendly, I very much liked the whole arrangement. Unlike the UK, where the night-time street sounds are added to by about 15 groups of drunk groups shouting and smashing things, Poland doesn’t have anywhere near the same problem.

Looking back the other way, I quite like that desk arrangement, it’s a well thought out room, I’d happily stay here again. It was good to be back in Warsaw for one night, but I don’t think anyone who reads this blog would have expected me to write anything different. There was a new week ahead and I was on the move to Katowice.

June 28, 2022