On 16th June we flew our to Warsaw for the weekend. The primary reason for choosing to visit Warsaw was the Coldplay concert. After failing to get tickets for the Dublin show, I looked at other cities and ended up getting flights, accommodation and tickets for half the price it would've cost to go to Dublin! Thank-you Expedia!
We arrived late on the night into Modlin airport which is slightly outside of the city, it took around an hour to get to our hotel, the Marriott. The hotel was very nice and we were on a high floor with great views over the city. We quickly grabbed a McDonalds as it was the only place open so late before going to bed.
Our first full day started with a tram ride to the Old Town. Breakfast was at a small café and consisted of eggs on toast with some of the best tomatoes I've ever tasted. A short stroll around the Old town which was almost fully destroyed by bombing during World War II. St Anne's Church is located on Castle Square and has an impressive interior. There was a service just ending so we managed to duck in for a quick glimpse of the church. We then joined a free walking tour around the historic centre. As the tour was free there was around 50 people who turned up so we were split into two groups with two local guides. She told us about the history of the Old Town and took us through back streets with dainty pastel coloured houses. One of the main sights of the Old Town is the market square. There was a hive of people here mainly being other tour groups. Again most of the area was destro
yed in the war so the buildings you see today were re-built in the late 40s to early 50s. It is a pretty square nonetheless, again with decorated colours facades. The tour then took us through the Warsaw Barbican which used to be the walls around the city. The guide then told us about a Polish restaurant called a Milk Bar. These are cheap cafe's that sell traditional food for a low cost and some of them have a sort of vintage theme. Further on through the streets we passed another two churches and many restaurants. We were then at the Warsaw Uprising memorial, a huge sculpture dedicated to those who lost their lives in the event. At the end of the tour we tipped the guide and she pointed us in the direction of a great place to eat lunch. Would thoroughly recommend 'Free walking tours' they have several different tours in several parts of the city. We arrived at the café, famous for its pierogi, a Polish dumpling. The place (called Gosciniec restaurant) was packed and we were lucky to get the last table, after which there was a queue of people waiting to get in. It was cosy and the servers were dressed in traditionally patterned outfits. We ordered a 
variety of Pierogi with meat, potato, cheese, onions and bacon accompanied by of course sour cream. It was reasonably priced and the food was great. It had a good atmosphere and seemed popular with locals and tourists. After our lunch we re-traced the steps of our tour so we could see things that we hadn't had much time to take in. A quick ice-cream and we continued our walk. We decided to go into the Royal Palace and have a look around its many rooms. The Palace was home to some monarchs over the years. There are many chambers, halls and rooms open to experience. There are also several pieces of artworks and paintings
including work by Rembrandt and Canaletto. The interior was grand with lots of gold work, marble, chandelier's and frescos. Upon leaving the palace we left the old town and walked down the Krakowskie Przedmieście, one of the city's main streets. There are many historical buildings on this road as well as modern day shops, bars and restaurants. We popped quickly into the Holy Cross Church where the heart of Chopin is kept. A short trip back to the hotel to shower and change then we went out for dinner. The Hard Rock Café was just across from our hotel located in a shopping mall. The food was reasonably priced as Hard Rock Cafe's prices are adjusted to the country they are in. However the shop was more expensive than others I've been to? Strange. The meal was good as was the service. We then had a wander around the mall before it closed for the night, then returned to the hotel as we were up early the following morning.
Our guide for the day picked us up at our hotel and drove us to Lazienki Park. It is a massive public park with several buildings and points of interest. She first showed us a large monument of Chopin
where on certain days there are open-air piano concerts held. The park was very scenic, peaceful and
had peacocks strutting around. One of the most prominent features of the park was the Laznienki Palace or Palace on the Isle as it is also known. We didn't have a chance to look inside but the view of the façade from one of the bridges is beautiful. Our next stop was a short drive away to the Wilanow Palace supposedly the Versailles of Poland. It was certainly very impressive both inside and out. The Polish sun certainly helped, shining on the palace's bright yellow exterior. Unlike most of Warsaw, this palace actually survived bot
h World wars. Like the other palaces we had visited the interior was also very gold and grand with lots of marble. There are lots and lots of rooms you can look through in the palace with many frescos, artwork and antiques throughout. Well-known artists such as Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Raphael have artwork displayed in the palace. Although I enjoyed the visit, I did feel like we were slightly rushed by our guide and I would say its easy enough to do alone. We were allowed time to walk through the gardens which were also very nice with plenty of flowers and statues. Our last stop on our tour with our guide was POLIN ( history of the Polish Jews museum) where she explained a little bit of the backstory of Jews in Warsaw. The museum lies where the city's ghetto was once located. There was a really interesting exhibition of photos and stories from Jews outside the museum which I spent time reading. The actual museum building was also different from architecture perspective with a glass exterior and an entrance which has been compared to the parting of the red sea. Once our guide had dropped us back off at our hotel, we walked over to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. One plate of katsu curry later and we went to look at The Palace of Culture and Science. I was fascinated by the building due to having previously visited Moscow and the similarities of this structure to many over there. This building is often called the Eighth Sister as was built in the same Soviet style to the other 'Seven sisters' in Moscow.
We had a lie-in after a late night before checking out of the hotel and having breakfast at the Hard Rock Café. It was only £3 each for breakfast and a hot drink!! We then caught the tram back to the Old Town to do a bit of souvenir shopping. We walked through the streets again for the final time before catching our flight later that afternoon.
We arrived late on the night into Modlin airport which is slightly outside of the city, it took around an hour to get to our hotel, the Marriott. The hotel was very nice and we were on a high floor with great views over the city. We quickly grabbed a McDonalds as it was the only place open so late before going to bed.
Our first full day started with a tram ride to the Old Town. Breakfast was at a small café and consisted of eggs on toast with some of the best tomatoes I've ever tasted. A short stroll around the Old town which was almost fully destroyed by bombing during World War II. St Anne's Church is located on Castle Square and has an impressive interior. There was a service just ending so we managed to duck in for a quick glimpse of the church. We then joined a free walking tour around the historic centre. As the tour was free there was around 50 people who turned up so we were split into two groups with two local guides. She told us about the history of the Old Town and took us through back streets with dainty pastel coloured houses. One of the main sights of the Old Town is the market square. There was a hive of people here mainly being other tour groups. Again most of the area was destro
yed in the war so the buildings you see today were re-built in the late 40s to early 50s. It is a pretty square nonetheless, again with decorated colours facades. The tour then took us through the Warsaw Barbican which used to be the walls around the city. The guide then told us about a Polish restaurant called a Milk Bar. These are cheap cafe's that sell traditional food for a low cost and some of them have a sort of vintage theme. Further on through the streets we passed another two churches and many restaurants. We were then at the Warsaw Uprising memorial, a huge sculpture dedicated to those who lost their lives in the event. At the end of the tour we tipped the guide and she pointed us in the direction of a great place to eat lunch. Would thoroughly recommend 'Free walking tours' they have several different tours in several parts of the city. We arrived at the café, famous for its pierogi, a Polish dumpling. The place (called Gosciniec restaurant) was packed and we were lucky to get the last table, after which there was a queue of people waiting to get in. It was cosy and the servers were dressed in traditionally patterned outfits. We ordered a 
variety of Pierogi with meat, potato, cheese, onions and bacon accompanied by of course sour cream. It was reasonably priced and the food was great. It had a good atmosphere and seemed popular with locals and tourists. After our lunch we re-traced the steps of our tour so we could see things that we hadn't had much time to take in. A quick ice-cream and we continued our walk. We decided to go into the Royal Palace and have a look around its many rooms. The Palace was home to some monarchs over the years. There are many chambers, halls and rooms open to experience. There are also several pieces of artworks and paintings 
including work by Rembrandt and Canaletto. The interior was grand with lots of gold work, marble, chandelier's and frescos. Upon leaving the palace we left the old town and walked down the Krakowskie Przedmieście, one of the city's main streets. There are many historical buildings on this road as well as modern day shops, bars and restaurants. We popped quickly into the Holy Cross Church where the heart of Chopin is kept. A short trip back to the hotel to shower and change then we went out for dinner. The Hard Rock Café was just across from our hotel located in a shopping mall. The food was reasonably priced as Hard Rock Cafe's prices are adjusted to the country they are in. However the shop was more expensive than others I've been to? Strange. The meal was good as was the service. We then had a wander around the mall before it closed for the night, then returned to the hotel as we were up early the following morning.Our guide for the day picked us up at our hotel and drove us to Lazienki Park. It is a massive public park with several buildings and points of interest. She first showed us a large monument of Chopin
where on certain days there are open-air piano concerts held. The park was very scenic, peaceful and had peacocks strutting around. One of the most prominent features of the park was the Laznienki Palace or Palace on the Isle as it is also known. We didn't have a chance to look inside but the view of the façade from one of the bridges is beautiful. Our next stop was a short drive away to the Wilanow Palace supposedly the Versailles of Poland. It was certainly very impressive both inside and out. The Polish sun certainly helped, shining on the palace's bright yellow exterior. Unlike most of Warsaw, this palace actually survived bot
h World wars. Like the other palaces we had visited the interior was also very gold and grand with lots of marble. There are lots and lots of rooms you can look through in the palace with many frescos, artwork and antiques throughout. Well-known artists such as Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Raphael have artwork displayed in the palace. Although I enjoyed the visit, I did feel like we were slightly rushed by our guide and I would say its easy enough to do alone. We were allowed time to walk through the gardens which were also very nice with plenty of flowers and statues. Our last stop on our tour with our guide was POLIN ( history of the Polish Jews museum) where she explained a little bit of the backstory of Jews in Warsaw. The museum lies where the city's ghetto was once located. There was a really interesting exhibition of photos and stories from Jews outside the museum which I spent time reading. The actual museum building was also different from architecture perspective with a glass exterior and an entrance which has been compared to the parting of the red sea. Once our guide had dropped us back off at our hotel, we walked over to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. One plate of katsu curry later and we went to look at The Palace of Culture and Science. I was fascinated by the building due to having previously visited Moscow and the similarities of this structure to many over there. This building is often called the Eighth Sister as was built in the same Soviet style to the other 'Seven sisters' in Moscow.
The PKIN as the building is more commonly known, has over 40 floors which hold various uses including a panoramic viewing platform, cinema, congress hall, university, swimming pool, several theatres, offices and shops. We didn't go to the panoramic viewing tower as the main landmark of the city is this building, so if you go up it you then can't see it? For example if you go up the Eiffel Tower, you then can't see the Eiffel Tower? So I don't like to go up the main landmark in cities for this one reason. That aside, it really is an incredible structure and it is difficult to picture how all those things fit into the building. After a short trip to a supermarket for souvenirs we went back to the hotel to get changed before the night's events. A tram ride later and we arrived at Poland's national stadium just before the support act took to the stage. We were seated ready for the purpose of our trip, to see Coldplay. This show was one of the largest of the tour with over 50,000 attendees. Once the two support acts had finished, it was finally time for Coldplay. The bright lights came on and they played their greatest hits and a few new songs for just shy pf 2 hours. They always put on a fantastic show, with lights, pyrotechnics, confetti, balloons and of course the Xylobands lighting up the audience. I must say I enjoyed the concert out of the UK much more as people were so much more relaxed when they were leaving! No pushing and everyone seemed to stay afterwards and eat food from the vendors instead of rushing to get out. We had a pleasant walk back to the hotel as they had also closed to road so people could get out safely (how organised!), well done Poland you do concerts right.
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