WARSAW WAS EVEN BETTER THAN I EXPECTED (especially the food!)

WARSAW WAS EVEN BETTER THAN I EXPECTED (especially the food!)

We from Warsaw, my friends. I am finally here in the capital city of Poland. I was actually in Poland about 15 years ago. So, it’s been a while. But I never made it to the capital city. So, even though it’s a little bit chilly now in mid November, I’m still very happy to be here. And from first impressions, this city is gorgeous. So, in today’s video, I’ll be trying to show you guys as much as possible that I can get in a 24-hour period. And what my Polish friends suggested as a first must visit in the city is a milk bar. Now the history is actually quite interesting of these kinds of places because it comes from you know the Polish communist era that they had these like cheap cafeteria style eeries that were initially full of milk products as why they are called milk bars because that was kind of you know the cheapest meal you could get. Nowadays, they do exist with a whole range of traditional Polish foods, including what I really want to try this morning, which is their local type of crepes with tu. I think that’s how they pronounce it here. It’s called tu in Ukraine and Russia. And I think it’s going to be the same type of cheese, but I’m not sure. So, since there’s actually a milk bar pretty close to where I’m staying, let’s go check it out. It’s actually just down here. I was walking past it the other day and I’m just like, hm, this very much looks like a milk bar. Cuz they don’t actually like have the name Milk Bar in the name. It’s just what it is. So, this one is called Bar Bambino. All right, guys. So, as you can see, they have a huge menu here. And thankfully, they actually have an English version. This is what I want to get. Nlesniki serum. So they actually called serum. I thought it was but uh yeah, let’s give it a go. So I have good news and I have bad news, guys. The bad news is they don’t have the crepes ready yet in the morning, which makes me sad. But the good news is that maybe I will like what the gentleman suggested instead, which is leniway s muslim in a way that actually sounds similar to these other type of I don’t even know what you call them. They’re kind of like dumplings in a way. Um made from cottage cheese that we also have in Ukraine with ma muslim, which is butter, I think. Um so maybe I’ll like that better. Who knows? Let’s give it a try. Yep. It’s exactly what I thought it was going to be, guys. And I’m actually really excited to taste this because I probably haven’t eaten our Ukrainian version cuz we we do have, you know, very similar foods in Ukraine to Poland cuz we’re neighbors. Um I think because I speak Russian, not Ukrainian, we call them leniv. So it’s it’s very very similar, you know, to the word. And it’s basically with toog as I thought, which is like our style of cottage cheese, eggs, flour, and some sugar, salt, and butter. Basically, it’s like a lazy dumpling cuz leni in Russian actually means lazy. I don’t know if leni translates to lazy in Polish or just the names are similar, but yeah, this is basically a lazy dumpling. I now regret not getting sour cream for these cuz actually sour cream would be perfect with this, but should be fine. So, let’s give this a go. Little piece. I literally feel like I just stepped back into my childhood. This is so delicious, first of all. And yeah, I just realized I probably haven’t eaten this in at least like 10 to 15 years cuz my mom used to actually make this when I was younger, but I I’ll say it wasn’t like my favorite. I much prefer sir niki and I much prefer, you know, the crepes with turog. Um, but I haven’t had this style of lazy dumpling in so long. And it actually has some uh sugar sprinkled on top of the butter as well. And oh my gosh, that’s like a time capsule feeling of eating this food. So good. Such a great little milk bar. Definitely make a stop when you’re in Warsaw. Now, no visit to Warsaw would be complete without a visit to the Palace of Culture and Science. This is one of the most iconic landmarks in Warsaw, but for those who may not know, it has a bit of a controversial meaning in this day and age because it was gifted to Poland by Joseph Stalin. I don’t think you could really call it a gift, per se, considering it was just a symbol of Soviet control over Poland in World War II. So, it’s understandable why some people don’t really have an affinity to it. Some people do want to just tear it down. But in my opinion, as obviously not at all a local, yes, there are terrible things that happened in the past that we wish didn’t happen, but at the end of the day, it’s a pretty nice building. Like, it’s a pretty cool looking building. And uh they have actually used it for good where now inside it does have a technology museum. there is a convention hall and on the 30th floor there is an observation deck. So in my opinion that’s kind of the best thing to do with artifacts from the past that maybe initially didn’t have you know a good meaning and good symbolism but turning it into something positive which I think they have here in Warsaw. So today I will be going up to the observation deck because it does have an incredible view of downtown and we have a fairly clear day today. So let’s go take a look. Absolutely gorgeous views, guys. And the sun has come out. What a gift. I will say that initially I was a little bit sad and disappointed because as you can see you know the bars kind of obstructing the windows but if you just give it 5 seconds of thought you realize that yes if you are going to have an open air uh sort of viewing platform you do need those safety bars because unfortunately you know there are some people who are either really sad or not in their right mind that you know might jump off. So instead of putting glass panels, you know, putting these sorts of bars prevents, you know, anybody from jumping. You can still get really good photos if you just put your camera, you know, through the bars. But unfortunately, it’s not really ideal for taking any kind of pictures um with the view itself. But for 10 Canadian, 7 US, um I think that’s very reasonable to come up here. It is just such an iconic building. It is a beautiful view. So in my opinion, it is worth it. So here we are in Saxon Garden, one of the most beautiful parks in Warsaw. And let me tell you what a difference it makes to the experience of walking around the parks here when the sun is out. When you just feel, you know, some positive energy going around compared to yesterday when it was so dark, it was so overcast the whole day. I went to the also really beautiful Royal Baths Park which has the really iconic uh palace on the aisle which I would recommend visiting but it was so depressing like it was dark by 300 p.m. And it just felt like this heavy mood. But when you are here even in the winter and the sun is out, glorious. Heat. Heat. So, here we are on one of the most iconic boulevards in Warsaw that I absolutely need help pronouncing. Guys, uh, thank you chat GPT Kovski. Please don’t kill me in the comments. I hope I got that even remotely correct. But you guys, this is one of the most beautiful walks in the city in my opinion. If you start all the way down from the palm tree, you’ll know what I mean when uh you see it, and then go all the way down here to the old town. I’d say it’s probably 40ish minutes in between the two points, but along the way, there is so much to see. It’s so beautiful. uh including some very important spots like the Holy Cross Cathedral uh just behind me that houses the hearts in an urn of famous popes and Shopan. I’m going to go check to see if it is open since it is supposed to be a very beautiful cathedral. But either way, definitely do this walk when you come to Warsaw. So, unfortunately, I was not able to tour around the church since there was a service going on, but just getting a glance in. Absolutely beautiful. And since we happened to be right in this area, I had checked my map and saw that one of the most recommended restaurants that my friend Ka, who’s Polish and lived in Warsaw for a long time, that she recommended right around this corner that’s supposed to have incredible perogis. Now you guys let me know in the comments if you think there’s such a distinct difference between Ukrainian vaniki and Polish pureogis. I guess I’m about to find out myself. But of course it is very similar. I think just in general the fillings will differ cuz looking at the menu from this place that we’re about to go into, they have some very unique flavors. First of all, the interior is super cute. And second of all, I do have to say that their menu is even more varied here in person. There’s a lot more going on than what I saw online. and seeing what they have here. These are fillings that you would absolutely never find in Ukraine. Like I have never seen a pumpkin filled perogi. I feel like this one I just absolutely have to try. Then they even have sorrel with egg yolk potatoes. They have duck with plum. They have baked apple and cinnamon which actually would be so good. So absolutely already I’m a big fan of this place. I cannot describe to you how absolutely excited I am to eat this. First of all, very reasonable prices I think for, you know, how unique everything is here. My whole meal came to $30 Canadian, which is what, like 21, 222 US. And I got so much food. I wanted to try their mushroom soup, Edina’s beetroot salad, and also these very unique pumpkin perogis, side of sour cream, and a raspberry tea. What an absolute deal. Of course, the real test really comes down to how is it going to taste. So, let’s save the perogis for last. Let’s start with this mushroom soup, which I’m very surprised to see has real pieces of mushroom, potato, and maybe something else. Let’s try this. You guys, that is absolutely one of the best mushroom soups I’ve ever had. And I’m not just saying that. Very different than our cream of mushroom soup that we have in North America, but very different than just any other mushroom soup I’ve ever had. Wow. Highly, highly recommend trying this if you come here. And now let’s try the beetroot salad, which you know, I don’t want to fully just compare Polish food to Ukrainian food, but like you have to understand there are a lot of similarities, which is why this salad is very similar to like our giry. But it looks like they have some beans in theirs here. So that’s definitely something we don’t have. So let’s give this a try. Very good. Very good as well. Very fresh, home cooking. Couldn’t ask for more. And lastly, the hopefully star of the show is the pureogis, which I’m going to dip in some sour cream. And let’s see how the pumpkin stands up. You guys, I have to take Kaia out next time I see her for just recommending this one restaurant. I mean, she sent me so many recommendations, but like this is literally beyond my expectations of like budget friendly Polish food. This is so insanely good. I don’t even know how to describe the taste. It tastes like autumn. Like it tastes like autumn in a perogi cuz they also Yeah. have cinnamon and different kinds of spices and walnut in there as well. Like my goodness. 10 out of 10. 100 out of 10. Would recommend this place. I do have to say guys that walking around kind of this area, look at this gorgeous, very new apartment complex and then that place we just passed on the corner. Like wow, what beautiful properties in the center of the city. Of course, it’ll greatly range on the area and how big and how nicely furnished a place is, but from what I was reading online, the average onebedroom cost in the city center, and not these really, really fancy ones, is about €1,000 a month, something like that. I imagine if you were getting a really premium property like that and if it has amenities like a gym and maybe a swimming pool, I imagine it could easily be, you know, 1,500 to 2,000. But if you go to the outskirts of the city, it actually becomes a lot more reasonable. So, in a way, yes, Warsaw is expensive enough. I know as with everywhere prices have gone up substantially, but if you think about just how much this city offers, I would actually say that with a good job, this is a really nice city to live in. Something I didn’t see enough in other Warsaw videos on YouTube is people talking about just how nice their waterfront is. Here we are on the Vistula River as it’s called and apparently this is the most unseemented is the term that I read uh riverfront in Europe where a lot of it is just natural like maybe you can kind of see in the distance there like there’s no cement blocks there’s no concrete kind of built up to the river’s edge it’s just as it naturally comes and it is just such a beautiful relaxing area. You see lots of people running, biking. They have different cafes, restaurants, you know, different kind of convention halls, beautiful bridges. A lot going on. So, very beautiful. And ideally, since we are kind of losing the daylight hours here at only 2:30 p.m., Uh, I think this will be able to take us closer to the old town, which is of course one of the most famous places to visit in the city. How magical does this look, guys? Oh my gosh. Makes you forget how cold it is. I think visiting Warsaw right in Christmas time if you can handle the cold is actually very much worth it because just in the middle of November here they’re just starting to put up the Christmas decorations and I’m sure there’s going to be Christmas markets. They also have the Christmas tree already up. So visiting in December might actually be a better choice than November if you are looking for the Christmas magic. But at any time of the year I think visiting the old town is very very special. Even though uh just like the rest of Warsaw 85 to 90% of it is actually reconstructed. Unfortunately Warsaw was absolutely devastated in the Second World War. So more or less everything that you see in the city has been built in more recent times. Now what makes the old town especially special is that they have tried to reconstruct it to be as close to what was here before and using art styles that are very unique to the city of Warsaw. So it is actually now a UNESCO World Heritage site, making it the youngest old town in the world. So it’s absolutely worth spending a few hours in. There’s so many cute cafes, restaurants, and yeah, if you come here during Christmas, super magical. Happy for you. All right, friends. I think I am going to end the video off here. I hope you enjoyed it. I did have an absolutely amazing time here in Warsaw would love to come back. I would love to hear from you guys in the comments. Any of you who have been here before or especially any locals, if you have any recommendations of other fantastic things to see and do, please let us know in the comments. And as always, I am sending you guys so much love. I hope you’re having a fantastic day. Keep being your own kind of beautiful. Bye, guys.

When touring Eastern Europe, Warsaw is a MUST VISIT. It was my first time here and I was very pleasantly surprised what a modern city it was with great infrastructure, public transit, amenities and AMAZING FOOD. Even if you only have 24hrs to visit, I hope this video will give you some great suggestions of some attractions, restaurants and areas of the city to check out!

Support my journey on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/alinamcleod
Paypal Account: alina_397@hotmail.com

My Google Map Travel Guides (more coming soon!): https://www.alinamcleod.com/travel-guides

Best eSIM for travel: https://try.airalo.com/Alina
Use code ALINA3 for $3 OFF

The Travel Medical Insurance I Use And Recommend:
SafetyWing: https://safetywing.com/nomad-insurance/?referenceID=alinamcleod&campaign=montenegro-video&utm_campaign=montenegro-video&utm_source=alinamcleod&utm_medium=Ambassador

My Favourite GetYourGuide Tours Worldwide: https://getyourguide.com/-cs1048
Download the GetYourGuide app and use code ALINAMCLEOD5 your first booking to get 5% OFF!: https://gyg.me/alinamcleod-app

My AMAZING Business/Tax Consultant that helped me with my move (I am now an affiliate, even though I paid for my own services, would HIGHLY RECOMMEND):
Get a free 30 minute call with Marchela: https://calendly.com/marchelageorgieva/30min?am_id=alina2047

Marchela’s Low Tax Blueprint Course (highly recommend if you want a crash course in setting up your business in a tax friendly international structure): https://wealthynomad.co/blueprint?am_id=alina1183

Luggage I Travel With: Level8
https://www.clkmg.com/LEVEL8/AlinaMcLeod
Use code MCLEOD10 for 10% OFF!
Currently using the Road Runner Pro Carry On and Luminous Trunk Check In

Best Way To Send Money Abroad (link gets you discount) – Wise.com: https://wise.com/invite/u/alinam371

The Music I Use In My Videos – Epidemic Sound
Get a 30 Day FREE TRIAL by using my referral link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/j6z374/

**************************************************************

– Equipment I Use To Film Videos –

Main Video Camera – DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo: https://click.dji.com/AKSrpmHC6F1hsZTGk8hD4Q?pm=link

Unique Shots Camera: Insta360 Go 3S: https://www.insta360.com/sal/go-3s?utm_term=INRHMO6

Action Camera – DJI Action 4 Creator Combo: https://click.dji.com/AOMnS-ewR59g4eZpUckTkw?pm=link

Photography + Sit down camera: Sony a6400 – https://amzn.to/3cSYaMK

Gimbal for Sony: DJI Ronin RSC 2 – https://click.dji.com/ADCjatxPUwRDPRl9yurPbA?pm=link

Drone – DJI Mini 3 Pro: https://click.dji.com/ANpWpJ7RXeEOoYdzL6dT8g?pm=link

Microphone – Rode Wireless Pro: https://brandstore.rode.com/products/wireless-pro?sca_ref=6262077.SZPgVok15K

Livestreaming Equipment – DJI Mobile 6: https://click.dji.com/AHxW2cgdL-lgBEsBJ8n2Pg?pm=link

*** FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA ***

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/alinamcleod

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alinamcleod

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/alinamcleodofficial/?view_public_for=189580024403094

WEBSITE – http://www.alinamcleod.com/

Мой русскоязычный канал / My Russian Speaking Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUO4pFMywMoe3TBMcbJq2IA

**************************************************************

*** I USE AFFILIATE LINKS ***
Affiliate links do not cost you as the consumer any more than you would normally pay, but it does offer a kickback to the person who initiated the sale. This allows me to financially continue to be able to make content for you and I only endorse products I genuinely love. Any sponsored content will be stated as so.

Contact me: alina_397@hotmail.com

Lots of love xx
Alina