Poland Trip: Warsaw Rising Museum & Walking Tour

I spent 1.5 days in Warsaw, Poland, in September 2018. The days were cold and of course, that amount of time wasn’t enough to explore the whole city. But overall, when I looked back, I still remember the happy memory and it warmed my heart.

In this blog post, I will take you to the Warsaw Rising Museum, see a Chopin bench, and show you what I saw during the free walking tour.

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The Warsaw Rising Museum, Poland

I didn’t know what kind of facial expression I should show when I was taking the cover photo for this blog post.

I didn’t want to smile because I wished for peace in the world. But I also didn’t want to show a sad face, hence the half-smile.

Although people from around the world would explore more destinations related to Chopin (the famous Polish and French composer) because he grew up in Warsaw, I didn’t know why I was more interested to visit the Warsaw Rising Museum.

It’s a war museum, dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The exterior design looked minimalist but it was huge, if not mistaken was more than two floors.

You can see a lot of interesting things there, from photos, audio, videos, to artifacts.

There was a print room, a “little insurgent” room, a hospital, a cinema that played a short documentary about how the city was ruined during the war, and many more.

Everything was well-arranged so you could have a picture of what happened back then in the museum.

🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

Warsaw Free Walking Tour

On the night before my 1-day free time, I googled Warsaw free walking tours. There was one in which the meeting point was somewhere I knew, so after visiting the Warsaw Rising Museum, I walked as fast as I could to the destination.

I spent more time than I imagined in the museum because that place was so interesting. I could take a tram but I didn’t know where to get on, and according to my map, I could just walk straaaaaiiighhhhttt….

Yeah, I had to skip lunch! I arrived there just nice, maybe 10 minutes before the tour started. Did I feel hungry? OH YES… thought that I could buy a sandwich or bread as we walked, but sadly, we didn’t pass by any convenience store.

So, if you have a very limited time to explore a city, make sure that you bring a sandwich, mixed trails, or a banana in your bag 😬

During the tour, I met an Indonesian family, a Korean girl who travelled solo (we became friends) named Yoori Lee, and travellers from around the world.

I recommend you to take the free walking tour as you’ll get much interesting information about the city and some stores/buildings around. The tour lasted for around 1.5-2 hours, so remember to give your tour guide a tip ✨

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Sampling Pierogi, Polish Traditional Food

I had an extremely late lunch at around 4pm. After the tour ended, we headed to a traditional Polish restaurant near the departure point. I ordered fried pierogi, a Polish traditional dish.

It was actually fried dumplings with different kinds of filling. One thing that differentiates it from Asian dumplings is, that the dish is served with pork crackling.

If you had a super late meal, never, ever, ordered just pierogi without food… The food was nice, but I should also order carbs to fill my tummy. Eating just oily food when you’re super hungry and on a cold day isn’t a good idea.

After we had our lunch, we walked around for a while and went our separate ways. Initially, I wanted to check out a famous road full of bars in Warsaw, but I lost my umbrella. It was the hotel’s umbrella!!

Luckily, the staff didn’t charge me for it when I begged him with my ‘puppy eyes’. I couldn’t afford another fine after I missed my flight and had to buy another return flight ticket.

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I believe there are many things and places to see and experience in Warsaw, Poland. Too bad that I only had a very limited time and budget, so I don’t think I would visit the city for the second time.

But if I do, besides visitting the Warsaw Rising Museum and joining the free walking tour, I’d like to explore Chopin-related places 😊🎵

Have a great week ahead, friends!

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