Let the journey begin
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A blog for Krakow, Warsaw Gothenburg, and Stockholm
(Getting the most out of your stay)
so Lets Begin
Here at Drink Eat Travel Repeat, we like to visit as many places as we can. We often visit many cities/countries within the same trip, staying in each area for a night or two to see the main sites and get a feel for the place. Any place we fall in love with it goes on a hitlist to return. This is a great way to tick off as many places as possible and not be stuck somewhere too long if it isn’t to your taste. This trip we will talk about has two of our tried and tested favourite cities and two brand new ones.
There are many ways to travel from place to place. Depending on your budget & time restrictions, there are many transport methods to get from A to B, buses, boats, trains, etc. All these are generally easily found with a little research beforehand and time management. We often write out an itinerary to maximise time spent.
This was a reasonably short trip, with us only being able to travel for six nights. We started the journey by plane, landing at Krakow’s main airport, John Paul II. We decided to get an Uber from the airport to the ‘old town’ where we stayed, costing approximately 35PLN. We had a two night stay in aparthotel ‘Stare Miasto’, located just off the main square. These were apartment-style rooms, clean and spacious, and we would recommend to fellow travellers and would be happy to return ourselves.
So now, let’s explore Krakow. There are many sites and attractions in Krakow; it’s about finding what fits you. Some of the top attractions would be- Auschwitz-Birkenau, Wieliczka salt mine, and Rynek Glowny translated means the central square (plus many more that can be easily researched).
Krakow’s old town architecture will take your breath away; we would recommend spending a least half a day wandering around the cobbled streets and stumbling upon beautiful buildings and churches and stopping for the odd local beer in the quirky bars that Krakow has to offer. We firstly stopped at the Hard Rock Café for a drink (very touristy, we know, but we like to tick them off) as this was located just near our hotel. The Hard Rock Café is on the main square, and after all the travelling, we had a little thirst, which was a perfect place to soak up some sun, rest and research. There are many great local beers; one of the more popular ones is called Zywiec, and can pick one up for roughly 12-15 pln. We would recommend people to try some of our favourite local food, would would be the meat-filled pierogi, which are filled dumplings boiled (and then sometimes fried). You can get them with many different fillings, sweet or savoury.
Although the main square is merely beautiful to sit and watch the world go by, you may find it more costly to eat and drink, than some of the smaller streets around it. For those with a sweet tooth, a visit to Pijainia Czekolday E.Wedel is a must. (there is one located on the main square) Here I believe, is the most excellent hot chocolate we have ever tasted. I opted for minty milk chocolate, and it was delicious. There are many different types of cuisines available throughout Poland, so everyone will surely be able to find something to their taste, even if polish food is not your top choice.
For some fun, during our stay in Krakow, we decided to visit another beer spa (we like to do these if we can find them in whatever country we are in). This one was called Beernarium Piwne spa Krakow and was located on one of the larger streets off the main square. This is great fun, and if you are like us and like to relax for a couple of hours with an unlimited beer in your private room, we would 100% recommend a visit. They have different packages where you can sit and relax in warm milk, wine or beer and warm you up on Krakow’s cold winter days. There are other fun activities in Krakow’s centre, such as axe throwing and many bars and clubs. Krakow’s nightlife is fantastic.
The first time we visited Krakow over ten years ago, we saw a must-see on our list: the Auschwitz -Birkenau concentration camps. This is a very moving place to stay, however very educational and we would recommend seeing it. Book a guided tour if you can. It is worth making a reservation beforehand online; the tours last approx. 3.5 hours and will cost roughly 75pln. They do sell package tours in the city centre, including transport and entry, but we preferred to just Uber for speed.
Overall, Krakow is a beautiful city to visit, packed full of history and stunning architecture. It is one of our favourite European cities. We have been three times already and still would not hesitate to go back.
Acoustic
But now on to Warsaw. Warsaw is the capital and largest city in Poland. It doesn’t get as many visitors as Krakow; however, we think this is unfair as it has lots to offer and is just as beautiful as Krakow.
Electric
To get there from Krakow, we got the train from Krakow central station (Glowny) to Warsaw West. Warsaw West is situated on the newer side of town. However, we prefer to stay in the old cities, so we took another Uber to our apartment called ‘Old Town Home’. This looked directly on to the old town square, and as we were a few floors up, we had a brilliant view. The court is very colourful, with each building painted a different pastel colour. It’s a beautiful place to sit, and people watch. We had two nights here, so split our time between the old town and the new town. When it comes to food and drink, Warsaw is very similar to Krakow. There are many restaurants with local food at great prices around the square. However, we found a little gem called the ‘Same Krafty’ bar; it was a craft ale bar and was great to taste the different ales to give us a break from tasting the same local lagers. Although the décor was relatively modern, it didn’t matter as the beers were great and the staff friendly and informative. The bartender told us about the history of Warsaw, and it was great to learn from him. (TIP, always sit at the bar and talk to the locals for tips and hints, as they will help you on what is best to see and do). Every local we often speak too, we often find very proud of their hometown, and you will generally find some top bars and restaurants where the locals go themselves that aren’t as touristy.
On day two, we walked from the old town to the new city that took approximately 50 minutes. We enjoy walking wherever we can to take in all the sites but get some exercise in, as let’s face it, we all overindulge on holiday. The new town had a giant shopping centre for any shoppers among you called Zlote Tarasy. It was not a favourite, and we preferred the look and feel of the old town. However, we did visit another Hard Rock Café as we like to tick them off the list whenever we can (we have managed to go to over 50 so far). We did visit the new town throughout the day, and this was reasonably quiet, but we were told that it comes to life at night, so next time we visit, we will be checking it out in the evening for sure.
One of the main parts of the city is Kungsportsavenyen. This is a long street with many bars and restaurants on either side. We were lucky enough to visit here on a Saturday, and the whole place was vibrant and atmospheric. Every bar was busy, but not so busy that you can’t get in anywhere. Again we visited another Hard Rock. (which was our favourite of the trip). After speaking to the local waitress, we asked about visiting Gothenburg’s old town as we only had one evening and wanted to know if it was worth the trip. The lady told us that there wasn’t much to see over there and it can be a little unsafe in parts, so taking her advice, we stayed local. This street is great to walk down and pick out a few lovely spots to taste local food and drink. Our favourite was called the ‘Bishops Arms’, which was almost like stepping back home into a local British pub. For food in Gothenburg, we decided to go for an Indian curry. The restaurant is called ‘Daawat’ and is highly rated online. It was approximately a 10-minute taxi drive from Kungsportsavenyen. We had divided opinion on this place, and overall would score it 7/10.
Our first taste of Gothenburg left us wanting more. Gothenburg is a very vast city, and there is much more to see. I think realistically a long weekend would give you ample time to take in the sights.
Stockholm
We were arriving in Stockholm. This is our second visit to Stockholm after spending three nights here previously. Stockholm is a huge city, and there are many significant areas to visit. This time we stopped in Gamla Stan (another old town). The hotel we used was called ‘Hotel Reisen Waterfront’. This hotel was under renovation (unexpected), but it was not an issue, and the room was beautiful and had a fantastic view of the harbour
In the morning, it was time to take the train to Stockholm. It was only a 15-minute peaceful walk from our hotel, so it was great to get a little exercise and see some of the beautiful canals. On Sunday morning, Gothenburg was like a ghost town compared to how lively it had been the evening before. The train was from the central station in Gothenburg to the central station in Stockholm. (it may be worth noting that if you are a little wary of train travel, the stations all have customer help desks. We always make sure to give ourselves plenty of time to find the right platform). This is such a beautiful journey, and you can easily sit and look out of the window at the beautiful Swedish countryside. The train ride took approximately 3 hours. Like a lot of Scandinavia, Sweden has a lot of lakes and breath-taking scenery; this allows for brilliant photo opportunities.
Our previous visit to Stockholm was in the summer of 2016. There was so much to do here, whilst on one of our many walks across the city, we stumbled across a giant outdoor food and drink festival with live music and much different local food and drinks stalls. This is one of the benefits of walking around the city, rather than taking public transport everywhere, as you get to come across many little surprises such as this.
Vasa Museum
We visited the Vasa museum whilst on our stay here; this is a nautical museum that talks explicitly about the ship called 'the Vasa', which was the Swedish navy's pride and took over two years to build. Although we are not big museum-goers, this was worth a short visit.
Swedish Waters
As Stockholm is a city surrounded by water, we thought it might be worth spending some time on the water. We did this by taking a river cruise and had a three-course meal looking at the beautiful scenery. On the menu was traditional Swedish food, with everything from pickled herring, lax, meatballs and lingonberries. We would 100 per cent recommend this trip. It's nice to rest the feet, be waited on and take In the sights.
Ericsson Globe
Another activity we did was the sky view on Ericsson globe. This is the worlds largest spherical building and one of Stockholm's most modern landmarks. The gondolas take you 130 meters above sea level, and you see an unforgettable view of the city with a nice glass of champers. Pre-book as at peak times can be jam-packed.
Music Time
Back to our most recent visit with just the one night there, we decided to stay around Gamla Stan. We wanted to listen to some live music, but Stockholm can be reasonably quiet on a Sunday evening. We discovered a brilliant jazz bar called 'Stampen', where we stayed for around 3 hours listening to the fantastic band just jamming. This quirky bar had bright decor, and a unique vibe. When we are back in Stockholm, we will check this place out again.
Dinner Time
For our final meal of the trip, we wanted something traditionally Swedish but with great reviews. After a lot of research, we chose 'Stockholms Gastabud', which was located close to our hotel. Here you cannot pre-book a table, you turn up, and if there Is space, they will seat you; if not, you can wait at the bar or come back later. We had to stay at the bar, but this was only for 20 minutes, and it was a thousand per cent worth the wait. Out of all our trips all over Sweden, this was the best Swedish food either of us had ever tasted.
In summary, we had a great trip, seeing two different countries and four cities in just six nights. It sounds exhausting, but if planned correctly beforehand, you can make sure the journeys are as quick and enjoyable as possible, maximising your time at your destination, which will overall enhance your experience on a multi-city trip.
