How would you feel about Poland if you’ve never been there? Strangely, I’ve always connected the country to some historical romantic tragedies even though I knew nothing about it before my short visit to Warsaw during my stay in Sweden last year (Last year? Yes, it’s 2016 already!). Perhaps, it was all because of Chopin, the Polish talented musician who died young and his love story with novelist George Sand. How surprisingly, unlike most of European countries, Warsaw is a mix of Europe and Asia, plus a bit of Russia. Seeing its Asian-like modern buildings everywhere in downtown Warsaw made me feel like I was back in Asia. Perhaps I was bored with “European rhythm” and have missed “Asian vibes” already.

So what to do in Warsaw? Hmm, good question. I didn’t find it such an interesting city to be honest. Reason 1/ I had been travelling in Europe for two months and that point, and was thus sick of site-seeing. Reason 2/ I tend to like getting lost in islands as well as rural fields rather than city trolling in recent years. However, there are two must-dos I would suggest that is seeing the sunset on top of the Palace of Culture and Science, where you will be able to get a bird’s eye view of the whole city in both daytime and nighttime, and sunset is always the perfect time for photography. Another recommendation, of course is the Old Town. Moreover, eating is always a big part of travelling for me. For traditional Polish foods, the ones I have tried were Paczki, Pierogi and Zurek. I loved Pierogi, it is basically a Polish version of dumplings, which offers different flavours to fit everyone’s need. There is a Polish restaurant I would recommend to check out – Zapiecek. I loved the waitress uniforms, the food, and bijou pottery utensils. Most importantly, the price is quite reasonable, but in fact the cost of living in Warsaw is relatively low compared with most European countries. You can find it in several main locations in Warsaw downtown, and there is one in the Old Town.

I stopped by at Holy Cross Church to listen to Chopin’s heartbeats after visiting the Old Town and just before dusk fell.