Poland Revisited

I've just arrived back from Warsaw, Poland after a short holiday as it was the base for the 2012 Lionsraw Legacy Tour. During the tour we were always busy delivering coaching sessions in schools that we didn't have a great deal of time to do any sightseeing. Thanks to Groupon I found a really good deal that included 4* accommodation at the grand hotel Mercure and return flights...can't argue with that!

Our flight out was 6.45am Monday morning and we arrived into Warsaw about 10.30am to be greeted by sunshine. The temperature was fairly low, but it made a change from snow in Newcastle. We got settled in and set off on a walk around the centrum and Old Town taking some pictures along the way. The sunshine was very deceiving as it was actually freezing! So we decided to stop off in the Old Town and get some food before meeting Mark from Lionsraw Polska to revisit the youth detention centre after spending a lot of time working there during Euro 2012.

We got the tram there, which turned out to be an easy alternative to the taxi and met with Andrzej to listen to his plans for the Lionsraw Cup 2013 which sounds very interesting. It is also pleasing to see the showers are still in excellent condition and that the young people enjoyed working with the English coaches so much that they can't wait for April when a group will be returning.

We headed back on the tram to the centrum and got some food before meeting some of the girls from the hostel we stayed in back in June last year. They took us to a couple of bars to try to Polish beer again and told us about their ingenious idea to sell Wifi cables! We did revisit the Irish Bar just past where ITV were based, but unfortunately only had time for one beer as a group of University students in England began chanting and the Police were called...sounded familiar!


The next day we got up and headed for the Stadion Narodowy for a tour. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to it during the Euro's but the fan zone was an excellent alternative. However we had a tour and it was one of my favourite stadiums. We were joined on the players tour by a girl called Sofia from Ukraine who was hoping they would beat Poland in the fixture today. We also had a family of Porto fans from Lisbon who wished us good luck as Newcastle Utd face their rivals Benfica in the Europa League. I'm always interested to see parts of a stadium that on a match day you might normally not see so the changing rooms, referee area, chapel and underground highway were all interesting. The roof was closed ahead of the International match, but it is expected to be open so hopefully there is no rain!

In the afternoon we met again with Magda who took us around the Palace on the Water, Chopin monument and the Labyrinth of Light. All sights we wouldn't have seen without local knowledge so we were extremely grateful for her time! I also featured on Polish TV as tvn ambushed us once they heard us speaking English.  We headed back to the centrum an got ready for a night at a local club which was highly entertaining. The Polish dance moves are unique!

Our final day in Warsaw and again it was snowing plus around 5 degrees. It didn't feel that cold, but we had done a fair bit of walking. We did some shopping for souvenirs, visited the tourist office to get some information before heading the see the Old Town one last time. We successfully negotiated the bus to the airport before our flight back to London. The less said about the drive from Stansted to Newcastle the better.

On reflection Warsaw was my Lionsraw debut, but going back brought back memories which reminded me why Brazil in 2014 should be amazing. I was lucky enough to visit again and see a bit more of Warsaw as the city has lots to offer. If you are after a little city break I can't recommend it highly enough. Will it be the last time I visit?