City Love Companions

The Polish coastline is vast, at least compared to all the other Baltic countries. Such a long coastline, and just one city stands out. Or to be more precise: three cities often portrayed as one. This metropolitan area in northern Poland is called Tricity or Tri-City (in Polish: Trójmiasto) and comprises of Gdańsk, Sopot, and Gdynia. It is a sort of Polish seaside capital. I mean the industrial and trade kind, not the beaches and margaritas kind (that would be Sopot). I’m surprised people call it a hidden gem. I don’t think it’s a hidden gem. On the contrary: it’s an immensely popular destination. Gdańsk’s location at the delta of the Vistula river was the key to its prosperity. It flows through the entire country; from the mountains down south through Krakow and Warsaw right ...

Kraków (Cracow) is the first thing that comes to mind when people are asked about Poland, or third, after kielbasa and vodka. All right, fourth or even fifth since I almost forgot about pierogis…and Lech Walesa. Kraków is beautiful, full of historic sights, legends and royal atmosphere. It used to be the Polish capital and for good reason, the iconic Wawel Castle for example with its mausoleum of ancient monarchs and latest, debatable additions. That hill is also where the dragon of legend lives, supposedly still feasting on virgin girls. In fact, he lost a bit of weight, since that kind of a diet is hardly sustainable nowadays. Kraków was lucky; it remained untouched by the bombardments, the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) are the same as they were...

Warsaw, the capital of a country that just can’t give anything up, and constantly blames everything on the past. It’s like a city full of entitled millennials. Personally, as someone born and raised in Warsaw, I believe that the capital should have remained in Kraków (Cracow). But it’s not for me to decide and tourists seem to love this city, so it’s probably a matter of perspective. Truth be told, there isn’t much to see in Warsaw, everyone blames the wars but in my humble opinion- it’s just an unwelcoming and obnoxious city. Everything there is to see in the capital can be seen in one day. Actually, there’s not much to see at all, apart from the Old Town, Wilanów Palace, and the Warsaw Uprising Museum (for a healthy dose of that famous, polish misery). Old Town Square, Ol...