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Warszawa & Berlin – Day 4

Published on 15th October 2023

On-On to Berlin H3

Today started way too early, but I had to get to Warszawa Centralna to catch the Berlin-Warszawa Express: I needed to be back in Berlin in time for my next hash. I planned on getting a kotlet schabowy in the restaurant car just before arriving in Berlin, but unfortunately they wouldn’t accept cards anymore after crossing the border. So I had the next best thing after arriving in Berlin Lichtenberg: a Schnitzelbrötchen.

Then it was a quick trip to ibis Berlin Mitte to check in and change into my running gear.

From there I went to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, where the trail of the Berlin Hash House Harriers would start. It was a slightly longer run than yesterday, a bigger turnout as well, and definitely a longer circle. All in all: great fun!

When it was all over, I went back to Mitte for a shower and change in the hotel, and some chow, before hitting the town for some beers…

On the programme tonight: Muted Horn, Lager Lager, Biererei, and—just in time for last call—Hopfenreich. Nothing new, but all great to return to!

Warszawa & Berlin – Day 3

Published on 14th October 2023

On-On with Warsaw H3!

On my last day in Warszawa, I managed to be downstairs in time for breakfast in the hotel! Some breakfast elements—different kinds of sausages, cooked vegetables—must be typically Polish…

One more museum on the schedule today: the Stacja Muzeum, a train museum. Maybe it’s not as slick as the one in Schaerbeek, but the number of trains on display may even be bigger, and some definitely even cooler!

The main event of the day, however, was my run with the Warsaw Hash House Harriers. It was a small pack—there were just eight of us—and the markings were quite peculiar, to say the least… The trail was nice though—albeit rather short—and it led me to some parts of Warszawa I hadn’t seen yet.

After circle, I went back to the hotel for a shower and change, to head out again for dinner.

Tonight’s pick was Zapiecek, where I had some bigos and potato dumplings with cottage cheese. The bigos was not my favourite, I must admit, the sauerkraut taste was stronger than I expected…

My last beer stops in Poland were the very hip—think fancy cocktails and bouncers—Cuda na Kiju, and the infamous PiwPaw Beerheaven.

Warszawa & Berlin – Day 2

Published on 13th October 2023

Time for Some History…

Since I had to catch up on some sleep—working some night shifts, followed by an early arriving sleeper train will do that to you—I woke up just too late to have breakfast at the hotel. I was hoping they would have something at Ministerstwo Kawy—yes indeed, this translates as “Ministry of Coffee”, like in London—but I had to settle for a piece of pie with my coffee.

The plan was then to visit the Muzeum Życia w PRL (Life Under Communism Museum), but for some reason I couldn’t figure out, it was closed.

On to the Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego (Warsaw Uprising Museum) then!

For lunch I had somę pierogi and a glass of kompot at Wałek Warszawski. Quite a popular place apparently, since I had to queue for over twenty minutes! The pierogi were really nice though, so in the end, totally worth the wait.

After another coffee at Forum, my next stop was POLIN, the museum of the history of Polish Jews.

My last educational visit was at the Muzeum Marii Sklodowskiej Curie, in the house where she was actually born.

All of a sudden I was in a really nice and historical looking part of town, although everything looked so clean and fresh, I have to check how old it actually is…
(Edit: indeed, the “Old Town” has been rebuilt after WW II…)

In the old town I had some beer at Same Krafty and Same Krafty vis-à-vis.

For dinner I went to Zapiexy Luxusowe for, well, zapiekanka, a toasted open-face sandwich, which apparently is a popular kind of street food in Poland. I had the Chłopska zapiekanka, with—of course—cheese and mushrooms, and a topping of kielbasa sausage, bacon, and onion

Then it was of course time for more beer! On the menu for this evening we’re Hopito Chmielna, Hoppiness Beer & Food, and Chmielarnia Multitap. The last one was quite the experience: think bar in the basement of a sports hall crossed with an Indian restaurant… Still some great beers on tap though!

Warszawa & Berlin – Day 1

Published on 12th October 2023

Welcome to Warszawa!

My European Sleeper arrived in Berlin Hbf bang on time—even though the stewardess warned me it often arrives early—so I could stick to my schedule and go full Hobbit: have a second breakfast!

I actually saved most of my packaged train breakfast for later, so there was plenty of room to indulge in the breakfast buffet at the InterCityHotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof. More importantly, it provided me with a very comfortable ‘waiting room’, since my next train would be three hours later! I’ve spent enough time aimlessly wandering through the Berlin train station or just having fast food on previous trips, so having some comfortable seats, power, and clean toilets was nice for a change.

My next train was the Berlin-Warszawa Express, run by the Polish rail operator PKP Intercity. In a little over five hours it would take me to Poland’s capital Warsaw. At about 1160 km from Brussels, this also marks the furthest destination I’ve reached by train… so far!

The train was a bit of a special one: lots of 6-seater compartments, and for first class it was the only option. Not my favourite seating arrangement, when not travelling with people I know… However, since the booking system didn’t allow me to pick a specific seat, I booked first class anyway, so I would at least have slightly wider seats. And complementary snacks and drinks, apparently!

After finally arriving in Warszawa, I took a bus to the ibis budget Warszawa Centrum check-in. I booked the hotel when I was still hoping the Warsaw Beer Festival would be this week, hence the location slightly out of the centre of the city…

Bags dropped off, it was just a short and easy walk to Kawiarnia Fabryczna for some coffee.

My first beer in Poland was at Gorączka Złota. Not your typical craft beer bar, but a great start. And I managed the whole visit without a word of English being spoken! A very important phrase I looked up and memorised was “Mały, proszę” (small, please), otherwise I would have been drinking pints all night…

I had been told to check out the phenomenon of ‘milk bars’, so for dinner I went to Bar Mleczny Bambino. There I had my first taste of traditional Polish cuisine: gołąbki—stuffed cabbage leaves—and kluski leniwe—potato dumplings.

With something in my stomach, it was then time to hit the first craft beer bars: Jabeerwocky, Kufle i Kapsle, and Hopito Craft Beer.

My Belgian Summer Holiday – Antwerp

Published on 13th July 2023

Usually I do my big trips in spring and autumn, but that doesn’t mean I don’t go anywhere in summer. When the Belgian rail company launched their Off-Peak Unlimited ticket—all-you-can-travel for 31 days—I seized the opportunity (again) to plan some trips within Belgium, and slightly beyond… It’s also a great opportunity to put my Museum Pass to good use!

The first destination was Antwerp, mainly because they have quite a few nice beer bars I just don’t go to often enough.

As usual though, the first stop was at Cuperus Coffee. It might actually be the last time, since apparently they’ll be closing that location in the near future…

From there it was just a short walk to the Snijders&Rockox House. It is actually made up of two restored historical buildings, and named after Nicolaas Rockox and Frans Snyders, two key figures in Antwerp during the Baroque era. This museum is now filled with 16th and 17th-century art and objects, evoking the everyday world of their 17th-century residents.

The next destination was Het Steen, the oldest preserved building in the city. The Antwerp Story, an exhibition you normally have to pay for—but luckily not with my Museum Pass—was supposed to be all about the history and identity of the city. However, unless I missed something, it was actually just promotion for all the other museums of the city… At least I got to see the inside of Het Steen!

After all that art, history, and promotion, it was time for beer, starting at the nearby Café Pardaf, followed by Café Ernst, just a couple of doors down the street.

Since the slightly underwhelming exhibit at Het Steen meant I started dinking earlier, I really needed something to eat, to tie me over until dinner time. For this I went to Loa Streetfood, for just a bit of Korean fried chicken. In my experience, that usually means either some boneless chunks, or wings. However, in this case I got a bowl of full-sized drumsticks! All of a sudden, the price made a lot more sense…At least now I was ready for one more bar, The Northerner. I was never actually inside this bar, and despite the nice beers they have, it’s definitely a sports bar as well…

My actual dinner was fish and chips at Bia Mara. You can’t go wrong with that!

The evening programme consisted of Billie’s Bier Kafetaria—an Antwerp craft beer classic—Station 1280, and conveniently close to the train station, Beerlovers Bar.

Before leaving you, I’d like to share a very Antwerp phenomenon: street corner Marias! I don’t know any other city that has this…

By the way, over the coming month I’ll have some more day trips like this coming up, to Lille—not Belgium, I know—Bruges, Ghent, Liège—well, mostly Misery Beer Co.—and Namur. Recommendations for bars, breweries, and places to eat are always welcome!