New Leaves

Earlier this month, I told a friend that my husband and I were going on a trip soon.

“Wow, that sounds fun. Where are you going?” they asked.

“We are going to Poland,” I replied.

“Poland? That’s surprising. Is your family Polish?” they wanted to know.

“No,” I answered.

“Are you Jewish?” they continued.

“No.” I said.

“Well, I’ve never heard of someone planning a big trip to Poland before. Why did you choose it?” they asked.

I follow a young influencer on Instagram who focuses on European travel. His account is aimed toward younger audiences, but I appreciate his travel tips and find his information interesting and useful. His name is Luke Patrick. You can find his link here. Luke’s account inspired me to consider a trip to Poland.

Luke mentioned that Poland is “the best country to visit in Europe right now” because of its safety, good infrastructure, cleanliness, and beautiful cities like Warsaw and Wrocław. I hadn’t thought about Poland before he shared his thoughts, but then I did some research.

Poland is a great place to travel to. It offers offers a great mix of history, exciting city life, diverse nature, excellent food, and affordability. Poland delivers an authentic travel experience without the overwhelming crowds or high price tags of Western Europe. The rich history, affordability, and less crowds appealed to my husband and myself, so we decided to make it the destination for our next trip.

We recently returned from out trip to Poland and had an terrific time. We were able to visit four cities in a two week span.

Kraków: Home to the magnificent Wawel Castle and the largest medieval market square in Europe, Rynek Główny, which miraculously survived World War II intact.

Warsaw: The cosmopolitan capital features a meticulously reconstructed Old Town—rebuilt entirely from the ground up after WWII using historic paintings—standing alongside modern skyscrapers. The city has the intriguing POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

Wrocław : Wrocław charms visitors with its colorful facades and over a 1,000 hidden bronze gnomes and is home to the University of Wroclaw.

Gdańsk: Gdańsk is located on the Baltic Coast and offers a stunning Baltic port atmosphere filled with maritime history. The city is home to the amazing Museum of the Second World War and European Solidarity Centre.

Poland is a country with a fascinating history and a strong spirit. We took a day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a former concentration camp near Kraków. This exhibit was very emotional, somber, and powerful. It’s a must-see for anyone visiting Poland. We felt inspired as we walked through the completely rebuilt Old Towns of Warsaw and Gdańsk, which were destroyed during World War II. The work of the people who restored their cities was impressive. We learned about the Solidarity movement at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk, which shows how Poland peacefully ended communism. Few places can match Poland’s resilience.

Here are a few final thoughts about Poland:

1. Poland has great food with many options. Each city features traditional Polish dishes like pierogis and various international cuisines. Our favorite dining spots were called Milk Bars (bary mleczne, singular: bar mleczne). These cafeteria-style restaurants offer traditional Polish meals at low prices. They started in the late 19th century and were important during the communist era for providing affordable meals to workers. Today, they are popular among students, seniors, business people, and tourists for homestyle Polish cooking.
2. Dogs are well behaved. This was a unique sighting. In each of the cities we visited people walked their dogs. During the walks the dogs were quiet, responded well to their owners, not distracted by other dogs, and seemed easy to manage. At first we thought this was a one city occurrence, but each city we visited we were surprised to see so many dogs well behaved.
3. Each of the cities had wonderful open park areas. The cities would have popular city center areas, but close by were wonderful park spaces to relax and enjoy nature. It appeared intentional to provide those who work and live in the big cities a space to relax and recharge.

Poland is a unique and inspiring place to visit. It may not be your next vacation spot, but it should be. It is modern, clean, safe, easy to navigate, and has a rich history. What more could you want?