11 days in Warsaw and Masurian lakes in Poland, with two children (7, 10), in late August.
The area of the Masurian lakes in northeastern Poland, this is an area of thousands lakes, some of them connected by canals and forests surrounding them. Ideal place for yachting and all kinds of boats. The second part of the trip is Warsaw, the capital of Poland, a beautiful city, very clean and tourist friendly with lots of attractions for children.
Brief route:
Here you can see all the waypoints on the Google Maps and also use Google navigation to the place:
You can also download KML file and open it in other offline application for navigation and editing: Poland.kml
Day 1:
Yesterday we arrived in Poland. We landed in Warsaw, with a car rental we upgraded to the new Toyota Corolla Hybrid. The vehicle hardly needed fuel – 4.5 liters per 100 km. It took us 4 hours to reach our holiday village in the lakes with all the stops, so we arrived already in the dark. In the Mazursky Raj holiday resort, we rented a house right next to the lake. You can even not leave the place because all the attractions are here. In the morning we went to bowling, we swam in the lake, rented a jetski, then went on a walk in the woods around the place to a quiet little wild lake called Oko. The resort has all kinds of sports and doesn’t feel a tourist overload. In the evening we made a bonfire near the house.
Day 2:
Today we drove an hour to a rope park in Gizycko, because the roads in the lakes area are very narrow and slow. And it turns out today was a day for Polish speakers only, the only English speaker instructor to arrive only tomorrow. I realized it is common here elsewhere too so it is important to check before you go. But at the end we drove to Spychowo Rope Park close to home and it was excellent. In the town of Gizycko we just waked in the harbor and near the canals, the main transport vehicle here is various yachts and boats. We also visited the Boyen Star Fort but it can certainly be given up. In general, if you do not live in the area and do not plan to rent a yacht or motorboat, then you can skip this town. On the way we stopped to swim in one of the thousands of lakes, everything is very beautiful here and pastoral. The breakfast included in the room rate is excellent, but if you want to have dinner, then the restaurant in our resort is not the best choice and the service is very slow. There are plenty of restaurants around so you won’t be hungry.
Day 3:
Today we did a 4.5 hour kayaking in Krutynia River. We rented kayaks at Nemo in Ukta village and finished at Nowy Most. There are longer routes but to us it was definitely enough.
Day 4:
There is nothing better than an 8-hour bicycle ride in the woods and around the lakes. We rented bikes at Ruciane Nida for the whole day.
Day 5:
Rain was drizzling in the morning, but that didn’t scare us. We drove to the Galindia resort in Pagan style. We just came to visit but it looks like a cool place to stay here. After that we drove to the town of Mikolajki, ate ice cream and walked around the promenade. On the way back to our village we found an Oberza pod psem restaurant that you must visit, this is a country restaurant with home Polish food, everything there was very tasty, compared to all the other places we have eaten in Poland so far. Recommend booking in advance because they are always full.
Day 6:
Our Last Day in the Lakes We just did what most people do here, we rented a motor boat for the whole day. Because without it, you can’t feel the atmosphere of the lakes. We have to come back sometimes and rent a yacht to can sleep on.
Day 7:
We didn’t want to leave the Lakes area, but everything in life is coming to an end and it was time to move on. On the way to Warsaw we bought badminton rackets, to remember a game from childhood. In Warsaw we rented very good apartment “Rent like home Apartament Podwale 23” right near the beautiful Old City walls!
Day 8:
We started the day from the Old City, Sigismund’s Column, continued on Krakowskie Przedmestie Street, President’s House, University, Copernicus Statue. We came to Winnie the Pooh Street specifically, but apart from a sign there is nothing of the well-known bear. We walked along Nowy Swiat Street and continued on the river promenade to the Mermaid statue – the city symbol. We bought Planetarium tickets for another 3 hours, of course it is best to book online for the hour you want. We continued to the gardens on the roof of the university library. Vegan Restaurant Highly Recommended – Veg Deli. A 3D show about the race for space in the planetarium is highly recommended, there are headphones in many languages. At 21 pm Friday and Saturday there is a light show at the Fountain Park. Very nice, you should come half an hour in advance to find places on the hill. A very popular and convenient mean of transportation in Warsaw is electric korkinet. There are bike trails everywhere and the city is relatively small and flat.
Day 9:
View on the city from the 30th floor of the tallest building in Warsaw – the Science and Culture Palace from Stalin’s days. It’s best to buy tickets online so as not to stand in line. On the entrance floor was an amazing exhibition of 120 artists from around the world of metal car sculptures and figures. Saski Park and not far from there the world street food market Hala Gwardii and the Nozyk Synagogue.
Day 10:
We spent half a day at the Copernicus Children’s Science Museum. In my opinion, one of the best interactive museums in the world for children. And the second half we walked in the stunning Lazienki Park. Lakes, lawns, squirrels roam every corner and highlight of this park is one of the best restaurants we have been in Warsaw – Instalacje Art Bistro. Mushroom soup, Pirogi with asparagus, tartar herring and the most delicious dessert -Pirogi with chocolate and blackberry.
Day 11:
The morning after we checked out of the apartment, we had to leave somewhere luggage because our flight was only in the evening. There is a Stasher site where you can find anywhere convenient and inexpensive luggage storage. Today we drove to the Kings Palace and Wilanow Park out of town. Anyone who was in Versailles in Paris or in Peterhof in St. Petersburg can certainly give up the visit, also for the children there was not the most interesting there. For the most part of Warsaw, we used very convenient public transport, buying a ticket in a machine in every bus with a credit card only. But on long trips we used the local Bolt taxi application, also Uber is working there. Download an app and within minutes a car arrives.
