Beaches, Cheesecake, History And Beer: Get Yourself To Poland Immediately

Modern Poland has come of age, and has rather more to offer than cheap stag do beer and emotional historic site visits

This year Poland celebrates 25 years of freedom from communism, so we hopped on a flight to Gdansk to find out how country is combining moving on with preserving memories.

I last visited the country 10 years ago while inter-railing around Eastern Europe and found it one of the hardest places to get by with limited English spoken and very little infrastructure set up for tourists.

Of all the nations so affected by WWII, it seemed to be having the hardest time moving on.

So this time as I explored three of Poland’s more northern cities it was quite a relief to discover just how much difference 25 years – or even just a decade makes.

Poland how has a genuine tourist offering with many of its cities as picturesque, quaint and interesting as any of its European cousins – and in many cases far more affordable.

In just a few short days, we discovered these seven excellent reasons to head to Europe’s sleeping giant of a holiday spot.

1. Celebrate Independent Poland

Go back in time at the European Solidarity Centre in the port town of Gdansk and soak up the shocking, heartbreaking and inspiring history of the dockworkers and other ordinary Poles who began the rebellions again the Soviet Union which led to independence.

Hours can be spend wandering through he museum, which has an impressive array of historical items including vehicles, uniforms and a fully kitted-out Soviet-era living room, as well as hundreds of photos, documents and films, most of which have good English translations.

Alternatively, if you’re in the Warsaw, the old town is unmissable. It’s a faithful reconstruction of how the capital city appeared before the onslaught of bombing in the second world war and is utterly show-stopping. To find out more about the city’s fight for independence head to the Historical Museum of Warsaw.

Tip: Warsaw is pronounced Vashava in Polish, which can confusing when trying to sort out train tickets!

2.  Eat Ice Cream in Gdansk

The streets of Gdansk are a beautiful antidote to the struggles and bloodshed in the museum. Spend an hour meandering between multi-coloured townhouses that line the streets, from the Golden Arch at one end of Długa street to Neptune’s Fountain and the Old Town Hall, soaking up the beauty and peace.

It might seem strange in a country where weather can hit -30°C, but ice cream eating is a major past time and you’ll see plenty of shops in every city you visit.

In Gdansk, regardless of the weather you must stop to sample the wares at Grycan, the oldest ice-creamerie in Poland.

The flavours are displayed with cute examples of the ingredients and range from traditional chocolate to kiwi sorbet (definitely recommend).


3. Go to the seaside

You will not believe how impossibly pretty the Polish beaches along the northern coast are. In the summer they’re packed with native tourists heading to the seaside, just as we flock to Bournemouth and South End, but go slightly out of season to marvel at the peace on the long stretches of white sand and crystal clear waters.

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve landed in the Caribbean. Except, perhaps, for the occasional tractor.

4. Visit a Microbrewery

Poland has a great tradition for beer and in the UK we regularly sup its lager -  Tyskie, Zyviec and Ococim. But since the fall of communism, microbreweries have been popping up to create more artisanal beers and ales.

An easy way to sample some of the delicious IPAs and wheat beers on offer is at the Brovarnia Restaurant in Gdansk. Ask nicely and you can do a tour of its seriously micro microbrewery, tucked away next to the bar.

We visited several family-run breweries to find out more about the process in Poland and the dedication to good beer is admirable. Many of the breweries offer completely natural, unpasturised or unfiltered beers that give them a unique taste and make a nice change to the mass produced Polish lagers on offer elsewhere.

5. Make Gingerbread in Toruń

Toruń is another pretty little city, packed with glorious architecture and impressive churches. But as well as being the birthplace of astronomer Copernicus, it’s also famous for one particular foodstuff – gingerbread.

And where better sample the delicacy than the Gingerbread Museum?

We are given culinary training by the gingerbread master (GM)dressed in full 16th century costume.  It’s an entertaining experience. We hand grind the spices and mix the flours and honey together to create a gingerbread dough which we’re told will have to be stored several weeks to let the flavours develop.

Fortunately, the GM has one a previous group made earlier and we get out rolling pins and moulds to create our very own biscuits. They go in the oven for 12 minutes (one of our group is told to say 12 Hail Mary’s to time keep in the olden days tradition, but fortunately there’s a clock on the slightly more up to date oven).

Because of health and safety (the dough isn’t made under strict hygienic conditions) our creations aren’t meant to be eaten, but the gingerbread master brings out some we can try and they’re utterly beautiful.

Tasting less sweet and more peppery than our shop-bought gingerbread men in the UK, you can imagine exactly why they caught on in long Polish winters before central heating.

I’ll be varnishing mine and attaching it to the tree at Christmas instead.


6. Try Polish Cheesecake

It’s neither the New York baked style nor the European refrigerated style - Polish cheesecake is something different altogether.

Known as Easter Paskha, cheesecakes in Poland are made using a sort of cottage cheese  (a little like our own), lots of sugar, dried fruits and very little (if any) flour.

There are a few varieties but the basic style is a round cake with a golden bake to it, usually topped with simple icing sugar. It’s left to ripen, weighed down with a wooden board and refrigerated for 24 hours after whisking the ingredients together - then served straight from the fridge.

Because they contain very little flour, they’re very sweet and light – utterly delicious and rather morish. Gu puddings will never quite be good enough ever again.

Cheesecake is a popular dessert all over Poland so you should be able to try it at most restaurants you visit. We were treated to it at Restauracja Ewa Zaprasza, a family-run restaurant North of Gdansk that offers fine food (considered some of the best in Poland), at very reasonable prices, all washed down with local wheat beer.

7. Vodka!

No visit to Poland would be complete without a shot or two of its other national alcohol – vodka.

Whether it was the Polish or the Russians that came up with the potato-based tipple, there’s no doubt that the Poles are big drinkers of the stuff.

As we walk through the reconstructed streets of Warsaw, most tables contain a few shot glasses of the liquid and I can’t really avoid stopping to try some. We go for the barman’s recommendation of Zubrowka. It’s got a definite flavour that Smirnoff et al in the UK really doesn’t manage and though I’m usually an utter wimp when it comes to Vodka, I manage a whole shot. Well, when in Poland.

At some of the more traditional restaurants and no doubt in some homes, Poles are still making the traditional flavoured vodkas using ingredients such as sloes, buckthorn, cranberry, plum oranges.

In these cases, instead of shots, the vodka is served in very small glasses to be sipped after dinner. And apparently it’s an aphrodisiac… Wiwaty!

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