Warsaw, Poland

The weekend of September 21st - 23rd we went to Warsaw, Poland with our friend Nam. Shaun registered for the Warsaw marathon right after we found out when we were to arrive in Germany and has been training ever since. After arriving in Germany Shaun convinced our friend Nam (who lives in Mainz) to run the race with him.

We arrived in Poland on Friday evening. After checking into our hotel we headed out for a traditional Polish dinner at Restauracja Delicja Polska. The meal was awesome! For starters they bring you fried lard (no joke) in lieu of butter for your bread. We hate to admit it..but it is so delicious. Lard was followed by an appetizer of pierogi (Mrs. T's has nothing on Poland pierogi) and some delicious Polish entrees. After dinner we decided we wanted to go out...however, we ended up being turned down at 2 clubs due to our attire (apparently they don't take well to sneakers and fleece...). One bouncer actually said, "This is the hottest club in Warsaw!" another said "Next time please don't wear those shoes and if you'd like to go home and change and come back before the club gets very busy at 2 am, that would be fantastico!" Needless to say, we decided we could live without the Polish club scene and headed back to the hotel. To end the night we headed up to the Panorama Bar on the top floor of hotel. As Poland is well known for its vodka, it seemed only fitting that we have a little taste. After a round of martinis made with Chopin Vodka , we headed back to our rooms. (The Polish are VERY proud of Chopin, former resident of Warsaw...everything from street names to the airport are named after him).

Saturday we headed out for a day of sight seeing. Ater a VERY challenging morning of trying to locate the marathon village and pick up the race packets, we headed out to Old Town. The vast majority of Poland was destroyed during WWII including the city's old town. Following the war the city devoted its resources to reconstructing the old town section to resemble the original form. This was by far our favorite part of Warsaw. The large open square, artists, and shops were absolutely adorable. Here we grabbed a bite at the Zapiecek Polski Pierogarnie and enjoyed a filling lunch of pierogi and potato pancakes. If there is one thing I can say for the Polish - they enjoy some heavy meals!!

Next we headed to the Warsaw Rising Museum. This was an incredibly well done and moving museum. We had no idea how badly destroyed Poland was as a result of the war nor that there were more Polish fatalities in the Holocaust than any other country. If you ever make it to Warsaw, it is a must see! For dinner we did a relaxing meal of Pasta (carbo load) at the hotel. As the next day was race day we headed to bed early.

Which brings us to Sunday (the purpose of our visit :). Race conditions were less than optimal as the weather was hot, and the marathon was not stocked with enough water, Gatorade, or goo. However, both Shaun and Nam finished the race and did an awesome job. Shaun's time was approximately 3 hours and 47 minutes. I really enjoyed walking around the city and practicing my action photography! Some marathoners have a sense of humor and run the race in costume. I took some pictures of an Elvis, angel, and a guy wearing an eagles helmet (this I do not understand!). After the guys recovered we were headed back to the hotel to shower and change. We had a sushi lunch and then to the airport we went!

We had a wonderful time visiting Poland. We were shocked by how much more difficult the language barrier was. It was very refreshing to finally visit a country that had a currency weaker than the US! Click the album below to see our pics.

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