Daily Archives: July 13, 2024

Jul13

Cooking at “home” in Poland!

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Wednesday, 19-June-2024, and Thursday, 20-June-2024


It’s been a while since I’ve cooked at home. Since… Iceland, I think? Huh, wow. Yeah, since Iceland. So just about a full month. I do think that may be a record for me.

I needed a break.

As strange as it sounds, eating out and going to restaurants was tiring me out. Regardless of how chill the place, and how little effort I had to put into being fed, eating out in countries that don’t speak English natively is tiring. I couldn’t really relax all the way while I was out.

I needed a chance to put on some music, dance around the kitchen while cooking, poor myself a glass of wine, queue up a stupid YouTube video, and just decompress during dinner.


So… I did.

My first day in Warsaw, I headed out and tracked down a grocery store near my apartment. I poked around, found some interesting looking food, checked out, and headed home. I’d checked the kitchen ahead of time, to calibrate what sort of food to buy based on what cooking implements I had, and so I pretty quickly dove into the fun of cooking. I cranked some music, whipped out the chefs knife, and flew around the kitchen.

It was absolutely what I’d been needing.


Wednesday, the first evening, I cooked up Pierogi with broccoli and red bell peppers. Simple, delicious, and paired well with a crisp Polish lager.



Thursday, the second evening, I boiled up some tortellini (stuffed with cheese, chicken, and prosciutto), along with some sliced tomatoes and broccoli… and Parmesan cheese, of course. I even used the same playlist for my kitchen dancing, simply picking up right where I’d left off the previous evening.




It was awesome. No two ways about it.

Don’t get me wrong – I do love traveling and adventuring, exploring new restaurants and living the good life out on the road. I also love cooking, though, and I love being home and cozy and quiet. I’m endlessly thankful for the opportunities that’re carrying me around the world, and around Europe, but I’m also just as happily looking forward to settling back down in my future apartment in Dublin. My cast iron in hand, a pot of pasta boiling on the back burner…

All aspects of life are beautiful in their own way, and the variety that I’ve been granted is simply superb.

Jul13

Exploring Warsaw

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Tuesday, 18-June-2024, through Sunday, 23-June-2024


I really liked Warsaw.

With no offence to any of the other cities I’ve been to, of course. Everywhere has been really interesting so far, with their own culture and their own feel… but I really did enjoy Warsaw a lot.

I wasn’t feeling particularly energetic, after a bit more than six weeks of travel and some food poisoning half a week before, and I embraced that low energy state while in Warsaw. I had a really nice AirBnB reserved for myself, and I took full advantage of it. I cooked, I relaxed, and I explored the city as best as my energy levels allowed. I listened to my body, read my book, and recharged my batteries for the second half of my adventure yet to come.

It was lovely – Warsaw isn’t a small city, as you may guess, but I found it to be quite explorable. The elevation changes were a bit challenging, with some rather intense staircases to navigate, but I thankfully didn’t find them too challenging… in fact, it was a nice option to get my heartrate a bit higher every so often.



So what did I gorge myself on, while in Warsaw?

Well, honestly, quite a lovely variety. I mentioned that I was trying to take it a bit easy… and part of that was staying in, cooking for myself, and getting to decompress a bit. I know that, for some folks, going out to restaurants is a good way to relax – and it definitely can be for me as well! But with traveling for six weeks, cooking at home had become the rarity, so I recharged by buying some groceries and making them for myself while dancing around the kitchen for a few evenings.

With that in mind, lets see…

  • WarSaw – A funny name, a cool logo, and a great burger. I stuck with my tradition of getting a simple and comforting meal when I first arrived in Warsaw, and I couldn’t have asked for a better option.
  • Pirkarnia Aromat – I adored this cafe. It’s connected to the university, I think, and I went back at least three or four times over the days I was in Warsaw. Excellent coffee, great pastries, strong WiFi, what more could a traveler ask for?
  • Cofix Bulwary – Another good coffee shop, but by the river this time! Went here for an afternoon snack, and got one of the best BLTs that I’ve had so far in Europe. Full recommendations.
  • Blue Cactus – A Tex-Mex spot in Warsaw? Heck yeah! I can’t tell you why, but I was feeling the hankering for nachos… and didn’t quite want to try and hunt down all the ingredients myself. I found Blue Cactus, and was satiated.
  • Cafe Kafka – A cool brunch spot. Nothing crazy to report, but definitely a good spot to stop in.
  • Zapiecek – Amazing pierogi! And the soup! Ahh… amazing chicken broth and noodles. Full recommendation; If I’d been staying longer, I’d definitely have gone back to get some of the other traditional Polish options!
  • Błogo Bar and Cynamon Pub – I know, I know, “What the heck? Ben went to a bar???”. I did! It was a date, even! I got my first Aperol Spritz, tried a lovely pineapple mixed drink, and had a very enjoyable date night out on the town.
  • Shabby Chic – I ate breakfast here, then came back again for cake. All within two hours, give or take. If that’s not a good recommendation, I don’t know what is.
  • Szeroki Dunaj – Not everywhere can be a slam dunk, and Szeroki was a simple and efficient 3-pointer. A good meal, a quiet atmosphere, and a well-fed Ben. A grand end to a grand time in a grand city.