It is impossible to remember all of the tasty beers I consumed in the three week journey around Poland. So here is a top 10 list of my favorite frosty adult beverages that I enjoyed while on my trip:
Zywiec – The king of Polish beers! Zywiec is to Poland as Guinness is to Ireland or Budweiser is to the USA. This pale lager was such a pleasure to drink while going out in Krakow, Raciborz and Zakopane. It sure was the perfect drink to help wash down some of the amazing Polish cuisine I devoured on my trek through this amazing European country. Zywiec was purchased by Heinken in the 1990s
Okocim - I have been drinking this for some time in the States, but still preferred it when Zywiec was not around…which in Poland is pretty rare. Okocim has been brewed in the same city since 1845 and was purchased by Carlsburg in 1996.
Tyskie - A big bottle of the tasty Tyskie beer was seen quite often in front of me when hanging out with friends in Raciborz. One of the more popular beers sold in Poland and I am not surprised since it is such a great tasting beer!
Zubr - You cant miss this beer in the pub or supermarkets of Poland, since it has a big old buffalo smack dab on the front of the bottle. This delicious adult beverage has been brewed for over 200 years on the edge of the Bialowieza Forest in Poland.
Warka - The smell of the beer is underwhelming, but the taste is surprisingly enjoyable. I loved me some Warka (pronounced “Varka” since Poland uses a V sound for the letter W).
Harnas - Yet another tasty golden lager that goes down easily and works well with some Polish grub.
Tatra - Although sold all over Poland, I found myself drinking this beer the most while hanging out in the mountain city of Zakopane, which happens to be in the shadows of the Tatra Mountains.
Ksiazece - Made by the people at the Tyskie brewery, this subtle and slightly bitter beer was a pleasure to drink on a hot Polish summer night.
Redd’s – Now I normally do not like flavored beers. But this company that specializes in producing cranberry, orange and apple flavored lagers, was pleasantly refreshing on a very humid day hanging outside in Raciborz’s town square.
EB - Produced by the Zywiec people and introduced in1997, this beer is popular among younger drinkers and available outside of Poland as well.
.
One last note about Poland. If you are thinking of checking out this country, then you might want to do it sooner than later. The Polish zloty’s weak exchange rate with the U.S. dollar, Euro and many other currencies make this already enjoyable locale super affordable.
One U.S. dollar will give you about 3 or so zloty, one Euro will give you about 4 or so zloty, and one British pound will give you an astounding 5 or so zloty! But rumors are that Poland will change over to the Euro as soon as 2012. So book that trip to Krakow or Warsaw soon and enjoy a 4-star trip on a 2-star budget.
Hello again from Poland. Due to my lack of internet access, I have not been able to update as often as I would like. But here are some more pictures from my trip to Zakopane, Poland. This mountain resort is extremely popular in the winter and summer. Luckily I visited a week before schools got out and the madness of the family tourism rush came into town. While it was still busy, I was told by more than one Zakopane local that this was quiet compared to what they will be getting in just a matter of days.
My next update will be in a few days with an update from Krakow. I have been looking forward to checking out this great city for years. The weather forecast calls for lots of rain, but it will take a massive hurricane to stop me from checking out easily the most popular city in all of Poland. Some of the locales I plan to check out the amazing Rynek Glowny (the world’s biggest medieval town square), the historic Wieliczka salt mines, and much more.
When in Zakopane be sure to check out Karcma Holny. An amazing restaurant that serves old school Polish cuisine. Try all of their soups (especially the cream of mushroom). I ate here three nights in a row. Loved this place.
A breathetaking view of the mountains in Zakopane on a very hot Friday afternoon.
Hanging out at "Rabkoland" in Zakopane. This place was just full of items for sale (like jewelry, mountain cheeses, toys, etc), restaurants, and even a few places to grab a Zywiec or two.
Getting ready to BBQ on a warm night in Zakopane. The view from our back porch never gets old.
Checking out the many shops, cafes, bars, and attractions on the main street of Zakopane. Just tons of places to spend your hard earned zloty.
Being a tourist on Krupowki street in Zakopane.
I might be a tourist...but you will NEVER catch me riding around a horse and carriage when on vacation.
Enough of Krupowki street...time to get some piwo (beer) and head back to the house.
Decisions...decisions. I have tried over 20 different types of beers while visiting Poland. But I still like the Zywiec brand the best out of all of them.
The perfect way to end a perfect few days in Zakopane, Poland.
In 18 days I will be leaving the country for a three week trip to Poland. You may ask, why Poland? Well that is where my wife was born. She moved to the United States with her parents at a young age and last visited her hometown of Raciborz (about two hours outside of Krakow) in July 1999. Yes it has been nearly 10 years since she has seen many family members and walked the streets of where she spent the first 10 years of her life.
So I am pretty excited. Not just about traveling, but about the valuable time she will get to spend with her family. Aunts, uncles, cousins and her grandmother, who was a prisoner during World War II by the Nazi soldiers, will all be awaiting her arrival. I had the chance to meet her grandmother about 4 years ago when my wife graduated college. So it will be great to see her again and enjoy some home made Polish food. Of course we have a language barrier between the two of us, but my wife can translate and I happen to speak a few words in Polish.
During my stay in Raciborz, I will have a 1-bedroom apartment with my wife that is located right in the town square. If you have been reading this site, you know my love of town squares, so it is going to be great to live by one for three weeks. I will just have to figure out the WiFi situation, lord knows I can not go 10 minutes without internet capabilities. It is a sickness!
I will be updating the site as often as possible while on the trip. I mean I will not be glued to the internet nor will I be updating you with travel deals. Instead for three weeks this site will be strictly updates from locations like Krakow, Zakopane, Tatra Mountains, Katowice, and of course Raciborz. We had planned a few days in Prague, but have since decided that we want to focus on Poland during this European trip.
So much has been planned already for our visit, so it just didn’t make sense to travel outside the country during our stay. No complaints here, I am looking forward to getting the “real” Polish experience. That means plenty of borscht, blintzes, pierogis, potato vodka and beer. Lots and lots of beer!
Other random thoughts:
I am obsessed with travel…yet my wife hates it. Well let me rephrase that. She doesn’t hate it, she simply hates me talking about it so much. She loathes flying, hates to book a hotel, and wants to sleep late when away on vacation. As for me, I will find any excuse to board a plane, always make the travel reservations, and am up early each morning while I am away. Well maybe not so early if I am out a tad bit too late the night before.
Am I the only one that has never watched American Idol? I believe they just ended a 7th or 8th season yesterday. I have no clue why it is so appealing to such a large audience. It is basically karaoke. Some people sing good and some sing bad. But usually when I do karaoke at the bar, we enjoy the bad singers over the showoffs.
H1N1…swine flu…whatever. No one is dying from it here. I am sad to hear that people in places like Mexico have passed, but the American media is scaring the hell out of people…and for what? A flu!? The people that have died “due to swine flu related causes” were already sick. Shame on the media for making much to do about nothing more than an extreme case of the sniffles. People are dropping dead by the millions each day from hunger, AIDS, war, and various other threats. Yet this flu gets front page news for a month. What? If I had the time, I would be on a plane to Acapulco, Cancun or Cozumel taking advantage of the super low flights and hotel rates right now.
As much as I love bread, wine, expensive cheeses and crepes…I have yet to visit France! It is on my short list of places to visit…along with Japan, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
Places that I have “tentatively” scheduled to visit by the end of the year include Austin, Chicago (for the marathon), Napa Valley, and Portland, Oregon.
I do not watch much television, as I find most shows to be painfully boring to follow, but I have to admit that I never get tired of Rescue Me. Since it debuted a few years back, and was filmed in my hometown of Rockaway Beach, it has had me glued to FX each week. Bravo to Denis Leary for making such a fun show to watch.
The “Best Town Square” poll round 2 is doing good this week with the votes. For 48 hours there was an eight way 1st place tie. How odd?! As of this post, one of the eight took the lead…and not by a little either. Of course after Sunday morning 10 of the 20 town squares will be cut.
How will you be able to win this free guidebook you ask? Stay tuned for that announcement this Sunday. Trust me, I will make it as simple as possible.
This is one of the many parts of Poland that I will be visiting this June during my month long excursion of this beautiful (and afforable) Eastern European country. Looking at that picture makes me want to down a bowl of borscht and chug a pint of Zywiec. For more information about Zakopane, check out the World 66 Travel Guide to Zakopane!
