OLSZTYN

Next two nights we spent in Olsztyn (Allenstein), the capital city of Poland’s Warmia-Masuria Province, which is famous for being called the ‘Polish Lake District’. The Teutonic Knights built an imposing castle there in 1334 along Łyna River, and the settlement that grew around it received municipal rights in 1353. The town and its locality became part of Poland in 1466 and was annexed by Prussia in 1772. After suffering extensive damage in World War II, Olsztyn was returned to Poland in 1945 and was entirely resettled by Poles. The grand entrance to Olsztyn’s Old Town is through a marvelous gate structure known as the Wysoka Brama (‘Upper Gate’). The main Old Town Square is surrounded by really many bars, cafes, and restaurants. This is also where the magnificent Old Town Hall sits, just one kilometer from a new City Hall. Churches continue to dominate Olsztyn‘s skyline with quite a few different architectural styles in evidence. The instantly noticeable St. James’s Cathedral pierces its way into the sky from the city’s Old Town area since 1596. We had two nights to try local restaurants and bars, we started with great beef steak (49 PLN) and tasty pizza (26,90 PLN) with Okocim Radler (8 PLN) at Hammurabi Restaurant. Then we had two craft beers in alternative Rabarbar (0,5 l / 9 and 14 PLN), next was cozy Klub Sarp (Pilsner Urquell Beer 0,5 l / 6 PLN), and last drink we took in Irish Carpenter Bar (Okocim 0,5 l / 8 PLN). The next morning we enjoyed an English breakfast at Prosta38 (19 PLN) with one-liter lemonade (25 PLN) and after that ice cream at Cud Nie Lód (4 PLN / scoop).

Parking location – Olsztyn: 53.779039N 20.475243E (🚻)