BJJ in Warsaw
March, 2023Polish capital, castles and BJJ
Duration: 4 days, 4 nights
Location: Warsaw, POL
Costs: Flight 250$
I took the opportunity to visit my friend Prezemek in the polish capital Warsaw before heading to Leipzig before the BJJ Winter Camp.
Meeting him after two years we get to know each other and train at Academia Groila.
Getting here
I had a direct fly from my hometown Zürich to Warsaw that took around 2 hours.
Other options would be taking the train or a bus.
BJJ
The Polish BJJ is definitely tough. The people are there to fight and not for fun.
I had the pleasure to train at Academia Gorila with my friend Presemek in Warsaw. The head coach of BJJ is Jendrek Loska a 2nd degree Black Belt and a ADCC competitor.
The gym is close to the center based in a building in the underground floor. The gym has 3 training areas and a strength area.
There are several training over the day and beside BJJ the also train Thai-boxing and MMA.
I was surprised how many people where showing up for the class and the level was high. All kind of belts showed up.
If you are ever in Warsaw, that’s the place to roll.
Food and drinks
The polish kitchen had a bigger diversity than I thought. I was surprised and polish food is in my top 10 favorite food.
Żurek is a traditions sour soup with Pork sausage, eggs and sometimes served in a bread.
Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water.
Bigos also known as the hunter`s stew is a dich of shopped meat of various kinds with stewed sauerkraut and fresh cabbage.
Chleb ze smalcem i cebula i ogórkiem is a bread spread made lard (melted fat of the pig) with meat cracklings topped by pickles, salt and pepper.
Kartace the outer shelf is a mix of potatoes, flour and eggs, cooked in boiling water. Stuffed with meat or mushrooms.
Zasmazana kapusta also known as kapusta is a stewed sauerkraut or cabbage with bacon, onion and mushrooms.
Śledzie is an Atlantic herring. It can be served as a tartar or in small cuts topped with oil, onion and herbs.
Paczki or Polish donut is a deep fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened ball and filled or covered with jam or sweet filling.
Sernik similar to a cheesecake but definitely less sugar makes this dessert taste super fresh.
Kiełbasa z grilla is a pork sausage that will be served from a grill.
Oscypek a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk and served directly from the grill.
Obwarzanek it`s a kind of a Polish bagel or a pretzel.
Placki ziemniaczane is a potato pancake normally served with a dip or a sauce.
Kotlet Schabowy is a Polish variety of a breaded cutlet of pork coated in breadcrumbs.
Kaszanka traditional blood sausage.
What to do
Warsaw is a nice city to explore and has a lot to offer. The city was heavy damaged by the Germans during World War II. Warsaw now is new and restored to his pre WW2.
Place of Culture was for me the building a had in mind when I was thinking about Warsaw. Built in 1950 it is the tallest building in Poland.
Warsaw has a beautiful old town at his entrance you will find a square with the Royal Castle. There is a Royal path through the street Nowy Swiat which leads you to the place. On the market square you will find a bronze sculpture of the Warsaw mermaid, the symbol of the city.
Wilanow Palace was the summer residence of King John II. It’s a symbol of how Warsaw looked in the 18th century. The Palace survived the bombing during WWII.
I can highly the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The Museum tells the story of Warsaw during the World War II. It opened his doors 2004 on the 60th anniversary of the uprising.
There is a lot more to see and explore in the city specially with its history.
I also did a daytrip to Krakow. Another beautiful city 2.5 hours away by train from Warsaw and definitely a visit worth.
Good to know
Warsaw its he capitol of Poland.
Due to Poland is in the EU I didn’t need a visa.
The city has a good metro, bus and tram system and UBER is also availible.
The currency is the Zloty.
Past Travels
Read more about my past trips