Day 81 POLAND Warsaw

We tried to book the second class train tickets from Torun to Warsaw but it was sold out so for an extra AUD $16, we booked first class seats. It was spacious with luggage space that was easily accessible. We didn't have to lift our big suitcase onto the shelf above our heads. It was a quiet carriage and had large windows to look out of.

I made a big error last night when I used our Qantas frequent flyer points to book our Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel in Warsaw. When I confirmed the booking, realised I had booked Radisson Blu Lisbon instead with a non refundable option. Ruby immediately wrote to Lisbon, Qantas and Warsaw to try and sort it but only Warsaw replied to say they couldn't help and Lisbon had to refund the points. We found Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel in Warsaw to be very helpful. When we arrived at the hotel, Joanne called Lisbon Radisson and found out that the booking had been cancelled and no fees or points were charged. However, they said that a third party, Expedia had done the booking. I was shocked because I had booked through my Qantas frequent flyer login.
We still stayed at the Radisson Warsaw but I paid for the room as the points have not yet been reimbursed. We'll wait and see. (Update: We wrote to Qantas again, and I have received a full credit.)

We had a quick lunch at a milk bar where we had duck pierogi (dumplings) and cold beetroot soup. We are really liking the cold beetroot soup. The duck pierogi filling was a little sweet. Reminded us of a Asian sticky rice dumpling called bak chang.

We went to the National Museum in Warsaw and spent close to 6 hours there. They had a temporary exhibition from a collector Count Ignancy Korvin-Milewski of art, ceramics, tapestries and furniture.
The permanent exhibition spanned art from 14th century to 20th century and a collection from the 19 th century Masters. Very expansive collection and lots to see.

We finished with dinner at another Michelin Bib restaurant, Butchery and Wine Bar. We shared a chateaubriand, salad and a creme caramel. My travel credit card I've been using for our entire trip didn't work after the meal. Thankfully I had a backup card that did work. It was our most expensive dinner by a mile, so I didn't know how many dishes I had to wash or for how many days if my cards did not work.

Update: My credit card is working. Maybe it was just the restaurant terminal.Read more