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Welcome to explorewarsaw.pl Please note that the website is currently under "re-construction".
A little backstory. I originally created this website in 1997 to provide useful information for travelers destined to Poland, and in particular Warsaw. At that time, Warsaw was not a popular travel destination by any stretch of the imagination. When discussing European destinations with fellow travellers, cities like Paris, Rome, Vienna, London and Barcelona were at the top of everoyne's destination list. After all, the Colliseum, Fountain de Trevi, Eifel Tower, Tower Bridge, Sagrada Familia, etc.., were all globally-recognized cultural/historic icons. Prague and Budapest were just appearing on everyone's radar, but these were still the early days of those cities becoming top European destinations. Though the names, Poland and Warsaw resonated with people, they were considered off-beaten path, or quasi-exotic, rather than a "must-see" on a European itinarary. After 40+ years behind the iron courtain, which limited the access of Western travellers to Poland, it was not a surprise that Poland was not at the top of Eurpean destinations.
So then, why create such a website? Allow me to explain. In the late 1990's, the global internet was still relatively new. There was no social media as we know it today, smartphones were just coming out and Google was still a year away from being formed. Netscape, Lycos, Yahoo, Geocities, AOL and Hotmail were some of the giants of the early days of the internet. However, much of the early internet also consisted of websites built by enthusiasts who were excited by the prospects of sharing their knowledge with the rest of the world. Websites such as Geocities, where the first version of my website was hosted, was one such platform. What is perhaps mind-blowing, is that the ability to create and host such website was free. All you had to do is to create an online account, learn a bit of HTML coding, and the world was your stage. As you can imagine, the sudden ability to connect with the world that emerged seemingly out of nowhere was a huge novelty. It resulted in a mass number of private individuals creating their own private websites on a plethora of subjects. I was one of those early enthusiasts and was intrigued by the possibilities that this new tool offered. The idea to create the original website was born from my curiosity about the possibilities of the internet, my own travel experiences, and the desire to share my knowledge about Warsaw. Because information availability during that time was vastly smaller than today, I figured that any information from local sources that I could share with travelers would be very valuable. Back then, however, it was not only the internet that was vastly different. Travelling was also more restricted due to costs and information availability. Afterall, why travel to some strange “Eastern European” country when getting there was difficult, expensive and you were not quite sure what you could see there and where you could stay. Indeed, in the late 1990’s, only a handful of foreign tourists ventured to Warsaw. Even in the most popular of Warsaw's attractions such as the Old Town with its Royal Castle, the Lazienki park, or the king's summer residence in Wilanow, foreign tourists were a rare sight. However, it was evident to me that this state of things would change and Warsaw would become a significant tourist destination. I knew this because despite the crappy communist architecture that was shoved down our throats by central planners, Warsaw was not a bleak and boring place. It had a fascinating history and among the ugliness of many of the structrues built during the communist era, there were many gems waiting to be discovered. Warsaw was also the primary launchpad for any tourists visiting Poland, so naturaly that also secured its place as a top destination in Poland. A few factors that were just appearing on the horizon in the 1990's also contributed to making Warsaw and Poland a significant tourist destination. The two primary factors were: the advent of the internet which greatly reduced the information asymmetry for travelers. With the internet, no longer did one venture completely into the unknown. The other one was the proliferation of cheap airlines, which grew at exponential rates in Europe in the early 2000's. Poland's entry in the European Union in 2004 also helped to open up the country to a much vaster audience.
So what is my motivation of re-creating this website nearly a quarter of century later? After all, when back in the 1990's there was only a handful of websites providing scant information about Poland; today there is a plethora of websites and YouTube channels that instantly bring a wealth of information to anyone interested in the topic.
While I am re-buidling the site, feel free to send me any questions relating to your travels to Warsaw and Poland. Any comments regarding the site are also welcome: @explorewarsaw.pl
Thank you,
Team @explorewarsaw.pl