The Golden Polish Autumn in Warsaw Chopin is enjoying autumn in Łazienki Park (p.36), and you should be, too | © Adobestock
Ah, fall. A chill in the air, brilliantly-coloured leaves, an abundance of apples and pumpkins. A season that has inspired painters, poets and legions of self-proclaimed ‘basic bitches’. Poland has no shortage of such female autumn enthusiasts, who have recently coined a term for themselves: jesieniary, from the Polish word for autumn, jesień. Of course, lads can like fall too, and the male equivalent of jesieniara is jesieniarz. The attributes of jesieniary and jesieniarze are similar to what folks enjoy elsewhere in the West: pumpkin spice lattes, chunky sweaters, curling up under a blanket while appropriately autumnal jazz plays in the background. But fall in Poland comes with some more unusual activities, which were part of celebrating the season long before the jesieniary trend was making the rounds on social media. Here, autumn can hardly be considered complete without hunting for forest mushrooms, cooking plum preserves and connecting with Slavic forefathers by visiting the dead on All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day.
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THE AMBIENCE Poles are proud of what they call the ‘Golden Polish Autumn’ (złota polska jesień) - a period of sunny and warm weather which often coincides with leaves changing colours. If you’re lucky enough to be here during this phenomenon, it’s off to the leafiest parts of town: its many parks, like Łazienki (p.36), Pole Mokotowskie (F-11/12), Skaryszewski Park (L-5/6), Wilanów Park and Gardens (p.40) or the sprawling Kampinos Forest National Park (p.65) on Warsaw outskirts. This is also a great time to take in the sweeping panoramas offered by Warsaw’s viewpoints. For something free and close to the Old Town, walk on over the oh-so-appealing sounding Dung Hill (p.29) and the surprising city garden atop the University Library (p.45). If you’re willing to shell out a few złoty, the belltower of St. Anne’s Church (p.30) and the viewing terrace on the 30th floor of the Palace of Culture and Science (p.23) will let you see far across the town. Got a bit more time? Sunny autumn days are perfect for a day trip or two. How about a visit to the birthplace of Polish great Fryderyk Chopin (p.65), Żelazowa Wola, or the 19th century Modlin Fortress (p.65)?
