Hello from Warsaw, Poland – Hotel Felix

I am writing you this week from Warsaw. I am here to support the efforts of www.OperationSafeHarborUkraine.com (OSHU). Our company started this humanitarian effort four months ago to provide hotel rooms, food, and medical support to Ukrainian mothers and children fleeing the war in Ukraine. We originally rented 50 rooms. Today we have 111 rooms housing almost 400 Ukrainians. I want to thank the 900 donors who helped raise $500,000 so far to support OSHU as well as the 80 volunteers who jumped in to travel to Warsaw to help. You indeed are a blessing from God for the people of Ukraine. We are making a difference. CLICK HERE for a special 60-second video with Steve reporting from Warsaw.

Here are some of my observations of Warsaw – 

– Warsaw has almost perfect summer weather with highs in the 70s and 80s.

– Warsaw is very clean with well-groomed lawns and with little graffiti.

– There are fewer cars in Warsaw than in most large European cities but lots of bikes and scooters and everyone walks and uses public transportation.

– Warsaw feels young. Lots of young families and young adults.

– The Polish people are extremely friendly and not in much of a hurry. They must be part Jamaican.

Here are my general travel observations getting here –

Please do not check in luggage if you are traveling in Europe this summer – Using expandable carry-on luggage and a full-size backpack, or large briefcase can provide 7 -9 days of clothes for your trip. If you run short you can always do laundry along the way.  Lost luggage is a major problem and you can avoid the mess by taking the carryon only pledge.

Airlines crying wolf is not helping their customers – The day before I flew from Omaha I received an email to expect long lines at check-in at the Omaha airport. When I arrived no one was in line.  I also received an email that Chicago may also see massive lines. Chicago was busy but nothing out of the ordinary. Airlines have historically been the worst communicators with their customers. Now they over-communicate to the point that it is hard to trust all the info they send you.

Stroopwafels, pretzels or Biscoff cookies? – These are the standard snack offerings on UA flights. I asked the flight attendant which one is most popular. Surprisingly, he said stroopwafels are most popular on morning flights and pretzels are popular in the afternoon. My favorite is Biscoff cookies. Please take this short survey HERE so we can see which one is your favorite snack.