The name Between Us translates as Między Nami in Polish, and is a reference to the ground floor café that opened 19 years ago – the first cafe-restaurant-gallery to offer an alternative scene to the leftovers of communism. The café is still going strong, and the owners have also added a small little store next door selling the little bits and trinkets that take their fancy. But there is also something else that they’re keeping between us, and that’s an exquisite bed and breakfast.
Two years back MN also took ownership of a second floor flat above the café, transforming it into three up-for-rent rooms graded small, medium and large. Decorated in shades of white, the lodgings have been designed with modernity and comfort in mind, and have been fitted with bespoke furnishings embossed with the names of top designers such as Peter Hvidt, George Nelson, Arne Jacobsen, Charles & Ray Eames. Stand warned, even staying for just one night is going to fill your head with ideas on how to renovate your own place.
Rates range from €85-130, and fluctuate with the season – but repeat customers are remembered, and if the owners have the availability, they will give you a more modest rate. Not that many find reason to complain. Each boasts a spa-like bathroom, though for proper pampering the largest comes with a bathroom divided from the main room with a glass wall – you feel like you’re in a French movie, roleplaying in a Jean-Luc Godard film.
For first time visitors to Warsaw, the whole Między Nami connection is a boon – breakfast in the café downstairs is included, and offers a great chance to strike up meandering conversations with the Poles, Brits and French ex-pats who frequent it. And even if you live here, it’s worth a night away from home with the other half. As Raymond Carver once said, “do me a favor this morning. Draw the curtain and come back to bed. Forget the coffee. We’ll pretend we’re in a foreign country, and in love.” (KD)
