It started back in November of 2023. I wanted to, like every other American Swiftie, go to one of her American tours. I registered as a Taylor Swift verified fan, but was unsuccessful in getting a code for Eras Tour tickets. I didn’t get tickets using my CapitalOne Venture X either, they were sold out in Santa Clara, the weekend of my birthday, by the time I went to purchase. As the concert and Taylor’s stardom grew bigger, the resale prices for the concert just increased instead of dropping. 2 days before the concert I checked for the last time. $2,400 a piece for nosebleed seats. Insane!
I was angry. “For that price, I can do a trip!”. Then I thought some more. “Wait, for that price I can do a trip…” I had been reading about how concerts were cheaper in Europe due to stricter resale rules. I looked on StubHub and saw that was indeed true. I started to do some math. With points, I could fly my daughter and I there. Hotel, food, and two tickets would be less than two tickets just down the road from us. Plus, we’d get a nice Mother/Daughter trip out of it.
I found some tickets for Munich. I was about to push purchase when my husband looked over my shoulder. “Oh, she’s in Warsaw. I’ve always wanted to see Poland.” I looked at him. I had been thinking this would be a Mother/Daughter trip. But we had decided to postpone his 50th birthday trip to the summer of 2024. We had planned to go to Spain, but he suggested we could switch it up and go to Eastern Europe instead. We could travel around together as a family, then he and my oldest could go home, and my daughter and I stayed on for the concert. We’d be back right before school started. Perfect! I bought the tickets for two to the concert well over a year before the concert. I would figure the rest out later.
In the end, we decided on a three-week trip through Eastern Europe. We all flew into Warsaw. We enjoyed Warsaw, Kraków, Prague and Berlin over the next three weeks. Afterwards, it was finally time to separate. On the 31st my husband and oldest gave us hugs, then flew solo back to the United States. My daughter and I went to the Berlin train station to head to Warsaw.
We got to the Berlin train station early on, and due to some train delays ended up on a Bus to Train situation to get to Warsaw. We were a little nervous at the last-minute change, but then saw that we were in a group of Americans and Canadians who were all Swifties headed to Warsaw for the same reason. Excitedly, we boarded and got the chance to talk with women from all over the world. It was fun to exchange friendship bracelets early, talk about our favorite album, and see we weren’t the only crazy ones to come from all over the world to see their favorite artist. I later saw on a new article that they expected 40% of the attendees to be from outside Poland.
As we pulled into the train station, my daughter and I were giddy with excitement. We arrived on the 31st of July, but were scheduled to attend the concert on Night 2, August 2nd. We had the afternoon and a day to enjoy the town all on our own. We had done a bunch of exploring with the family when we had been here at the beginning of the trip. But we were excited to have a bit more of a fun, less adventurous trip this time around.
We were excited to check into our hotel and see that it was all ready for the Swifties. They had a friendship bracelet making station, and a photo setup for everyone attending the concert. They also had a special Taylor Swift themed cocktail at the bar. We dropped our bags in the hotel room, fully intending to go out and explore. But the bed was so nice. And the air conditioning felt so good after weeks of heat waves and Airbnbs with no AC. We may have taken a nap.
Now rejuvenated, we headed down to get some food. We decided in the spirit of trying to keep this trip cheaper than seeing Taylor Swift in Santa Clara (the first three weeks don’t count), we wanted to eat as cheaply as possible. We went and found one of the Milk Bars I had been recommended. We had some of the best pierogies and potato pancakes of the trip. Then we walked back to the hotel and made some more friendship bracelets. It was so fun to be with my daughter doing something crafty (which I am not). We did not make as many bracelets as the others, so in the end I gave her some of mine so she could trade bracelets and keep some of the ones she loved.
The next day was Night 1 of the concert and when you started to see people out in full. We decided to check out the route to the stadium and the merch truck before it got full. After a quick breakfast, we hopped on the light rail and were at the stadium in 10 minutes. My daughter got overwhelmed seeing the stadium and the posters all over. We saw people already in their outfits. Immediately we were in the Swiftie mood and ready. We purchased some merch, and then headed back into town.
Now that we had purchased it for ourselves (and my oldest who decided to become a Swiftie later on and was regretting not wanting a concert ticket over a year ago. Don’t worry, I have plans for them) we needed to finish souvenir shopping for others. We decided to head into Old Town and check out the shops around there. We spent some time exploring the souvenir shops, looking for pierogi themed merchandise for my niece and nephew. We got a Zabka Hotdog (think 7-11 Hotdog, except edible and not likely to kill you) to keep with the theme of cheap eats and walked around the city a bit at a slower pace than we did last time.
The afternoon was for pampering. We found a highly rated nail salon near our hotel, and we both got our nails done. It was my daughter’s first-time getting gel, and she loved that she didn’t have to wait for them to dry. And let me tell you, these nails were well done. It’s been a month and the polish still hasn’t come off mine.
In the evening, we went out to another milk bar and had some dinner. Then we went back to the hotel to spend some time chilling and watching YouTube and TikTok. The concert was starting and so I started to check out what was going on in the “Taylor Swift in Warsaw” Facebook group I was a part of. This was when I started to get a little worried.
Remember, I bought my tickets last year off StubHub. StubHub guarantees that your ticket and/or replaces with a similar or better ticket. I purchased it without much research because I had been set on purchasing Munich. It was only later that I heard that the way Poland curbed resale was having the tickets with a name on it. And they ID check when entering. Normally you can pay to change the name, which is how they resell. But Warsaw decided it would not allow renaming on the tickets unless due to medical reasons. I did not know that. I reached out to StubHub. They said that the tickets were valid and the name was not an issue. Online there was a mix of information. At the stadium that morning they had signs saying that IDs would be checked. My tickets definitely had the original owner’s name on them. I started to worry.
People on the Facebook group were giving a plethora of information. Some gates were super strict and checking. Some gates were waving everyone through. Some people were sent to a long customer service queue where it was inconsistent if they were allowed to pay for a name change or not. Generally, everyone ended up getting in one way or another. But there were various levels of issues.
I talked to my husband on the phone to decide what to do. I had not informed my daughter of this issue because I didn’t want her to be worried. I wanted her to be excited. But he suggested now was the time to warn her. And let her know she was going to need patience. It may or may not be easy. I sat down with my daughter and told her the issue. She was upset but I said to her “One way or another we will get in. Everyone tonight did. It’s just a matter of how patient we are.” I found there tended to be two strategies. You could either go super early, go straight to customer service, pay the fee to get a name change, and then get in line to get in. Or you could go later (after Paramore started), when they tended to waive everyone through without ID checks. We decided to go that route.
The next day was concert day. We did a little walking. We did a little shopping. But we mostly just rested. We knew we would have a late night. And to be honest, I was getting nervous about the entrance and all its complications. Soon, it was time to get ready.
This is where the fun really began. We put on some Taylor Swift playlists and got ready. We shot some before videos for outfit transitions. We got into our outfits and did our make-up together. I knew this day would come, but it was so much fun. She borrowed my blush; I used her get ready headband. We gave each other advice on accessories. We recorded some videos and took pictures. We danced to Taylor. Then we headed out the door. It was time to go to the stadium.
We got to the stadium about 30 minutes before Paramore was set to go on. The stadium was a mad house. People were everywhere, lines were long. We walked over towards the entrance we were assigned to, but a guy waved us into a long line and told us it was the fastest one. I noticed it was long but moving, which encouraged me. Mostly because a moving line meant they likely were not stopping everyone for their ID. We were in line for about 30 minutes (we heard Paramore start when we were towards the front) and made friends with a little Swiftie in line with us. Soon we got to the first hurdle, security.
As we went in, they stopped us. “How old is she?” the guard asked as he pointed to Indira. “12”. “Sorry, you need to go to Customer Service. She needs a bracelet”. There was apparently a safety system for parents with young children. It was to help in the case they got separated from their adult. Normally, I love a system like this. But I knew that meant that we had to wait in a long customer service line, likely they’d check the name on the ticket, and we’d have issues and have to get back in this long line. “What if I said she was 13? She has a phone…” He looked at me and waved us through. One hurdle down.
Next came the bag check, and that was no biggie. I had a clear bag so they didn’t even check it. Finally, it was time to scan the ticket. I held my breath. She had trouble scanning the first one. Oh, no, did I buy scam tickets!!! Two seconds later it scanned. So did the second one. She didn’t even check the name and waived us through. My daughter and I quietly and *demurely* thanked her and then walked through the gates. Once we were through, we started crying and jumping up and down. WE WERE IN!!!! We made it to Taylor Swift!!!
As we entered the stadium to the sounds of Paramore playing, I was in awe of the crowds, the stadium, and the experience. Then I looked over at my daughter and my heart melted. She was crying. She was so overwhelmed. She had been excited for this concert for so long. She could not wait. And it was finally here. I gave her a big hug. All the stress over the tickets, all the hassle getting there, all the work to plan the trip. This moment made it all worth it.
We got up to our nosebleed tickets (I needed to make this cheaper than Santa Clara, you think I was buying good seats?), we got some popcorn and soda to drink. We had not gotten dinner in the excitement of the day and getting ready, so that was our dinner. We enjoyed a bit of Paramore, but mostly we were excited for the big event. And soon, it was time.
Taylor has a clock that turns on and counts down to “Midnight”. It helps to increase the anticipation. Then when it hits midnight, you see the dancers with the big fans walk out with a melody of music from all her different Eras play. Soon they come together in the middle, and when they open, there she is, in all her glory, and she goes straight into Ms. American and the Heartbreak Prince and her Lover Era. I made sure to catch my daughter’s reaction on video. She was screaming and crying. She said later it was because it’s one of her favorite albums, but she was crying too much to sing it at the top of her lungs.
But don’t worry, there was plenty of singing all throughout the concert. We spent the majority of time on our feet. I’ve been a long time Swiftie so I was so excited to dance and sing to all my favorite eras, Red, 1989, etc. My daughter is a newer Swiftie and loves the Reputation and Folklore eras. We both had been playing the Tortured Poets Department on repeat, so it was so exciting to see that new era. And of course we got some amazing surprise songs. On guitar we got I Can Fix Him (No Really, I Can) mashed with I Can See You. And on piano we got Red mashed with Maroon.
But it wasn’t just the amazing music. It was the atmosphere and the people we attended with. My daughter and I knew no one at the concert. But we got to talk with people, trade friendship bracelets. Everyone was friendly. When we accidentally sat in the wrong seats, no one yelled at us. They helped us move our stuff. We danced with strangers. And we loved the lighted bracelets. They added so much fun to the concert. I loved watching how they were coordinated, showing a rainbow during “You Need to Calm Down”, and switching between red and blue during the surprise songs and she switched from one set of song lyrics to another.
But the best part was the bonding over something we both mutually love. We coordinated outfits. We made and traded friendship bracelets. We held each other and cried at the opening. We sang “All To Well” at the top of our lungs together. We discussed what outfits she would wear, and what surprise songs we might get. And of course we clowned for Reputation Taylor’s Version, sure it was going to be announced in Warsaw. My daughter can’t wait for Reputation Taylor’s Version.
Unfortunately, all things must come to an end. And when we saw the Karma jacket come out, we knew that soon it would be done. But instead of being sad, we ended up cheering and screaming. It had been one of the most fun concert experiences I had ever been to. And instead of rushing out to beat the crowd, we actually lingered, taking pictures, stopping at the restroom, and taking our time, not wanting the night to end.
The police had closed down the bridge to the stadium back into Warsaw so instead of taking the light rail back, we had to walk back to the hotel. We joined the sea of Swifties walking back into the city. It was so many women laughing, smiling, enjoying themselves. But what amazed me was how safe I felt. It was 11 PM at night. I was walking in a crowd of people with my twelve-year-old daughter. And I felt completely safe. That’s one of the amazing things about the Swiftie community.
It took about 40 minutes to walk all the way back to the hotel and by then we were exhausted and parched. Not a single mini mart had been open on the way home, just bars and restaurants. So when we got to the hotel, we went straight to the hotel bar, ordered two lemonades, and downed them. It was the perfect post-concert drink and great way to unwind a bit from the excitement of the concert.
The next day we had a late flight out. I knew we would be tired from the concert and I wanted the option to sleep in. Thankfully, I had the foresight to pay for late checkout when I booked the hotel. We slept until almost 9AM (late for us) before we reluctantly got out of bed and went to find breakfast. We were walking to a coffee shop when we passed a café that advertised waffles and a special Taylor Swift drink. We diverted inside and had the nicest conversation with the café owner. We had amazing waffles and pink lemonade for my daughter and a pink iced latte for myself. Yes, it was pink and it was one of the best iced lattes I had in Europe.
We decided to take advantage of our girls’ trip and do a little shopping that the other family members had not been interested in when we were last in Warsaw. We found a T.K. Max and a Half Price. We had fun checking out the clothing and looking for brands that you can’t normally get in the United States. My daughter came home with a cute sweatshirt. But we had a good time going into the dressing room and trying on different outfits and asking each other for opinions.
After the shopping we went back to the hotel. We had to get our stuff out of the room. I had done some gathering the night before but my daughter likes to spread out and worry about it later. It took some time to find all the stuff, sit on our suitcases to get them closed, figure out how we were going to transport back the poster, and then get everything down to the hotel lobby.
Once checked out, we decided to use some free drink coupons my daughter had found in the hotel room while we were packing up. I got a beer and she got a lemonade, and we sat and had our last drink in Warsaw before the Ride Share came to take us to the airport. We watched Warsaw pass us out the window as we went to the airport to prepare for our long trip back to the US. Neither one of us was happy. Sure, we were ready to get back home. But the height of the night before was still there and neither one of us was ready to let it go.
Since coming backing, my daughter has sported her Taylor Swift concert shirt, concert bracelet and friendship bracelets anytime she can. He best friend went to the Santa Clara concert (her mom won the Great Ticketmaster Battle), and the two of them compared the experiences and are happy to talk all things Swift together. Every time I’m a little sad, I pull out my concert videos and relive the experience.
When my daughter was born twelve years ago, I dreamed of when we might be able to have these experiences. Seeing her grow up has been difficult at times. We don’t always agree. And she has the hormones and emotions of all girls this age. But this weekend was a core memory that I know both of us will always look back on. Was it expensive – a bit. Was it stressfull – a ton. Was it worth every penny and every minute of that stress. Absolutely. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Now, to plan a special trip like this with my oldest. Stay tuned.
Edited by: SKS
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