A small island with a great history. We decided that it was finally time for it.
First of all, Malta is surprisingly Polish. A bit like Croatia or Iceland — you fly there only to hear Polish on every second promenade and in almost every restaurant. Thankfully, there are no pork cutlets and cabbage in those restaurants, but instead a solid dose of rabbit. Lots of bones, not much meat, but I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys valuable and original food. Adding a few words about cuisine: you can clearly see Italian, Semitic, and Mediterranean influences. Overall, it’s not outstanding, but it does allow for choices that ensure you won’t go to bed hungry.
The island has good public transport, but we chose to rent a car. Something that may interest people who rent cars while traveling: very low rental prices and very high deposits. That’s how it looked in online offers and that’s exactly how it worked on site. For a decent Chinese SUV they were asking around 120 PLN for three days, but the secured deposit was €1,200. For comparison, in the Canary Islands or Madeira you’ll pay around 300–500 PLN for three days, usually with no deposit.
Of course, there’s left-hand traffic, but the sheer number of speed limits means we’re unlikely to hurt ourselves or anyone else.
What does Malta give us? Beautiful architecture, with strong Arab influences combined with a European flair and pedestrian streets. Rabat impressed us greatly — a city that, like the Italian Matera, feels as if it has stopped in time. It offers stunning views of the famous Maltese rock formations. If you enjoy flying a drone, you’ll find everything here: space, medieval towns, cliffs and precipices, winding streets, and almost desert-like landscapes. And on top of that, strong winds won’t annoy your drone. Can it get any better? Coming back to the highlights — Valletta really is beautiful, and St. Paul’s Bay is interesting as well.
Malta is often described as a European open-air museum of Catholicism and conservatism. Is that visible? Yes and no. There are many churches, statues of the Virgin Mary on every other house, but at the same time city names are almost Arabic, and the native language belongs to the Semitic language group. It’s written in the Latin alphabet, but phonetically it’s closest to Hebrew and Arabic.
Finally, four curiosities. The most common ethnic group living here permanently — in shops, taxis, and car rental companies — are Indians. In supermarkets you can buy alcohol from the age of 17, but you won’t find regular ibuprofen or paracetamol — those are only available at pharmacies. And the language — or rather, languages. The official ones are Maltese and English. On the streets you often hear Italian. And some locals seem to speak something of their own — I get the impression it draws from all of the above.
