Warszawa, Polska

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Warszawa, Polska, June 26th - July 1st, 2009

Our trip in Russia ended with us being back exactly where we started. No more booking so far ahead, as we do not like to follow a set schedule so strictly. We spent our first day in Warsaw doing absolutely nothing as planned. We had been on the road for almost a month and needed a day off from sightseeing to relax and recuperate. It wasn't till the late afternoon of our second day that we finally left the hostel to see some of the Polish capital city. Since the weather was not that great, we decided to spend it indoors, going first to the museum of the Warsaw Uprising. All the guides said this was the top museum to see in Poland, and they were not wrong. Dedicated to the thousands of Poles who lost their lives fighting during the uprising, the museum contains hundreds of artefacts, ranging from weapons used by the insurgents to propaganda posters from the Polish army. The place did a phenomenal job portraying the ill-matched struggle of the Poles against the fascists.

Next day being a Sunday, we took the tram down to the Saxon Gardens where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies. The tomb is located in the only remainng part of the Saxon Palace, which was entirely dynamited by the Nazi's after the uprising. We were here to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which takes place every Sunday at noon. All the branches of the military are present, along with veterans who fought during the war. Quite a sombre ceremony, but glad we got a chance to see it. After this we were on our way into the old town, but by coincidence ran into a L'Oreal Paris fashion show right on the street. Since we were able to get front row seats for it (and because the girls were hot), we stayed and watched for a while.

We spent the rest of our time in Warsaw taking it easy and seeing all the other interesting places. We rented a row boat in Wilanow Palace and took a relaxing ride around the Palace lake. We toured the old town, including the Royal Castle, which were completely destroyed during the war (along with the rest of the city) and rebuilt exaclty like it was before. We saw the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto and of course one of the most prominent buildings gracing the Warsaw landscape, the Palace of Culture and Science. This Soviet-designed skyscraper was commissioned by Stalin himself, although he never lived long enough to see it complete. To this day it remains the tallest building in Poland.
After a week long rest in Warsaw, we are off to Krakow.

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Photos

Uprising Museum
Reminders of the occupation.

Syrenka of Warsaw, Old Town Square
The mermaid appears on the Coat of arms of Warsaw

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The Changing of the Guard Ceromony.

Memorial to Nazi Victims
Plaques like this are all over the city, this perticluar one dedicated to 108 poles executed on that very spot by the Nazi's on August 3rd, 1944.