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Published: June 18th 2007
Warsaw Uprising Museum
German scout motorcycle with sidecar... We took the 10am train from Krakow to Warsaw. The train ride wasn't anything to write about, but once again, I have to comment on the toilets (I think I could write an entire book about European bathrooms). When you push the floor pedal next to the toilet to flush it, the hole in the bottom of the toilet opens and you can see the ground passing underneath you. This, of course, means that whatever business you just took care of is now lying somewhere along the tracks of Poland. Eww! The rest of the trip I spent imagining what horrors I might see while staring at the neighboring tracks.
We arrived in Warsaw at about 12:45pm to the welcome of the worst downpour I have seen since our last day in Vienna. After we checked into our hotel (the Mercure Frederic Chopin), the rain had subsided a bit so we headed out to see the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The museum was going to be closed on Tuesday so we had to get there while we'd have the chance.
The museum was built in 2004 and is FILLED with photographs, videos, and interactive displays covering the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising Museum
This is the type of concrete bunker that was used by the Germans... that began on August 1, 1944 and lasted for 63 days. During the uprising against occupying German forces, the Russian army, who was positioned across the Vistuva River, watched from a distance and refused to aid the Polish fighters. Because of this, 85% of Warsaw was destroyed, and only 25% of the population survived. Since that time, Warsaw has been completely rebuilt, with many building replicated to look as they did before they were destroyed. The museum is an amazing tribute to the many men, women and children who gave their lives fighting for a free Poland, and a place that I highly recommend visiting if you are ever to come here.
After the museum, we started heading back toward our hotel when the rain started again, and HARD! Even with an umbrella, I was pretty drenched by the time we got near the hotel, and we hadn't eaten yet so we decided to go in search of something, soaked and all. Down the street we found a little Polish restaurant called Hektor that looked good (and dry!), so we went inside. I had pierogis filled with spicy potatoes and cheese that were yummy, accompanied by an iced coffee
and pancakes filled with apples and covered with raspberry sauce and cream for dessert.
After dinner we walked to some shops and then headed back to the hotel for a night in away from the rain. Tomorrow we take a city tour of Warsaw, which will be the final day of our trip!
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Michael
non-member comment
I like the title of your blog!
Awww, sorry to hear the end of your trip was clouded by rainstorms, sounds like it was pretty bad. That sounds like a fantastic museum, I had no idea that Warsaw was so destroyed during the war. That really does sound like an epic victory. Sounds like you had a very scrummy tea to recover from the rain. It's so sad your adventures for this trip are coming to an end, they made for a fantastic read.