Elegant Elbe: Day 2
Day 2: Monday, October 30, 2023 - Warsaw, Poland
The day's statistics:
- Weather: low 60s, mostly sunny
- Steps: 20,954 Linda; 20,993 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 16
Breakfast was full buffet at the hotel.
We sat with Mary and Bob from Maryland.
While I don't normally comment too much on the buffet, I am this time because - there was blood sausage on the buffet.
I also don't normally take pictures of the plates of breakfast because, well, it's breakfast and everyone knows what breakfast
looks like. However, when something unusual is on the buffet, I make exceptions. In this case, it was not only keilbasa on the
buffet that was unusual, there were also pierogies, baked beans (though not the first time seeing this as it is chiefly British),
and marinated vegetables.
Admittedly, while they both tasted good, they are unexpected flavors to have at breakfast - but more the keilbasa than the pierogi.
Today's first excursion was called "Panoramic Warsaw" (Warsaw is pronounced "var-sav"), and we departed on the bus at 9:00.
Our guide was Mario, and George was our driver.
Poland has a population of 2.5 million, of which almost 90% are Catholic.
Our hotel was across the street from a large plaza. At one end of the plaza is the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" (it's behind the boarding).
In this plaza at the site of the cross, in 1979, Pope John Paul II spoke, and began the end of Communism. The soldiers in this shot are
leaving the tomb as there is a changing-of-the-guard ceremony each and every hour.
We headed out into the city and saw a number of buildings of interest, churches, statues, monuments, and other sights.
Palm trees aren't known to thrive in this environment as it is too harsh. Which is why this one is made from plastic.
A statue of Ronald Reagan.
The bus finally stopped and we got off.
This is the 2nd presidential palace.
The Russian Embassy is at the end of this street, and the segment of street leading to it was renamed
"Icons of the Russian Agression Street" due to their unprovoked attack of Ukraine.
Poland's first president was Josef Pilsudski - a statue of him; and his Cadillac.
Adjacent to the palace was a very large park - we were told it would take forty-five minutes to cross it.
There was a monument to Frederick Chopin. It is a hand and a willow tree (representing the Polish countryside) in the
wind, with an eagle's head (which is also on the coat of arms). Also, Chopin's heart was preserved - but it was hidden
from the Russian Czar at the time, though now it is on display in a church in the city.
This is a replica as the original was destroyed in WW2.
In a number of cities in Europe, we encountered bike lanes. Some had their own traffic lights too.
On the corner opposite the park was this memorial. The top reads "A place sanctified by the blood of Poles who died
for the freedom of their homeland". The bottom has too much fence in the wway to be legible.
We boarded the bus again and continued on.
We passed an immigration office, and saw some other sights.
The Russians brought in a construction crew to build this building. It was initially used as a Palace for the People. The Polish
government was considering tearing it down, but decided to use it.
This is called the bubble building - though I think it looks more like a wave, and it is next door to the Warsaw Train Station.
A couple architecturally interestng buildings.
A sort of balancing sculpture.
A sundial on the side of a building.
A picture of the destroyed town, save for the church, and that same church today.
This is a memorial to the Jews that were deported to the concentration camps.
More sights, including a monument to the Jewish Ghetto Uprising, the act of resistance during World War II to Nazi Germany's
final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers.
Our next stop was at the Polish History Museum.
The design of the outside is supposed to represent the parting of the red sea.
The outside of the building is covered in glass pains, and each glass pain has writing on it.
By the entrance were Mezuzah bricks, which are bricks at an entryway that contain a small scroll with prayers.
Our stop here was brief, and for technical reasons. We only had about fifteen minutes at the museum, though that
was enough time for a quick visit to the gift shop. Of course.
We boarded the bus, and headed to our next destination.
Another example of the use of a bike path - widely used in Europe.
The war memorial wasn't too far away.
Across the street was an old military school.
We moved on and saw a building that included information about the Ghetto uprising, including some bullet damage from
the time when Jews were lined up and gunned down in cold blood.
The placard below the marker reads "This place is sanctified by the blood of the Poles who died for the freedom of their homeland.
On September 2, 1944, the Germans murdered about 439 people in an insurgent hospital."
The off-white building in the shot is where Marie Currie lived.
We walked a little further, turned right, and headed toward the old city wall.
We entered the gate.
An original segment of city wall - yes, the rest was rebuilt.
We proceeded to walk through the town, and then we entered a market square.
We crossed the square and headed out the other side toward the palace.
There was a picture showing the devastation that the town experienced during the way. The square is visible in this historical image
with the ruins surrounding it. The second image shows the allied generals walking through the ruined square that is now thriving.
We continued on, down a relatively narrow street, pausing in front of a couple churches next to each other.
We crossed the plaza in front of the palace, past a fountain, and stopped in front of the bell tower.
Some more highlights were pointed out, including locations to eat.
And it was also at this point that we said good-bye to our local guide.
(While putting together these photos, I noticed two spots on the lens - likely from the rain - that were extremely predominant in pictures
like the first one below with the sold rich blue field [the spot was removed when I noticed it].)
The stadium is referred to as the Bird's Nest.
Before we left the plaza, we took a selfie.
After our selfie, we were going to walk back to the churches to go inside. Our guide told us that there was a free water closet -
they usually cost €0.50 or €1.00 - in the lower level of the subway station "over there" pointing to the building across from
the fountain. We walked over, and went downstairs. Also down in that space was this "original switchboard controlling the electrical
equipment used for the operation of the original [subway] escalator. Previously located in the technical premises of the engine room.
Escalator was constructed 1947-1949 as part of the Trasa W-Z construction project. In 2005 the escalator and engine room were
redeveloped. The old equipment weighing 160 tons was replaced with the new on weighing only 16 tons and meeting the current safety
requirements of the users."
We sat on the wall for a few minutes to rest and absorb some sunlight before moving on.
Someone posing for a TikTok® or Instagram® or whatever. There were poeple doing this all over, sometimes just being annoying
and or in the way.
To the side was this statue of Jan Zachwatowicz, a famed architect, architectural historian, and restorer.
Off to the churches. We passed the palace again on the way because, well, we sort of HAD to.
We went into the first church - Bazylika Cathedral.
We saw a number of interesting statues, altars, artifacts, and other sights in the church.
The upright of this cross appears to be made from a whole trimmed tree, with the added across piece.
A historical photo of the Pope performing Mass in 1973.
We finished inside, and stepped out of the church.
We walked a few meters (a few feet) down the road - next door - to visit the next church - Sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces.
This church was much smaller, and there were fewer artifacts about - possibly because this was a continuously active church.
We eventually found out that the beads were rosaries.
A couple more historical photos from the Pope John Paul II's visit in 1973.
We walked back up the street to the palace plaza, crossed, and passed the fountain. On the opposite corner from the subway station
was a golden arches. I got my menu pricing picture. Here, the Big Mac is 20.50 zł - or $5.43.
At this point, we checked our time schedule and plugged our next destination into Google Maps.
Our late-lunch was going to be a "10 Tastings of Warsaw with Locals" food tasting tour. We had to walk some distance down the main street -
after we got to it - to meet our private guide. On the way, we saw some sights.
We arrived right on time at 2:00. Or so we thought. It was actually scheduled for 2:30... Oh... so we had a little time to sit and wait
for our host Mona. While we waited, I was asked to take this fashion photo (or would that be a photo of fashion?).
Our first stop was at Galeria Wypiekow Lubasaka where we tasted cake krenowka - which was a favorite of Pope John Paul II. There was
quite a line to order. The sweets looked really yummy. They also had a heart-shaped one. Did I mention they had salads? You don't go
to a pastry shop for a salad...
On the way to our next stop, we passed through part of the market mall, which was rebuilt after the war.
Behind the mall there were a number of vendors selling a wide variety of goods, including produce and meats.
We exited out the back of the market, and entered the Jewish Ghetto Park.
And a few more sights after the park.
A new highrise that the wealthy supposedly now occupy.
A recently renovated building.
And a building across the street from above, that is in limbo to be renovated due to a disagreement between the owner and the architect.
THere is also an old door stop from 1896.
We arrived at our second stop - a bakery - for some chocolate rugula.
We continued on.
The first golden arches in Poland.
Our third stop was at the Milk Bar, established in 1896.
The story is that a farmer wanted to make soup and use his crops. He boiled milk and added vegetables. Then he started a restaurant
to feed other with this milk soup, and the Milk Bar was born.
We had three tastings at this stop. First was a fruit compote - fruits boiled and the juice poured off; then a potato pancake with a
mushroom gravy; and lastly some cheese and potato piorogis with carmelized onions.
On to our next stop.
We exited the Milk Bar, and it was starting to get dark.
Our fourth stop was at Zapiexy. It was a rather small establishment. The restaurant started as a food truck.
For our sixth and seventh tastings, we had soda and zapiekanka.
And on to our fifth stop.
The fifth stop was another bakery called Cukiernia.
We sampled a Rose Marmalade donut - though it seemed it was baked and not fried. Also, it was still warm inside.
Our sixth stop was only a couple doors down at a chocolate store - Karmello Chocolatier. We didn't eat the chocolate this night, we
had it on our 8th day of the trip.
Our seventh and final stop was the equivalent of a night cap. We visited a vodka bar called Pijalnia wódki i piwa.
We had our choice of shots. Linda had the Kapiszon (raspberry and lemon), and I had the Poricznik Borewicz (cherry and banana).
Polish Vodka is a protected trademark.
We said goo-bye to Mona, and headed back to the hotel. We had an idea where we were, and it wasn't that far - down that way a couple blocks,
turn left, a couple more blocks and then go around the building. Or something like that.
Here are a collection of night shots during that walk.
During our drive we passed by the sight of the Ghetto Uprising, where the
We were told that Poland didn't exist for 120 years. In 1918 it regained its independence.
Also, pre-WW2 there were only 3 synagogues in Poland for 3.5 million Jews. After the war, there were still 3 synagogues,
but only 20,000 Jews remaining in Poland.
During the war, the opera house was damaged, but not destroyed; and 95% of the city was leveled.
The Warsaw pact was signed in 1959.
We relaxed, washed up, and went to bed.