Warsaw

OK, so then we were in Warsaw. It was the hottest day of our trip, so finding the hotel with our bags was a bit uncomfortable. But we found it and got ready to head out. Our hotel was a bit east of the center of town AND there was a lot of construction going into town, so getting where we wanted to go was a challenge at first (and took awhile!). But we finally made it and were happy to sit down and check out some more yummy Polish food. Afterwards, we enjoyed walking around the Old and New Squares and taking in the culture around there.

There seemed to be a heavy classical music culture (of course, Chopin was from Warsaw) and always I was struck by the tenacity and courage of the Poles. The entire city of Warsaw was destroyed and pretty much evacuated during WW II. However, today it has been rebuilt to its previous glory and you would never guess that the city was literally a pile of rubble 60 years ago. That just goes to show that the Poles have a deep sense of national pride and put a lot of effort into rebuilding their lives instead of just moving on or giving up.

Royal Palace

Old Square

City Walls

New Square

On Friday we tried to visit the Russian bazarre but it was pretty dead and there was no English spoken anywhere, so it ended up being quite difficult. So we headed back to the Old Town and toured the Royal Palace. This building has also been rebuilt and restored and it was spectacular!

One of the many thrones

Some old masters (Rembrandt)

Magnificent architecture

After that it was time to head back to the airport and back to London. We were both very pleased with our trip. Ben was able to explore his homeland and is excited to return with his mom sometime. I had never really thought of Poland as a destination, but now I would recommend it (particularly Krakow) to anyone thinking of venturing to Eastern Europe.