This morning we took an organized tour of Warsaw. An organized tour is a good way to get a good overview when you're new to a city, especially one as large as Warsaw. There were a variety of tours available: walking, bicycle, on-off trams (where you have a choice to get on and off at various stops on a set route), and the traditional bus tour. We went with a 3-hour bus tour. Barbara, the tour guide, was a non-stop talker giving us historical, cultural and political information - including her own political views! We saw all the highlights and more:
* Lazienki Park - which includes various former palaces of Polish kings and nobles and the famous monument to Chopin.
* a walking tour of Old Town (Stare Miasto)
* the Uprising monument
* Monument to the Ghetto Heroes (which stands in front of a Jewish History Museum that is under construction)
* the former Jewish Ghetto
* Saski Park
* several presidential palaces
* a dozen embassies
* and about 100 churches!
2010 was the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth which was celebrated around the world. Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, but he and his family moved to Warsaw when he was 1 year old. Chopin lived in Warsaw until his late 20s when he moved to France, the birthplace of his father. Warsaw recognized the anniversary by installing 16 black granite benches which have a walking map of famous places associated with Chopin, a button that can be pushed to hear 30-second sections of various Chopin pieces, and a code that can be photographed by a smart phone to download a Chopin walking tour, music and more.
In the afternoon, we walked to Holy Cross Church in which the heart of Chopin is interred in one of the church pillars. We were surprised to see that author Wladyslaw Reymont's heart is also interred on another side of the same pillar. The practice of removing someone's heart and burying it in a location distant from the body sounds odd to us today, but it was an common practice in historical times.
We then walked to the Old Town (Stare Miasto) in order to take a tour of the Royal Palace. As with 95% of Warsaw, the Royal Palace was destroyed in World War II but has been faithfully restored and furnished with either original furnishings that were not destroyed or replicas, and artwork of the period. Needless to say, those kings knew how to live well!
Lying on the ground next to the Royal Palace are two former Sigismund II columns from different periods. The Sigismund column has stook in the heart of Old Town since the 17th century. The Poles think it is good luck to touch the fallen columns. We weren't sure which one, so we made sure to make contact with both! :-)
Besides being an excellent tour guide, Barbara gave us recommendations on which shop has the least expensive amber, the best traditional ice cream, and the best and least expensive authentic Polish food. So for dinner we had Tysiec beer and delicious, generous helpings of traditional Polish food at Podwale (http://www.podwale5.pl/). The staff was friendly, and like most public places in Poland, they speak enough English to have a good conversation. Our waiter, Pawel, treated us to an after-dinner glass of wisniuwka (a traditional cherry liquor that our Mom used to make every year)! Honestly, Warsaw has many, many very good restaurants that it would be hard to go wrong in any of them. After dinner, we walked over to Barbara's recommended ice cream shop (we needed the walk after the huge dinner, but probably not the ice cream!), Lody Tradycyjne (http://www.lody-warszawa.pl/). It was creamy and delicious, served in a home-made waffle cone. Before walking back to the hotel, we stopped at the Tomb of Unknown Soldiers, which stands in front of the lovely Saski Park.
We hate to say goodbye to Warsaw, but tomorrow morning we take a train to Krakow!
No comments:
Post a Comment