Adventure through Warsaw

I have never heard anyone say, "Go to Warsaw. Its really hot there, and it's a really good place to tan!" Its got to be 35 degrees outside. It's a scorcher for sure! Thank goodness that after our long adventure through Warsaw we come back to an air conditioned hotel room.

But before I mention about our adventure. I have to say that breakfast this morning was sensational. I was expecting a muffin like they serve at a Holiday Inn and call it a "Continental Breakfast." This truly wasn't the case. It even had a perogies and mimosas! And black pudding, which is something that I have grown up eating. I have made a concerted effort to say to myself that I will do and try anything. Except mushrooms. I don't like them. Though they are really popular here. I see that most places call them champignons, but again, English is very commonly used here.

Hey! I had to try everything!

We walked a lot today, and we saw a lot. Let's see if I remember it all.

Our guide, Adam, had a very vast knowledge of Warsaw and Polish history. It was impeccable. Except both my mom and I agreed, I think we could have done away with the inside tour of a castle.

Warsaw has an "Old Town" and "New Town." Though it is important to note that the "New Town" is from the eighteenth century or something and the old town is from 100 years before that. The picture posted in my previous blog, showing the Market Square, is from "Old Town."

Along the way we saw few commemorative plaques from the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 (not to be mistaken by the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, which I wrote a paper on this semester). Underneath there were flowers and candle holders where people have paid tribute to the uprising.

Speaking of the Warsaw ghetto, we saw the monument which to me was slightly surreal after just recently finishing a paper on this very topic. It is hard not to feel some sense of emotion when you see and talk about this time in Polish history.

We saw the Vistula River, which played a significant role in the medieval times(???).  Saw a couple palaces including Wilanow Palace, which was nice to see. We aren't too sure if we needed to really go in the inside . It was basically just a bunch of pictures of nobles, kings, and queens. But I guess we can say we've been inside it!

We saw Stalin's penis. Ok, not the real one. Its now the Palace of Culture and Science. Its the tallest building between Frankfurt and Moscow. It was a gift from Stalin and was used frequently for Socialist events. It is one of the remaining buildings left from the Soviet era because the Poles have felt that it still serves a purpose. We only passed it by car so I apologize, no picture! It's just a tall boring building. Kind of like the Province/Sun building in Vancouver. Not even that tall.

By all accounts, this place on Royal Way was to have the best perogies in Warsaw. They were good. But, they just had a bit of butter on them and so they had less flavour to them then we would have liked. No sour cream here on their perogies. Mom asked for some the first night and she got tzatziki sauce. Not quite like I am used to, but they were definitely homemade. We also ordered a cup of borscht. The problem was, it was like drinking a cup of hot beet juice hahahaha. (See photo below) It wasn't very good. But, I drank mine. My mom couldn't drink hers. I'm kinda beet now. Excuse the pun. What I'm trying to say is that I am tired of beets.

Anyways, it is now 8:30 pm on this gorgeous Tuesday night in Warsaw, Poland. It was very hot. Drank a lot of water, and surely sweated it all out! Mother is passed out on the hotel bed as I write this post. I may have to go to the bar and have a litre of beer because they're so cool. With the money conversion, its about $5-$5.50 for a big beer. Good deal!

Tomorrow we are off to Krakow, which I hear is beautiful. I think we could totally do a few more days in Warsaw, but I think that it is good to see more than one place. And definitely in a few days, this trip will get a lot more interesting and definitely more emotional. We are only a few days from seeing Auschwitz, which I am nervous to see. But, as a history buff it is something that I need to see.

Do porozmawiać ponownie z Krakowa, Życzę wszystkim miłego wieczoru. Na zdrowie!