WARSAW

And now we're in beautiful Warsaw.  We have checked into a marvelous place called the H15 Boutique Hotel.  True luxury and a welcome change to our place in Krakow.  Not only do we have a spacious living/dining room with a 55 inch flat screen TV, but we have a stocked pullman kitchen, a lovely bedroom and two very spacious baths.  And, each evening there is a knock on the door and there is a gentleman with a luscious treat for us - compliments of the hotel.  Heaven!

Warsaw is, as I said, beautiful.  It was 85% destroyed in WWII by the Germans but has been rebuilt and is now a wonderful combination of old and glistening new.  The streets are all wide and lined with trees and the "old buildings" have been redone to replicate what they looked like prior to the war.  Everywhere you walk, if you look closely enough, are plaques identifying the site as either an important palace or a building where a war hero had lived or where a resistance operation had taken place.  In all cases, the plaque ends with the words, burned in 1944, rebuilt in 1949-19   .  

 Our first day we walked over to Lazienki Park.  This is one of the most beautiful parks in Warsaw.  It is quite large encompassing a Botanical Garden maintained by the University of Warsaw, a Palace on an Island which unfortunately was being renovated so we couldn't go through it and many paths that meandered around the lake and various streams, over quaint bridges and through lush greenery.






As you can see, it was really an idyllic way to spend some time.

This park is on the Royal Route, a former communication route that lead south from the city's Old Town.  Today it runs from Castle Square, next to Old Town, south to Wilanow, King Jan III Sobieski's personal residence.





We walked the Royal Route north from the park to Old Town and just as we left we ran into this statue of President Reagan.  We thought it strange that there would be a statue of Reagan in Warsaw but realized after thinking about it that with the collapse of the wall Warsaw came out from under Soviet rule and was able to once again prosper.


The lower part of the Route is lined with large homes.  It is also here where most of the Embassies are situated.  








As you get closer to Old Town there are more and more shops and many cafes.  All of the cafes have tables outdoors so you can sit and watch the daily activities.  Some even have lounge chairs!












As you get closer to Castle Square you start seeing some of the old churches, again most having been rebuilt in the late 1940's as they were destroyed by the Germans.

And then you reach Castle Square where the Royal Castle is.  Again, it was bombed and blown up by the Nazis during WWII and rebuilt after the war.

This is a picture standing in the square looking toward Old Town.  It really is amazing to think that all of these structures were rubble when the Germans left in 1944 and that they have all been rebuilt to recreate what once was.

Here are a couple of other pictures of the square and surrounding area of Old Town.

Although it was interesting to see Old Town and all of the other beautiful areas of Warsaw, our most interesting day came when we visited the Warsaw Uprising museum.  We had planned on maybe spending a couple of hours here and instead ended up being there for more than five.  It was truly remarkable.  

It tells the story of the Warsaw Uprising.  This is a story that most people don't know.  Poland was in a difficult position during the war.  Both Germany and Russia wanted to destroy it and it was invaded by both countries.  The Polish Resistance Home Army decided to stage a rebellion to push the Germans out of Warsaw.  It was timed to coincide with the Soviets advance.  The Soviets however stopped their advance short and allowed the Germans to regroup and destroy the city.  This kept the Poles from freeing Warsaw from German control and establishing Polish sovereignty.  This allowed Russia to take control over a large part of Poland after the war.

There is much more to the story and I urge you to read about it as it is a sad chapter in world history.  After the war, under Russian domination, many of the individuals who fought for their country were arrested, tried and in some cases executed for crimes against the state.  The museum wasn't created until 1983 and it didn't actually open until 2004.  Many Poles were unaware of their own history until this time as it wasn't in the Soviet's best interest to tell the real story.

What makes this museum so special is that much of the story is told by the insurgent's themselves through videos.  It is heart-wrenching to watch and listen to what these individuals, most just teens and some as young as ten and twelve at the time, went through to fight for the sovereignty of their country. 

The Uprising lasted only 63 days but here is the Memorial Wall listing all those who died during it.  It looks like the Vietnam War Memorial.

I'll leave you with one final picture.  In the middle of the museum is a tall column that runs though all four floors.  On one side it lists every day of the insurrection and on the other is the symbol of Poland fighting. It emits the sound of a beating heart.