I've decided that this post will be a bit shorter (Yeah, I hear you all say) and more general rather than focusing on the 101st AB or Leadership...I hope it doesn't bore you. You can always leave comments or find me on Twitter. I'd really appreciate any feedback that you can provide.
Ok, on to the latest 'Adventure'. This time it's a quick 3 days in Warsaw, Poland as part of my efforts to see at least 2 new countries every year.
Booked the trip via Expedia (no, not being sponsored but open to offers) flying from London Heathrow to Warsaw Chopin Airport. I left early, again, the morning of Sunday the 26th. The flight, by BA, was 'interesting' as we spent 45 minutes on the Heathrow ramp while the crew tried to find a missing passenger. Not sure if they ever found him but, oh well, managed to make it in one piece even after some sort of medical emergency. Always interesting to here the crew ask if there were any medical professionals on board!
It takes 2.5 hours to get from the UK to Warsaw, not too bad! Chopin airport is modern and convenient and, as with most other European countries, easy and quick to get through security.
Tip: Avoid the 'budget' airlines as they fly to Modin airport which is on the other side of the city and is a bit further away.
Quickly through the airport and to the train station which is co-located with the airport. There's two tracks which terminate at the airport. There are 3 different lines which run from the airport. The RL, the S2 and the S3. The S2 doesn't stop at the central station (Warsaw Centralna) so I jumped on the RL and 18 minutes later was at the Central station. Quickly checking in, I caught a taxi (20ZL) to the Old Town.
What a fantastic place, especially considering that 87% of the city was destroyed during WW2.
Walking around the Old Market Square allowed me to see a glimpse of what it must have been like before WW2.
The area also includes the 'Royal Castle'. Again, mainly rebuilt following the war but still a magnificent set of buildings with a partial wall and many of the old municipal buildings.
I walked from the Old Town center west about 500m to the memorial to the Warsaw uprising of 1944. The Poles celebrate the 1st of August (1944) and the struggles and sacrifices of the citizens of Warsaw.
I managed to find my way back to the hotel after about an hour walking plus a stop for a coffee. I managed to cover a lot of ground my first day and so, this was deserved...
I decided to get up early the next day as I had some time before my tour at 1000. I talk a walk North from my hotel along Al Jana Pawla II stopping first at the only synagogue that survived the war..
It's sobering and distressing to think that, before the war, over 30% of the population of Warsaw was Jewish and there were over 100 synagogues. After the war, very few Jews and only 1 synagogue survived.
I continued North about another 1.5 kilometres to Wiezienia Pawiak which is a memorial to a detention facility where tens of thousands of ordinary Poles were imprisoned and many lost their lives. All that remains is a very touching memorial and the remains of a wall.
I headed back to the hotel passing, along the way, a mural which would have been illegal 25 years ago. The mural decries the 'excesses' of capitalism and the EU...odd given the fight the Poles had to gain freedom from Communism.
I passed this really nice market on the way back to the hotel. If I had more time then would have bought some fruit to take back to the room...missed an opportunity I think. :-(
Five miles down before breakfast! I impress myself at times...
Now for the tour, run by Viator (again sponsorship readily accepted). The tour was around the city in a Nysa van from the days when Poland was under Soviet control.
The tour took in many of the main sites of the city, and some lesser known locations. In order to keep this post short (failing miserably already), I'm only going to post photos with captions...probably add more detail when I get some spare time.
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| One of the original streets with signs covering the different periods where different countries governed Warsaw. |
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| ...View along the same street. |
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| ...A peek into the entrance of an old house where carts using to pass. |
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| Yours truly outside of the Palace of culture and science. Built by the Russians and opened in 1955 and example of architecture found in most Eastern Bloc countries. |
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| There are many shrines to the Virgin Mary in many courtyards, Poland is still a mainly Catholic country. |
Part of the tour included, wait for it....Vodka! Yes, what a surprise eh? Followed by a nice lunch of perogies (Polish dumplings).
After the tour, did some more walking around the city (this covered Tuesday morning as well...22 miles over 3 days!!). Managed to visit Umschlagplatz (site where the Nazi troops entered the Ghetto to put down the uprising), and the Bohaterow Getta (Memorial to the uprising). The memorial is next to the new museum of Jewish history in Poland, very impressive!
...walking back to the hotel I also managed to locate the last remnants of the ghetto wall. It was very poignant and I couldn't help but feel the loss of some many behind the wall.
It's also worth remembering that the city was devastated during the war and, if you look closely, you can see some reminders of the war.
After a long day I managed to find a great little café, the Sofra, on E. Plater where I had a dish that was a mix of Turkish, Greek and Polish cuisines, it was fantastic!
I finished up the trip with a visit to 'PM Shooter' to indulge in one of my hobbies, trying new types of rifles, pistols and the occasional machine gun (Legal in some Eastern European Countries).
PM Shooter
I managed to get some time with an SWT40, Steyr M9, AK47 and PM 06 Glaberyt. The SWT40 is a classic with a history back to the war.
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| Me with the SWT40... |
All in all, a nice little trip. I'd recommend Poland to anyone who wants to visit and try someplace different.
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