Day 30 to 33: Last Days in Warsaw

We're finally posting our pictures from the last four days in Warsaw. Kuba's laptop broke, so we didn't get to post anything while we were there... so here they are!

Palace of Culture and Science

One of the things we saw in Warsaw was an attraction called the "fotoplastikon". This large round contraption has 20 seats all the way around, and at each seat people can look through a pair of goggles to see a stereoscopic 3D image of some famous monument, location, or just daily life. The images rotate around so each person can see the whole show from one seat. It was a huge attraction at the beginning of the 20th century before people could regularly go to the cinema.

Of course we had to stop for one last round of delicious hot chocolate at Wedel :)

Isabel got food poisoning, so we didn't do anything for a day. When she was feeling better, we went to the new Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The full exhibition was not open yet, but there was an interesting temporary exhibit about the history of Jewish people in Warsaw. 

The architecture of the museum building is also really interesting.

On our final day in Warsaw, we walked around the Old Town to see all of our favourite buildings one last time. 

Lots of buildings and streets were closed, in preparation for the arrival of important foreign visitors the following day. June 4th was the 25th anniversary of the first democratic elections in Poland. There was very high security around the Old Town, because President Obama was going to be attending the celebrations the following day.

Preparations for June 4th concert in front of Royal Castle

After visiting the Old Town, we went to the Copernicus Science Centre. We had a great time looking at all of the very interactive exhibits that they have. 

Copernicus Science Centre

Afterwards, we rented bikes and rode along the river.

We finished off our last day by having a nice dinner with Kuba's family, to say goodbye. We then returned to our apartment, to pack and prepare for our 6am flight home. The flight went well, and we arrived home safely :) 

We would like to thank both of our families, who helped make our trip so enjoyable. We'd also like to thank our friends Cynthia, Wary, and Jon who were great hosts and tour guides. Thank you!!!

Day 27 to 29: Warsaw

On Tuesday we spent most of the day walking around Warsaw, doing some gift shopping! We also tried to rent bikes to bike through the park but it started raining, so we ended up going home. In the evening, we assembled some new furniture for the apartment in Warsaw. 

Kuba is very excited to have bought 3.25% polish milk, like he remembers drinking as a child at his grandma's

We had big plans on Wednesday morning to go to the Copernicus Science Centre, but it turns out that this museum is so popular that you must book tickets online several days in advance! So we are going on Sunday instead...

We walked home from the Science Centre via Krakowskie Przedmieście, a large shopping street. On the way, we walked through the campus of the University of Warsaw. Here is the library of the university, which boasts a beautiful garden on its' roof.

Krakowskie Przedmieście

There are some interesting signs throughout this neighbourhood, showing historic photos of certain buildings. This is the Church of the Holy Cross in 1778 and today.

Interior of the Church of the Holy Cross

Frederick Chopin's heart was returned to this church after his death 

 

Memorial to the Katyn massacre

We continued our walk through the Nowy Świat neighbourhood, past the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, to the National Theater.  

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We found another historical photograph, this one of the Church of the Visitandines.

Church of the Visitandines

On our way home, we stopped at E.Wedel, a delicious chocolate cafe, for some hot chocolate drinks :)

Plac Zamkowy, with the King's Castle on the right

Statues holding up the Supreme Court building

In the evening we went to watch a film about the Warsaw Uprising. This was a really interesting film, because it is entirely composed of real footage from this time period, which has been digitally coloured.

When we returned home, Isabel did her homework. The other day we bought some children's books in polish, for Isabel to practice reading polish. It's also a sticker book!

On Wednesday morning, we walked to Hale Mirowskie, which is a large farmer's market. Our mission was to get ingredients for the pasta sauce we were preparing! On the way, we walked through the Saxon Gardens, located behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

Saxon Gardens

Hale Mirowskie

Hale Mirowskie

After returning home with our delicious new vegetables, we went out for lunch at the milk bar. After lunch, we went to a new museum, located inside the Barbican. The Barbican is part of the fortification that surrounded Old Warsaw in the 16th century. It was destroyed, and then certain part of the wall and the Barbican were rebuilt in 1938.

Warsaw Barbican (left of photo, in the distance)

Prints inside the Barbican showing the old city

There were lots of pictures inside the Barbican showing how the city has changed over time. After its destruction, most of the old town was rebuilt to match what it looked like before the war so it was interesting to relive our time here to these old prints.

Walking inside the Barbican walls

A view towards the old town from inside the Barbican

Isabel peeking out of the Barbican, guarding the city from intruders

 The last part of the museum was a film showing how it was rebuilt over the years. They described how they used hand-made grooved gothic bricks like these!

We met up with Kuba's uncle and grandma for a lovely dinner in the old town.

Day 26: Warsaw

This morning, we went for a walk north of our apartment, along the Vistula River. We brought a picnic along with us to eat in a park. There is a large former military fortress called the Warsaw Citadel which was built in the 19th century during the imperial Russian occupation of the city. It is now mostly left in various states of disrepair, although there are efforts underway to renovate the fortress and reopen it for visitors as a museum. Unfortunately this means that it is mostly closed, but we were still able to walk around the perimeter to see the walls.

Warsaw Citadel

Main Gates of the Citadel

Exercise equipment in the moat around the Citadel

On our way home from the citadel, it started thunderstorming, so we stayed inside for the rest of the afternoon. When the weather cleared up, we went out for dinner to a well known chain of pierogi restaurants called Zapiecek where we had delicious pan-fried pierogi and naleśniki (polish crêpes). Delicious!