Warsaw

We arrived in Warsaw and realised we had made a big mistake by not planning a longer visit. Sigh.

Prior to this trip, we did not realise the close ties between Poland and Lithuania. According to Wikipedia, “the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a state that comprised the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which existed from 1569 to 1795. This state was among the largest and most populated countries of 16th- to 18th-century Europe. At its peak in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth spanned approximately 1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi and supported a multi-ethnic population of around 12 million as of 1618).”

During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, more than 85% of Warsaw's historic centre was destroyed by Nazi troops. After the war, a reconstruction campaign led to an impressive restoration of the city, including churches, palaces and marketplaces. The rebuild is still going on today, with the King's Palace being developed in the 90s. It is a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century. However, during the rebuild, consideration was given to improving the city's liveability by providing more green spaces and making some buildings larger and better suited to modern living. It is now listed by UNESCO.

After we visited the royal palace, we had a cup of tea in the square and watched an event celebrating 35 years of the municipal police force. There were lots of marching and speeches. The official party on the stage was HUGE! There were somewhere between 60 and 80 people on stage, and it seemed like most of them made a speech.
In the small amount of time we have had here, we have explored a lot of the old city and some of the new.

The next day we visited the Warsaw Museum, which was excellent, and gave great insight into the horrors Warsaw suffered in the last century. There were so many photos of the devastation of the city during the Warsaw uprising and the horror of the Warsaw Ghetto. The Nazi’s rounded up 350,000 of Warsaw’s Jewish community and forced them into the Ghetto. They subsequently murdered the entire community. It’s unthinkable that the state of Israel is now treating the Palestinians in such a horrific manner.

We followed this up with a tour of the Warsaw Vodka Museum, and boy, we needed those vodkas by the time we got there. The guide was excellent and told the history of Poland via the development of vodka. Sounds like a long bow to draw, but it was really interesting.Read more