Highlights E Europe Day 12

Day 12 – Monday, May 10, 2010 – Warsaw, Poland sightseeing, Wilanow Palace, City Tour & Chopin Piano Concert

Today’s sun was a welcome sight as we had many outside activities today. After breakfast at 8:45 we met our Warsaw local guide, Ola and our new driver, Marek, who would be with us just for the day.

We drove south through the city – all 1950’s Communist style buildings which were constructed after the WWII bombings. The streets are now very wide and traffic problems are minimal. People use public buses and city trams.

The morning’s Optional Activity was a visit to the Wilanow Palace built originally as a villa in the late 17th century as a summer palace for King Jan Sobieski III and then it was expanded to resemble Versailles outside of Paris.

The Germans used this complex as offices, barracks, and then a hospital. Although it was looted, the building was not destroyed and is original. Fortunately, the Poles were able to reclaim many of the valuable works of art and the furnishings after the war.

Opened as a National Museum, the site has received money from the EU and private donations. At this time the gardens are being completely renovated so we were able to go only into the Palace.

We started with the Church of St. Anne, named in honor of Mary’s mother. Our next stop was the museum entrance at 9:30. We were given a pair of “stylish” plastic shoe covers to protect the wooden parquetry floors.

The museum now houses portraits of the royal families of Poland and other famous works of art. The family’s private apartments have been restored and there are collections of furniture, pottery, and other household items.

There were several school groups also on tour – five year olds were working on their color-books studying the portraits and the architecture. Middle Schoolers were being made up and dressed in powdered wigs and period costumes – a fantastic learning experience!

At 11:00 we went to the bus park to find Eva and the rest of the group who had not gone on the optional. We continued on a city tour with Marek and Ola. We began the tour on the Royal Road back into Warsaw, the capital of Poland.

At Lazienki Park we were able to walk around and take photos of the flowers and the giant statue of Chopin under the weeping willow tree. This is the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth and all of Poland is celebrating this favorite son.

The bus passed by the government buildings and the embassies. Once lavish villas, these structures were occupied by the Germans during the invasion, so they survived the bombings.

At the site of the Jewish Ghetto, we stopped to have a look at the Monument commemorating the Jewish Uprising. The whole ghetto was burned and leveled as a punishment for challenging the Nazi authority.

Marek dropped us off at the Old Town to see all of the reconstructed buildings. Once again this section had to be rebuilt from the paintings and photos done before the war.

We had about an hour to shop and have a little lunch before returning at 2:15 to the Statue of the Mermaid at the Rynek, the Old Town Square.

At 4:00 we met in the lobby to attend a Chopin piano recital. The concert was held in the Palace Szustra which was originally built in 1772. Burned by the Germans in 1939, it was restored in 1960 for the Warsaw Music Society.

The pianist was Iwona Klimaszewska who studied at the State Academy of Music and is now a teacher there. She played selections from Chopin for the 28 of us who chose to take advantage of this Optional Activity.

We returned to the hotel about 6:00 in a heavy rain. We worked on the journal and the photos for a bit, organized our luggage for our travel day tomorrow, and waited a short time for the sun to come out and the rain to stop.

I wanted to take pictures of the Palace of Culture and Science, built in 1952-1955 as a gift from the Russians. We left the Westin and walked along the streets for about 20 minutes until we had a great view of the tallest building in Warsaw.

We found a very nice Italian restaurant, Pizza Marzano, near the “Wedding Cake” as we heard the Russians in Moscow call this classic architecture. We had two drinks, a Caesar salad, and two individual pizzas all for about $20.

After our dinner we walked back to the Palace of Culture and Science just in time to see the evening lights illuminate the structure.

Coming back to the hotel, we walked along with the many Poles out for dinner or an evening stroll. The city is very safe and many in our group have remarked about how comfortable they have felt in all of the countries on this trip.

Tomorrow we drive into Germany and will be in Berlin for the next two nights. I posted the journal with fond memories of our four days in Poland.

Hotel: The Westin Warsaw (Buffet Breakfast)

loved the special effects of the elevator ride! any bigger and I might have had to put on my scopalamine patch!

Really cool elevator video. Can't tell wether you go up or down. Was it a glass ceiling or floor?

As an ex-Elevator (Otis) geek, that was a very cool video. Love all the commentary and pictures!

Day 18: Mediterranean Navigation

Malta

Tunisia

Algeria

Gibraltar

Spain

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Day 18 - Wednesday, March 19, 2025 – Disembark Ship & Return to USA

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