Cześć everybody!
Last night we went for a walk around old town and then we enjoyed a lovely dinner in Old Town Square. All three of us had an entree of traditional sour cream soup with sausages, egg and mushroom. It was amazing! I had Goode dumplings as a main. Everything is so cheap here which is a really nice change after the expensive countries I've been to thus far!!
We had a walk around castle square and then went back to the apartment. Once we let the cool breeze in through the windows the temperature was alright, but we had to leave them open overnight to keep cool. I was so exhausted (haven't been sleeping very well) that I carked it and due to my earplugs and eye mask slept like a log until 6.30am. Dad on the other hand said he stayed awake most of the night due to the castle clock tower chiming every 15 minutes and people being loud in the square.
This morning we were going to start at the royal castle which opens at 10am, but since we woke so early we swapped all our plans around. We started our day by walking at about 9am to the south of town, further into the former ghetto areas. We walked through a park that used to house another royal palace, but due to bombings only a tiny part of the palace remains, and this is used to cover the tomb of the unknown soldier. The gardens had some pretty flowers as well, took a few photos for you to enjoy Nan!
Then we were in the ghetto area and we saw lots of tiles on the ground indicating where the wall had been. We walked to a street called Ulica Prosna which was heavily scarred by the war, you could see bullet holes and chips in the sides of the facades that survived. Also, here we saw the only remaining fragment of the ghetto wall. I wanted a photo with it to show you all how short the wall was in comparison to its original 3m height, but I didn't want to smile as this wall didn't make me feel happy at all. So excuse the weird expression on my face, was just a somber moment. But this wall was part of the ghetto wall that trapped 450,000 Jewish people in the Warsaw ghetto.
Next was the Nozyk Synagogue. This was the only synagogue in Warsaw to survive WWII. The reason it survived is because the nazis used it as a stable, so they didn't destroy it as they wanted it for their own benefit.
We kept walking and next reached the Palace of Science and Culture. A pretty ugly building in my opinion (and apparently a lot of poles' opinions) which was given as a gift by the Soviet Union in 1955. Bit of a slap in the face if you ask me, but oh well. We went up to the viewing terrace and enjoy 360 degree views of Warsaw. Was interesting being able to see the old town amongst the big buildings. Could also see Warsaw's version of the MCG haha.
After this we walked about half an hour to the Warsaw Rising Museum. My guidebook described it as being really comprehensive, and they weren't lying! Information overload but in a good way. It was really interesting to educational to read about. We learned all about the Germans invading the and the citizens of Warsaw forming a resistance which sadly eventually failed. But the courage shown by these people as amazing. The museum see full of technology and quite interactive. We watched a 6 minute video showing a bird's eye view of the destroyed city post war. It was horrible, the whole place was just blackened ruins due to the Germans bombing everything in response to the Warsaw rising. Apparently directly after this happened only 1000 people were living in the ruins. The reason for bombing and destroying the city was in response to the rising or resistance movement. And as I mentioned yesterday all the old town was reconstructed, but I really don't understand how a city comes back from that. Where would you start?? Horrific. But the polish people obviously have an amazing unbreakable spirit and never give up or give in. There was an 8 minute sequence of sounds playing as well including bombs, radio transmissions, prayers and a constant heart beat. It was quite eerie.
If I get any of the history wrong please forgive me, but what I'm about to type is what I've made from the information overload I was presented with. I already knew that Germany invading Poland on September 1 1939 began the Second World War. I can remember nan telling me this was on her 13th birthday. And I know that the allies had an alliance with Poland so declared war on Germany. But the whole point of this museum was to teach visitors about the Warsaw rising movement, which saw the people of Warsaw forming a resistance to try and push the Germans out of their home. Buildings were being destroyed, artwork stolen and ruined and even worse... It began on August 1, 1944. For the first time in five years, the people of Warsaw felt they stood a chance at once again being independent. Polish flags flew and people were much happier. But over time the Germans once again gained control. As I said, there was so much information that I actually got a little bit confused! But the exhibition included seeing a plane that the British used to drop supplies for the people of Warsaw during this time and lots of artefacts that were really interesting.
We caught a public bus back to the Castle Square and had an ice ice cream then a rest in the apartment. Mum and I also had a quick shop in between. I hadn't bought any earrings the whole holiday which is really unusual for me. Well today I bought 6 pairs of beautiful $5 polish earrings. Earring quota fulfilled!! Haha. Then we joined a walking tour just outside where we were staying about the Jewish history of Warsaw. The guide's name was Bart and he was great. We visited lots of significant places, quite a few that we had already been to. But it was really interesting to have more detail and be told little stories that you wouldn't otherwise know. For instance we stopped at a plaque about a man called Janusza Korckaza. He created children's rights in Poland and set up many orphanages. During the holocaust the Germans told him he could be spared from the gas chambers (he was Jewish) due to him being famous and having done good for the country, but he refused and said he wouldn't live his children. He never married or had any children of his own, but instead saw those children in the orphanage as his children. So even though he knew they were going to Treblinka to meet a tragic end, apparently he didn't tell the children this and instead spent his last hours with them making them happy and telling them they were simply being moved somewhere else.
Another touching story was about a lady whose first name I missed, but last name was Sendlerowej. She worked in a hospital to tend to people in the ghetto so had a pass allowing her to get in and out. She snuck 2500 children out of the ghetto, faked death certificates for them and gave them to volunteer families to bring up. She would write down the details of their real family and their new family so that after the war they could be reunited. Many parents of these children died however, but at least they knew the details of their family history. She was eventually discovered and the nazis tortured her but she refused to reveal any information. She survived the war after this. Bart said once he had a man on one of his tours who had been rescued by this lady, went to live with another family and was raised by his aunt after the war.
Then we walked back in the rain (another 6pm downpour like yesterday!!) and now are having a rest before dinner. The drainage isn't very good here, hardly any drains and nearly got soaked by a bus driving past on the way back!
Tmro night I am meeting the Topdeckers once again for a pub crawl for Lir's 19th birthday. Which I am really looking forward to, but not so much looking forward to the 4am get up the next morning! Should be interesting and I'll have to try and get some sleep!!!
I'll post before that tmro. Another downpour has just started! So humid and sticky.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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