Warsaw - Poland

Maps can be handy

So when we booked the hostel I didn't downloaded a map of Warsaw to our trusty travel toy, the tab, no that would have been far too sensible. We were sent instructions on how to get to the hostel from the train station in a text message so why do we need a map ?!?!?

So after purchasing 2 tickets for public transport we went looking for the infamous bus number 120. Alas, no number 120 bus never turned up at the train station even though we found a timetable for it so we chose to walk. The instructions we were sent told us what stop to get off the bus at so ... with a quick photograph of a map found at the station with the phone (thanks to modern technology) we pounded the footpaths of Warsaw. Approx. 40 mins later, with much sweat we found the hostel and checked in. 20 mins later after showering we were finally ready to explore Warsaw.

Warsaw isn't as well set up for tourists as Krakow. Nearly all signs are in Polish, there is very very little in English or any other language which was a bit of a shame when we went past some historical sites. We spent the afternoon roaming around town, heading out to see the tomb of the unknown solider and the lovely park surrounding it, then strolling back towards old town via the opera/theater district. As our tour guide the next morning stated (we did the free walking tour, best 2 hours spent in old town), old town is a bit like Disneyland as the reconstruction was completed in the middle of the 1950s. World War II saw 85% of old town and the nearby ghetto area destroyed. Old town had some walls survive but there was absolutely nothing but rubble in the ghetto area.

Yes that is just 1 ice cream and it is the length of my wrist to elbow

A muppet??

Tomb of the unknown soldier

In Warsaw we learnt about the Warsaw uprising and the underground network of polish civilians that acted as an armed resistance militia to try and fight off the Nazis. Unfortunately we were a bit early in visiting the Museum of History of Polish Jews, officially it opens next year, I imagine that the displays will be great then but we only got to watch a few black and white movies from the 20s and 30s of Jewish life in Warsaw. The walk between this museum and the next took us through the ghetto area, all nice 1960s style soviet housing blocks. All very square, very minimal concrete buildings. The Warsaw Uprising Museum had a massive line that took an hour just to buy a ticket. It was well worth it. After a long day on our feet we found a little cafe well off the tourist path to have a late lunch, interesting mix of cultures, basically an asian noodle house but polish style, weird but good when you are hungry. We walked back to town via the last piece of the ghetto wall that survives. It was incredible to see a 2m brick wall with barbed wire on top divide a street in half. We then went and saw the final insult to the Poles, Stalins gift of the culture center. It is just like the seven sisters in Moscow, all identical Stalin buildings.

After some random walking in the general vacinity of a park we stumbled past a great little impromptu cafe for the summer.

I ate my way through Poland

LOOK Squirrel :-)

At 5pm with the public transport tickets we purchased on day 1 we jumped on a bus to the bus terminal. We never did validate those tickets (second city where we have abused the system). At 7pm we boarded a bus to Riga stopping in Vilnius for a couple of hours, or so we thought ........