Walking Adventures in Warsaw
We get directions from the Direktor to the bus stop, stop along the way at a kiosk for our ticket and accost a couple nice people to find out where the stop has been relocated. Always an adventure. We get there just as the bus pulls up and run to hop on.
Wildlife
 |
| Forgot how noisy these guys are! But it makes them easy to find in the trees. |
Not knowing the language or being able to understand the bus stop announcements, we take to reading road signs (my job) and finding our location on the map (Melodie's job) that the Direktor gave us. We're off to Lazienki Park where the King's summer Palace on the Isle is located and the monument to Poland's favorite composer, Chopin, resides. We follow the crowds as we enter and merely wander since there aren't many signs (nowhere in Poland are there many signs).
It's a beautiful park for hiking, running, and just enjoying the out-of-doors. Pure luck, we find the Palace on the Isle, the king's summer retreat.
and then take a walk to find a concert about to begin so we take a seat, pull out our lunch, and sit back for some entertainment. After the 11 bells sound at the church, the concert begins with four a capella singers singing CHILDREN'S SONGS! The audience was full of toddlers and the songs were very animated which is good since we didn't know the language for the introduction of the tune OR the tune as it was sung. But the facial expressions of the singers were a giveaway of the fun they were having to entertain the children. The entertainers never flinched as the toddlers ran across their stage, played on the floor in front of them, or just explored the area and danced.
 |
| A favorite shade of red but I think I could come up with a better bottle solution than this! I see these ugly bottle reds everywhere! |
We make a stop at the Lody (ice cream) kiosk and get a two scoop cone to cool us down. Quite warm today, 35 C translates to 95 F. We feel right at home and I forgot to put on sunscreen! At least the humidity is only 45 per cent.
Back to our walk, we stopped a young lady who appeared to be an employee of the park and asked for directions to the Chopin Monument. Up the stairs! I tell you I think of my mother a lot on this trip since she wasn't able to do stairs in her later years. This is what keeps me going...I must before I'm not able.
 |
| Chopin with the wind blowing the willow tree above him. |
 |
| A map of Chopin's Warsaw with a button to play one of his works. |
 |
| Chopin surrounded by mini roses |
After our Chopin encounter, we decide to walk to our next stop to buy hats for our sons. It didn't look THAT far but getting lost in trying to find a particular location that we were given seems to be the norm for us. We tried to find a shop in the Centralna (train station) and ended up too tired to stand so we checked out the McDonald's. It's a little different than back home. They have touch screen kiosks for ordering and paying as well as the regular cashiers. My Big Mac meal costs 15.90 zloty which is about $4 and they check your credit card signature. Your order is displayed on a screen above the pick up area and they check your ticket before giving you your order. I felt like crap after eating that horrible food. No more McD's for me!
 |
| Kiosk...Have it your way without the middle man. |
 |
| I don't think Americans would go through the bother of separating their trash. We would probably just leave our trays on our tables for the "staff" to collect and separate. What do you think? |
Back and forth under a busy highway brought us FINALLY to a shopping mall behind the train station. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE shopping? Going shopping is aways a last resort and when you've already walked 5 km, the last thing you want to do is shop.
 |
| Check it out! I have my own store and no one ever told me! |
Found the store but no hats so we're giving up and taking a taxi back to our hostel since our feet can't carry us any further. It was well worth the 20 zl ($5) for the two of us to share not to have to walk another 3 km back. No conversation but then we weren't in the mood anyway.
 |
| Warsaw was bombed to rubble and some buildlings were repaired but more modern built in their place. Here's a contradiction in the old and the new. |
Sprawled on the bed for 1.5 hours, I decide to try out the showers before they get crowded. I was in and out as quickly as possible with no one walking in on me and was relieved to be back in our room. It's 7p so we decide to get dinner in the local square Rynek Nowego Miasta built in 1408. "Lat" means "years".
 |
| Table on the square. The tables to the immediate left of this photo are rocking but both sides of the table will rock back and forth so be ready if you choose these. None were available for us so we're under an umbrella (sheltered from the rain sprinkles) by the wall. |
 |
| Trying my best to stay diet friendly but there's always something included that I shouldn't eat. My chicken salad with bacon and croutons and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Guess that's better than piled with feta. I just need my salad a day. |
 |
| The church on the Rynek Nowego Miasta. Do you see a job here that YOU wouldn't do? I do! Look closely up top. |
When you get a table at any of the outdoor umbrella tables, it is basically yours for the night...no rush to move you along. We each got a salad and I got a lemonade with mint.
 |
| Reading the menu and always looking for free wifi on our phones. |
 |
| My lemonade with mint and Melodie's .5 L beer. |
We returned to our room around 8:30p for blogging and resting. I think I'm actually caught up!
Tomorrow will be touring the Jewish Ghetto, cemeteries, Warsaw Uprising monuments, and possibly the overlook on top of the library of the University of Warsaw.
No comments:
Post a Comment