Wednesday morning, I picked up Jane at 6:30 and we did a shift from 7:00 to 9:00 at Saint Vincent de Paul's main kitchen - we cut up and diced about 100 pounds of potatoes, I believe to be used in making home fries. I brought Jane home, went home to shower and shave, and then Patty drove me and my luggage to the airport. First it was to Chicago in the afternoon, then overnight to Amsterdam and then Thursday morning to Warsaw. I got to the Ibis Hotel Stare Miasto around 1:30. When I arrived the lobby was full of people in wheelchairs with their families, friends and attendants - more than a hundred. After checking in, I saw this poster advertising the World Para Dance Sport European Championship this weekend.
I unpacked and rested to about 3:30 and then went out to explore. The Central European Time Zone goes from Portugal in the southwest to Poland in the northeast. This means sunrise in Warsaw is around 6:45 a.m. and sunset is at 3:55 p.m. I had precious little sunlight to explore in the daylight. One of the first things I noticed was that while the hotel restaurant was only open from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, the hotel bar was open 24 hours a day. And just outside the hotel, there is a 24 hour liquor store.
I walked a loop that took me down to the Vistula River and around a park that includes Fort Legionów, which was part of the defense of Warsaw in the early and mid 1800s but which by 1865, was outdated and became a prison until the early 1900s, then a military fort and finally just offices and a museum. Then I headed into Stare Miasto, Old Town Warsaw. It was already dark, but they have already started putting up the Christmas lights - Poland is a very Catholic country, although they also have many Jewish people and now, since the end of the Soviet Union, people from around the world with different religions, cultures and languages.
They are celebrating 100 years of Warsaw as the Capitol of Valor, from the end of World War one on November 11, 1918 which is the date of Polish independence - this weekend is the 100th anniversary of the nation, so I expect there will be much activity here.
Thursday evening, I went to a nearby grocery store and bought bananas and apples for breakfast. I got my early coffee Friday morning from the hotel restaurant. After doing some online classwork, I then went out for coffee and a slice of quiche at a nearby cafe - Green Cafe Nero is a local chain of coffee shops.
After breakfast, I set out to explore. My first three goals were to make sure I knew how to get to the Kolumna Zygmunta in Old Town (where the Angloville tour starts Saturday morning), the Palace of Culture and Science from the Hard Rock Cafe side (where we get the bus Sunday morning and where we will be returned to Friday afternoon/evening) and the Warsaw Grand Tulip Hotel (where I am staying next Friday night when we return to Warsaw). After finding all of those, I came across several interesting things on my way back to the Ibis Hotel.
I had received a notice from the American Embassy about possible demonstrations this Sunday:
In 2017, the march organized by the Independence March Association attracted more than 50,000 participants. In previous years, some marchers in the Independence March Association event carried banners, hurled flares and chanted slogans aimed at racial, sexual, and religious minorities. There were also incidents of violence including clashes between marchers and counter-demonstrators. If this year’s Independence March Association march takes place, it is expected to begin in front of the Sejm Parliament Building, near the Home Army and Polish Underground State monument, proceed to the Dmowski Roundabout, and then to the National Stadium via Aleje Jerozolimskie and Wybrzeże Szczecińskie.
This was not surprising, as I had seen some protests when I was in Krakow and Wrocław on prior trips, plus what I had read in the news. Just before arriving at the Grand Tulip Hotel, I noticed a group of adults meeting in what looked like a nearby school yard, maybe a couple of hundred people - I assume they were getting ready to celebrate 100 years of independence this weekend, but it is possible they were preparing for some protest. On my way from Grand Tulip back to the Palace of Culture and Science, I saw a long line of people, three or four abreast, several hundreds of people, about half in military dress uniforms, entering a military facility on Jerozolumskie Street - they appeared very somber and looked like they were going to some sort of memorial ceremony related to those who died for Independence Day.
Next to the Palace of Culture and Science is the hall where the Congress meets, with the Palace looming tall behind it.
That is not smog in the photo above - it was foggy all day. On the north side of the the Palace is Świętokszyski Park, and in the park is a fountain and memorial honor to Janusz Korczak (also known as Dr. Henryk Goldzmidt) who was killed in 1942 while protecting Jewish and Polish orphans.
Further on, I walked across a marker in the sidewalk that marked the edge of the infamous Warsaw Ghetto where many Jews died during the occupation of Warsaw in WWII.
Warsaw is far enough north that all the annual deciduous trees have lost most or all of their leaves, with many already being raked up and bagged by city park crews.
In the center meridian of the boulevard in front of the Ibis Hotel there is a memorial to the Poles who were murdered in the east when the Soviets invaded Poland on Sept. 17, 1939 without provocation and without a formal declaration of war.
After lunch and a brief rest, I took another route through Stare Miasto and discovered Młodziejowski Palace which is where the first known public concert of Frederyk Chopin's music was held December 19, 1829. Of course, it was 4:00 p.m. so it was already dark. While it burns a lot of fuel to generate the electricity, I am glad to see things well lit throughout the parts of the new and old town where I explored.
As it was nearing dinner time, I passed by this interesting restaurant. The entrance was through this narrow alley which was made even narrower by this vintage beer truck and Mercedes sedan.
Further on, I passed the Elephant, a Belgian Pub with many beers, both on tap and in bottles.
And then I stopped at the local grocery store for a cold beer and things for dinner in my room. On both Thursday and Friday I had walked about ten miles each day during my explorations. Both were good days, in spite of the early sunset, the fog and cool temperatures.
I unpacked and rested to about 3:30 and then went out to explore. The Central European Time Zone goes from Portugal in the southwest to Poland in the northeast. This means sunrise in Warsaw is around 6:45 a.m. and sunset is at 3:55 p.m. I had precious little sunlight to explore in the daylight. One of the first things I noticed was that while the hotel restaurant was only open from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, the hotel bar was open 24 hours a day. And just outside the hotel, there is a 24 hour liquor store.
I walked a loop that took me down to the Vistula River and around a park that includes Fort Legionów, which was part of the defense of Warsaw in the early and mid 1800s but which by 1865, was outdated and became a prison until the early 1900s, then a military fort and finally just offices and a museum. Then I headed into Stare Miasto, Old Town Warsaw. It was already dark, but they have already started putting up the Christmas lights - Poland is a very Catholic country, although they also have many Jewish people and now, since the end of the Soviet Union, people from around the world with different religions, cultures and languages.
They are celebrating 100 years of Warsaw as the Capitol of Valor, from the end of World War one on November 11, 1918 which is the date of Polish independence - this weekend is the 100th anniversary of the nation, so I expect there will be much activity here.
Thursday evening, I went to a nearby grocery store and bought bananas and apples for breakfast. I got my early coffee Friday morning from the hotel restaurant. After doing some online classwork, I then went out for coffee and a slice of quiche at a nearby cafe - Green Cafe Nero is a local chain of coffee shops.
After breakfast, I set out to explore. My first three goals were to make sure I knew how to get to the Kolumna Zygmunta in Old Town (where the Angloville tour starts Saturday morning), the Palace of Culture and Science from the Hard Rock Cafe side (where we get the bus Sunday morning and where we will be returned to Friday afternoon/evening) and the Warsaw Grand Tulip Hotel (where I am staying next Friday night when we return to Warsaw). After finding all of those, I came across several interesting things on my way back to the Ibis Hotel.
I had received a notice from the American Embassy about possible demonstrations this Sunday:
In 2017, the march organized by the Independence March Association attracted more than 50,000 participants. In previous years, some marchers in the Independence March Association event carried banners, hurled flares and chanted slogans aimed at racial, sexual, and religious minorities. There were also incidents of violence including clashes between marchers and counter-demonstrators. If this year’s Independence March Association march takes place, it is expected to begin in front of the Sejm Parliament Building, near the Home Army and Polish Underground State monument, proceed to the Dmowski Roundabout, and then to the National Stadium via Aleje Jerozolimskie and Wybrzeże Szczecińskie.
This was not surprising, as I had seen some protests when I was in Krakow and Wrocław on prior trips, plus what I had read in the news. Just before arriving at the Grand Tulip Hotel, I noticed a group of adults meeting in what looked like a nearby school yard, maybe a couple of hundred people - I assume they were getting ready to celebrate 100 years of independence this weekend, but it is possible they were preparing for some protest. On my way from Grand Tulip back to the Palace of Culture and Science, I saw a long line of people, three or four abreast, several hundreds of people, about half in military dress uniforms, entering a military facility on Jerozolumskie Street - they appeared very somber and looked like they were going to some sort of memorial ceremony related to those who died for Independence Day.
Next to the Palace of Culture and Science is the hall where the Congress meets, with the Palace looming tall behind it.
That is not smog in the photo above - it was foggy all day. On the north side of the the Palace is Świętokszyski Park, and in the park is a fountain and memorial honor to Janusz Korczak (also known as Dr. Henryk Goldzmidt) who was killed in 1942 while protecting Jewish and Polish orphans.
Further on, I walked across a marker in the sidewalk that marked the edge of the infamous Warsaw Ghetto where many Jews died during the occupation of Warsaw in WWII.
Warsaw is far enough north that all the annual deciduous trees have lost most or all of their leaves, with many already being raked up and bagged by city park crews.
In the center meridian of the boulevard in front of the Ibis Hotel there is a memorial to the Poles who were murdered in the east when the Soviets invaded Poland on Sept. 17, 1939 without provocation and without a formal declaration of war.
After lunch and a brief rest, I took another route through Stare Miasto and discovered Młodziejowski Palace which is where the first known public concert of Frederyk Chopin's music was held December 19, 1829. Of course, it was 4:00 p.m. so it was already dark. While it burns a lot of fuel to generate the electricity, I am glad to see things well lit throughout the parts of the new and old town where I explored.
As it was nearing dinner time, I passed by this interesting restaurant. The entrance was through this narrow alley which was made even narrower by this vintage beer truck and Mercedes sedan.
Further on, I passed the Elephant, a Belgian Pub with many beers, both on tap and in bottles.
And then I stopped at the local grocery store for a cold beer and things for dinner in my room. On both Thursday and Friday I had walked about ten miles each day during my explorations. Both were good days, in spite of the early sunset, the fog and cool temperatures.
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