We hopped a train early to Warsaw with Kendall and Sam. The train was literally like a luxury train, I was so impressed. 2.5 hours later we hopped off and walked across the street basically to the Warsaw Marriott. We unloaded our bags and then set out to see the city. It is a real city, a big city and very different than Wroclaw and Krakow. The entire city was in rubble after the war and the whole city had to be rebuilt. Right next to the train station a huge building stands as a reminder of the Soviet Era, the Palace of Culture and Science. This was conceived as a gift from the Soviet Union, an unwanted gift actually, since during the Communist era since the Poles only wanted their freedom. But it stands as a mixture of Stalinist architecture and almost an Art Deco style. It used to include the name of Stalin as well as a statue of Stallin in the Lobby who name and statue was removed from the building after Poland gained their freedom.
We rented bikes and went to Manekin, one of Kendall’s favorite restaurants which has the bread bowls of soup I had heard about. Had a delicious bowl of Mushroom Soup before we rode over to the Old Main Square/ Rynek. Honestly it wasn’t half as cool as the Ryneks in Krakow or Wroclaw but it was fun to wander the streets. We stopped into one of the churches on the Main Square. It was interesting because behind the alter there was a lovely depiction of Mary in all her glory, there were all kinds of necklaces hanging in a reverse arc on the wall. I really loved it. (Come to find out the "necklaces" are actually rosaries that people donate when they have asked Mary for something and they have received what they asked her for, they donate their rosaries and they are hung along the walls.
We walked over to an old wall around the old city that had been rebuilt, since the whole city had been demolished and rebuilt. The wall had old photos of what Warsaw looked like during the German occupation and then again what it looked like after the Uprising in 1944, a totally demolished city. There was also a small statue of a boy with a large army helmet. This monument recognizes all the children that were a big part of the Uprising, mostly delivering mail between insurgents. Around the corner there is a huge monument to the Warsaw Uprising. It is huge and powerful and one of my favorite monuments I have seen. An incredible tribute to all those Polish military and civilians that fought for their freedom from the Germans. They were not successful and around 150,000 died in this couple month standoff against the Germans in 1944. Maybe the size of the men and women recognize the magnitude of their efforts, of their commitment, of their sacrifice. The impact leaves you in awe of such heroes.
We rode bikes over to the Frederick Chopin a museum recognizing the life and works of the well known Polish musician and pianist. It was a contemporary interactive museum where you could hear his music and learn about his life. He died outside of Poland in Paris, due to Poland having been overtaken by the Russians during his time. Although he was buried in Paris, his heart was literally taken and buried in Poland, where it had always belonged.
We walked over to an old wall around the old city that had been rebuilt, since the whole city had been demolished and rebuilt. The wall had old photos of what Warsaw looked like during the German occupation and then again what it looked like after the Uprising in 1944, a totally demolished city. There was also a small statue of a boy with a large army helmet. This monument recognizes all the children that were a big part of the Uprising, mostly delivering mail between insurgents. Around the corner there is a huge monument to the Warsaw Uprising. It is huge and powerful and one of my favorite monuments I have seen. An incredible tribute to all those Polish military and civilians that fought for their freedom from the Germans. They were not successful and around 150,000 died in this couple month standoff against the Germans in 1944. Maybe the size of the men and women recognize the magnitude of their efforts, of their commitment, of their sacrifice. The impact leaves you in awe of such heroes.
We rode bikes over to the Frederick Chopin a museum recognizing the life and works of the well known Polish musician and pianist. It was a contemporary interactive museum where you could hear his music and learn about his life. He died outside of Poland in Paris, due to Poland having been overtaken by the Russians during his time. Although he was buried in Paris, his heart was literally taken and buried in Poland, where it had always belonged.
In the late afternoon we met up with Hanka (sp?) who was someone Kendall taught when she was on her mission here. She is a woman that reminded us so much of Granda Ruby Hatch. She is adorable and generous and friendly. It was funny, she must be almost 80 really but has the spirit and disposition of a 50 year old. She doesn't have email so Kendall wrote her a while back and told her that we were coming to Poland and she wrote Kendall back to come on Wed evening. Well, Kendall didn't have any way to call her, didn't have her phone number and so we just showed up at the given time and day. She was so thrilled when we rang her apartment, since she wasn't sure if Kendall had received her letter since Kendall got it the day before she left for Poland, so no time to write back. We had a great and very polish dinner with her and Kendall translated throughout the meal. She explained she had grown up in the western part of Poland. That when the war was over she lived under Communist rule here and that there was no food and not enough of anything. She would wait in lines until midnight to just get some butter. When she was older she married a man from Sweden and he had returned and she wasn't able to go there for 6mos until she was finally able to get a visa but then she wasn't allowed to come back. For many years she wasn't able to return to Poland, even when her parents were ill. She returned once the situation improved in Poland, back in the 1980s and then has lived in Warsaw for many years now near her son. Her son had gone to Poland for college, which she had wanted since had grown up Swedish and he married a Polish girl. She just had a very interesting story and was a delightful hostess.
We enjoyed our conversation with Hanka and then afterwards we tried to find a city bike to get back to the hotel. They had all been taken, we decided to just walk and made it to "Stalin's Tower" which Kendall calls it. It's commanding presence in the middle of the city is a constant reminder of the years of Communist rule. We went to the top and had a great view of the whole city. We returned to the hotel and rested for the rest of the evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment