Edmonton Tourist Note: I received some aside comments from my parents following their arrival in Frankfurt. Good news: their luggage arrived just before they departed to Poland. Sad news: no reason to continue wearing Depends except for pure convince. They arrived in Warsaw and added a few photos of Poznan. Interesting fact : The town was completely destroyed during World War II but the people elected to have it rebuilt as it was prewar,but no real comments.

 

 

Someone needs to teach the Polish people what the concept of air conditioning is. In really hot weather your room should be cooler than the outside – NOT WARMER!!!!!!!!!! Whose brainy idea was it that 26 degrees Centigrade was a comfortable temperature to sleep in. Certainly not any woman pass the age of 40! We finally turned off our air conditioning in the hopes of getting some relief from the heat. How stupid a concept is that?
After a restless night we went to the dining room for our breakfast buffet. Nice assortment of cheese and fresh fruits but I just could not stomach fried garlic sausage and mushrooms so early in the morning. Apparently the Poles love their mushrooms and they are served at every meal.

 
We have a breathtaking view from our window. . . . . .the old railcar museum! To me it looks like a junk yard but then what do I know. Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during World War II and had to be rebuilt. They are lots of tall skyscrapers – apparently the tallest in all of Europe but it does not make for a very attractive city. There is such a mixture of “rundown” and modern with no real planning in place. Of course, it was under communism rule for so long I suppose that does help to explain the lack of planning somewhat. I guess you could describe Warsaw as shabby chic.
Our adventures today are taking us into Old Town.

 
I learned 4 interesting facts today. The first picture below represents the Jewish uprising in the Ghetto. There are no longer any Jews living in that area. (quite understandable). However, the Jewish uprising was not the only one that took place in Warsaw. The Polish people, along with their resistance stood up against the Nazi in 1944. When it was over, there were less than 20% of the original population of Warsaw remaining. That is probably one of the reasons why the Germans came back and blew up or burned over 85% Warsaw. It suffered more devastation than any other city in Europe at the time – even more than Berlin and Frankfurt.
Secondly – the next picture is of the Frederik Chopin statue. I might have know this at one time and forgotten it, but he was born here in Warsaw. Although he toured all over Europe and spent a great deal of time in Paris, he said his heart was always in Poland. After his death his heart was sent back to Warsaw and remains to this day in one of the Catholic Churches. All over the city of Warsaw there are marble benches that when you activate a button on it, it plays one of Chopin’s pieces. It is a beautiful reminder of how great he was. During WW II, if you were Polish and caught listening to Chopin, you were sent to one of the death camps.
The third picture is the birthplace of Madam Currie. Again I never realized she was Polish – I always thought she was French.
The fourth is Mike’s lunch – polish pancakes. Very “light” meal consisting of a bread-like pancake smothered in a goulash with sour cream on it. It is a good job we are only in Poland for four days – what with the dumplings, donuts, and pancakes they would need a crane to lift us out.

 
I have developed a great admiration for the Polish people. Of all the occupied countries, this was the one that fought the hardest against the Nazi and then again against Communism rule. Poland, until World War II had always had a democratic government (well since the 17th century) and they did not give up their freedom easily. They are extremely friendly here and it was interesting to see in the Museums, etc that English was used to described all photos, etc as well as Polish.
Tomorrow we head to Krakow.

 
MIKE HERE:
Apparently the four most famous men in Polish history are: 1–Chopin…2–Marie Currie, who really isn’t a man, but after all that radiation stuff, no one could really tell..3…Pope JP 2….
and 4…some guy named Bo…(with a line through the o and two dots over it….a very famous street corner entertainer who, (I am not making this up) can play the Polish National Anthem with armpit farts. I don’t know where he is performing next, but I have got to find him. Talk about a talent, eh?
Maybe tomorrow in Krakow.