Day 27: Warsaw

Had a guided tour this morning of Warsaw with a local guide. She explained to us that Warsaw had been 80% destroyed by the Germans when they left after the Warsaw uprising. They actually took 3 months to destroy the city with the Soviet Army watching from the other side of the river. It was a terrible thing to do, both what the Germans did and what the Soviets didn't.

There was only a single section of Warsaw that wasn't destroyed by the Germans, and that was only because those buildings were being used by the German officers at the time.

It is hard to imagine the devastation that on the city. It's like having just about every building in Melbourne or Sydney completely destroyed. Of course, you then have to start again, and re-build everything.

Stopped off at Łazienki Park (pronounced Wa'zhien'ki) to see a statue of Chopin under a weeping willow (the national tree of Poland) and to get a group photo. The park was beautiful - all the flowers were in bloom and there was colour everywhere.

From the park, we headed towards the Ghetto memorial for a few minutes - I'm sure we had longer on the other tour, but every tour is different I suppose.

And finally, our morning tour ended in the old town. The old town, like a majority of Warsaw, has been rebuilt with the exception of only 3 buildings. Photos and architectural student drawings were used as a guide to rebuild the buildings to their original specifications, and they have done a wonderful job. Entered one of the museums in the old town to see a movie on Warsaw, including images of the uprisings (there were actually 2, one by the Jews in the Ghetto, and another by the people of Warsaw) and the destruction of the city by the Germans.

Had some lunch, then headed off to find the birth place of Marie Curie, who was born Marja Skłodovska (pronounced Skwo'dov'ska). Through the old city gates, which are largely intact, the house can be found a few hundred metres down the road. There is not a lot to see, but I can now add another famous scientist's house to my list.

After lunch, we took another tour, this one to Wilanów Palace. The palace is located about 30 minutes outside of Warsaw, and as such, was not destroyed by the Germans. In fact, it was only Warsaw city that was destroyed, all other out lying regions were left intact. Of course, the artwork was stolen, although most was later found and repatriated to the Palace.

The palace itself is now beautifully painted. The Soviets, in the style, had the Palace painted a lovely (not) shade of grey, where-as the palace is now painted a bright, cheerful yellow and really makes a huge difference to the feel of the place.

If the exterior is beautiful, then the interior is exquisite. The palace contains 2 wings, and is in the shape of a U. One of the wings was for the Queen, whilst the other wing was for the, democratically elected, king; ok, only the nobles voted, but it was still a vote. Most of the ceilings contain beautiful paintings and plaster friezes which are just as beautiful now as when they were first created. Our guide showed us all through the palace and explained, in great detail, the history and use of each room.

Out of the palace, but near the front gate, we found a church. The church itself was nothing special, it was what was inside the church that was. When the church was first built, the leg bone of a mammoth was found. Being both deeply religious and deeply superstitious, the leg bone was thought to have the power to protect the church, so has been hung on the wall. I cant say for certain, but both the church and the palace have survived the Germans and Soviets, so there maybe something to the superstition.

Got back to the hotel to pack and get an early night as we head off early to Kraków tomorrow.