Warsaw
The rebuilt capital of Poland
We arrived at Frederick Chopin Airport on an international flight from Rome. We knew that a train would take us directly to Warsaw Central in just over half an hour, the city's main station. But when it was time to buy the tickets at a vending machine, we found it a bit complex and with the help of another foreigner we ended up getting the wrong ticket; which we noticed as the inspector asked us for the ticket. The good thing was that he did not impose a fine, perhaps understanding our condition of foreigners and, above all, we were able to pay the 5 dollars difference with a credit card.
Upon arrival, we left our carry on at the hotel reception, conveniently located just a few short blocks from the station, and got ready to walk around the city, as we had very little time to get to know it.
We started our tour at Palace of Culture and Science. It is a magnificent building identical to Moscow's Seven Sisters, designed by the Soviet architect Lev Rudniwa himself. It was a “gift” from Stalin's Soviet Union to the city. After the fall of communist domination came the rejection among the locals, so the possibility of its demolition was considered. Fortunately it did not happen and today it is an icon of the city. It is 237 meters high and houses movie theaters and art exhibition halls. At the top, a viewpoint offers a good view of the city. However, in our case, we had deliberately booked the Intercontinental which is right in front of the majestic building, so we had the same view, with the added bonus of also being able to appreciate its impressive architectural beauty, which contrasts with its more modern surroundings.
Today it is a Warsaw highlight, a landmark of the past that still stands as a reminder of its own history.
Just in front of it, we made a stop in the corridor with several shops of international brands, because we wanted to buy the comfortable jackets of the Japanese brand Uniqlo, so convenient for travel.
From there we started a walk along Świętokrzyska Avenue towards Stare Miasto. First, we visited the Church of the Holy Cross where lies the heart of the composer Frederick Chopin, who died in France of tuberculosis and in his agony asked for his heart to return to his native country.
Just in front of the Polish Academy of Sciences, a sculpture of another illustrious, Nicolas Copernicus, the famous scientist who formulated the heliocentric theory of the solar system, which meant recognizing that the earth orbits the sun and not the other way around as it was believed in ancient times.
We continued on our way to the Column of Sigismund III, passing by the Presidential Palace and the University of Warsaw (Czetwertyński-Uruski Palace), when a number of young people dressed as wolves were entering for a very particular and colorful event, that Saturday afternoon.
By that time a heavy rain started to fall so we hurried our pace. Luckily, it didn't last long.
Entering the old town, we passed by the crowded esplanade where the Column of Sigismund III, original from 1644, commemorates the king who made the capital of the city. Just in front is the Royal Castle, which now houses an art museum and exhibits works by Rembrandt and Canaletto the Younger (nephew), who in 1768 served the last independent king of the country and whose paintings were the source for the reconstruction of the city. Warsaw is known as the Phoenix City. Its old town was destroyed by the Nazi invasion, then by the Uprising of the city in 1944 (civilians against Nazis, in which two hundred and fifty thousand Poles died before the arrival of the Soviet troops during the Second World War). Therefore, everything in its historic center is a reconstruction.
It was so damaged that it is surprising to see photographs taken just after the Second War in which it is observed in complete ruin.
Once in the old town, we stroll through its narrow streets passing by the Cathedral of St. John, also completely rebuilt. The church has crypts of local historical figures. Next to it, the Church of Our Lady of Grace, with the bear that according to legend guards the soul of Prince Gnewco, because his beloved married there with a third party in discord.
Behind, the Plaza de los Canónigos, where you can still see the holes left in the wall by the bullets of the uprising. In the center, the bronze bell stands out. There are three laps that must be given around it for good fortune. And in a small corner of the same square, do not miss the Narrow House, the thinnest in the city, designed to avoid paying the tax that was calculated by the size of its front.
Nearby is Gnojna Góra or Dung Mountain, a former garbage dump and today a viewpoint overlooking the Vistula River.
We continue to the beautiful and colorful Market Square, Rynek Starego Miasta. The peculiarity is that its reconstruction was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. It was the site of the city's fair since the 13th century. In its center, stands the sculpture of the Warsaw Mermaid, emblem of the capital of 1855, guardian of the city.
We crossed the Barbican, the long wall with towers, original of the sixteenth century that surrounded the town, which was rebuilt in the mid-twentieth century. It was the ancient gateway to the city. On the other side is Nowe Miasto or New Quarter, from where we headed to Freta Street, site of the Milk Bars. During the hard economic crisis suffered between the wars, the locals could only access a glass of milk in one of the bars that are in that little street, now full of tourists. Further on, a square precedes the new catholic cathedral of San Casimiro.
We continue on to the sculpture commemorating the other great Polish celebrity, Maria Skłodowska Curie, the physicist and chemist who pioneered the field of radioactivity. The monument is located high above, with a more peaceful view of the Vistula River.
On the way back, we pass the monument to the Young Insurgent, down Podwale Street, a touching tribute to the children who fought against Nazism. Going down, we find the monument to the shoemaker Jan Kiliński, a rebel of the Russian Empire at the end of the 18th century.
We returned via Sigismund's Column and from there another walk to the hotel. On the way, we are amused to find one of Chopin's fifteen public benches, near the National Opera House, the Wielki Theater. Pressing a button plays one of the immortal composer's classics for about thirty seconds. We also passed through Świętokrzyski Park, where there are historical landmarks of what was the Warsaw Jewish ghetto, a part of the mural and a mark on the floor that gives an account of the infamous dividing line.
Once at the hotel, we enjoyed the extraordinary view from our room of the Palace of Culture and Science and the modern part of the city with its skyscrapers and innovative architecture.
On the top floor, the hotel offers a spa with a heated pool with yet another breathtaking view of the entire city. There were too many children wandering around the water circuit, so we decided to enjoy it later in the evening, when it was for adults only.
The panoramic view of the city from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel is worthy of a postcard.
Early in the morning, we enjoyed the hotel's tempting buffet breakfast while contemplating the monumentality of the Palace of Culture and Science, nd then we took our bags and walked ten minutes to the central station, where awaited an old and slow train that would take us to what centuries ago was the former capital of Poland, Krakow.
