EU - Warsaw

 EU - Warsaw

Arriving in Warsaw from Finnland in -2, felt very tropical after being in the Arctic circle! We picked up our doggies, and settled into our accommodation for the week, all rather exhausted from our Lapland adventure.  

Unfortunately, Mish and Robyn caught the flu from Finland and that put a bit of a wrinkle in our Warsaw plans… Instead of an action packed week of exploring Warsaw, we had a very calm week, mostly resting and recouperating.  

We did manage a few day trips and managed to get to explore a bit of Warsaw, including getting Maxine's ear pierced as an early B'day present. 

We explored the old city, including the famous old town market squares and the city walls. Along one wall the Little Insurrectionist can be found (Polish: Mały Powstaniec). It is a statue in commemoration of the child soldiers who fought and died during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The statue is of a young boy wearing a helmet too large for his head and holding a German submachine gun, somber indeed. 

 

We spent a whole day in the Polin museum - whose core exhibits present a comprehensive narrative of Jewish history in Poland across centuries. It covers periods from the early Jewish settlers in Poland to the Holocaust and the post-war years.

Of course we indulged in lots of traditional Polish comfort food and visited the Holy Cross Church, which is where the heart of imfamous musician and composer Frédéric Chopin lies. He died in France, but felt strongly that 'Home is where the heart lies' and thus he wanted his heart to return to his homeland of Poland. 

Leaving Warsaw we had some long travel days to Hanover - Calais and then back to UK. We were all ready to come home!  A little bit of rest before we head off again, but this time to South America.