Poland – A Traveling Fool

When Mom and I visited Poland as part of a tour of Central Europe in 2008, we had lunch in Poznan before heading on to Warsaw. On the 2012 tour of the Baltic Region, our group had an overnight in Poznan. After dinner, Andrej guided those who wanted to go on a walk into the City Center of the Old Town. It was starting to get dark, but I managed to get some decent photos before it got too dark.

Existing for several centuries before the Christianization of Poland in Poznan in 966, Poznan is considered to be the oldest city in Poland and was a stronghold of the Polan tribes. It was the Polans who formed what became the Polish state.

Although a tad fuzzy, I liked the way the Statue of Neptune was silhouetted against the sky in the photo I took of it. The Town Hall dates to the 13^th century and was used as the town hall all the way to the 1930s. It is now a museum. The town square in front of the Town Hall is pedestrian only and has loads of outdoor seating for the various restaurants lining the square. Mom and I ate at a restaurant in a red building on the square when we were there four years earlier (you can see the red building in the included photo). That trip had taken place in March, so we didn’t sit outside.

Heike wanted to visit the camera shop in the shopping mall by our hotel, Stary Brower, so we decided to head back that way before the place closed for the night. Most of the rest of the group stayed in the square for a drink or two. We took a wrong turn at one point, but were set right by a young man who spoke English. We had been told by Andrej that those who were younger than 30 most likely spoke English, while those older than 30 most likely would not.

We made it to the camera shop while it was still open. The fellow at the counter was under 30, which made us happy. He was waiting on an older couple from France, who did not speak Polish. The shopkeeper spoke both Polish and English, but not French. I had taken French in high school and understood some of what the couple was saying. With a combination of the couple’s French, my attempts to translate what I could understand into English, and a lot of hand signals, nods or shaking heads, we finally got them what they wanted. Hugs all around before they left the shop.

After getting Heike what she was looking for, we headed back to the hotel and stopped off at the bar there for a drink before bed. So we had a little adventure and still got a nightcap.

The next day, we arrived in Warsaw around lunch time and were given some free time to get settled into the hotel and have lunch before heading out on a tour of the city. Heike (from Perth, Australia), Debbie (from Reading, England), Charmaine (from Vancouver, Canada), and I had made plans to go to a traditional Polish restaurant situated on the ground floor of the building in which our hotel was located for dinner, so I went for a relatively light lunch with a salmon and avocado sandwich in a restaurant inside of the hotel.

After lunch, we were taken around to see the sights of Warsaw: the Palace of Culture and Science (built in 1955 by the Communists); a Statue of native son Copernicus; the church with the heart of another native son, Chopin; the house where Chopin lived; and the Presidential Palace before we got to the Old Town (Stare Miastro in Polish). That was when we got off the tour coach at the Palace Square and began our walking tour.

Mom and I had taken a tour of the Royal Castle when we were there together, so I didn’t feel too disappointed that we didn’t have time (with just an afternoon to see Warsaw) to tour it on this trip. Normally I would take any chance I could to tour any castle or palace I encounter. This particular castle was originally built in the 14^th century as a Ducal Palace, becoming the Royal Castle for the Kings of Poland in the 1600s. It was pretty much destroyed during World War II and was reconstructed after the war. Most of the contents of the castle had been saved and hidden away by the citizens of Warsaw. So, although the building itself is a reconstruction, the contents are original.

At the center of the square is Zygmunt’s Column, which was erected by King Wladyslaw IV in 1644 to honor his father, King Sigismund III Vasa. We walked from there past the Cathedral of St John to the Market Square.

The last time I had been in the market square, it had been very cold and had snowed the night before. The Mermaid of Warsaw had been under repair and enclosed in a wooden case. This time, there were cafes on the square and the Mermaid (which has a fountain at her base) was in her glory. We were shown a film in one of the buildings on the square about Warsaw’s destruction and reconstruction.

We were taken to an amber shop and then given some free time. Since I love amber (which is prominent in the Baltic region), I did buy some jewelry. Then I had plenty of time to roam around the square, where I also picked up a Polish dagger and a small knight in armor (who stands on a table in the corner of the bedroom I use as my library – I have always wanted a suit of armor in the corner of a library).

On our way back to the hotel, we passed by the Tomb of the Unknowns. Then Heike, Debbie, Charmaine and I met up just outside of U Szwejka for our authentic Polish dinner. If we had been aware of the size of the meal, we probably would have ordered two meals and split them. But we ordered four meals, consisting of a half of a baked duck, baked apples, beets, coleslaw, and stuffing. The photo included here is from the restaurant’s website, since I didn’t have my camera with me. The platter in the photo looks small than what I remember. The platter was more the size of a platter that would be used for the turkey at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. The beers were also gigantic. One glass was nearly the size of a pitcher at most places. I was relieved that dessert was not included. If it had been, I might have exploded.

We waddled out of the place about an hour and a half after we were seated. We had taken our time to get through it all. Instead of immediately going back to the hotel next door, we took a walk to settle all of that food down in our stomachs. Despite being full to brimming with food, we stopped in at a grocers and picked up some supplies for the next couple of days.

Our last stop in Poland was the town of Augustow, where we stopped for lunch. Heike, Charmaine and I wanted a relatively light lunch after the prior night’s dinner, so we stopped in at a cafeteria, where we could see what we were getting and just get small amounts. I tried a Kratocze, which was a potato dumpling with a minced meat filling. It came with a small side of coleslaw. I selected a fruit drink that ended up being quite thick and very, very sweet (which I couldn’t tell before drinking it). I left most of it behind. We found Debbie after lunch and explored some of the town before we needed to leave. There was a small park with a statue of the founding king (Sigismund II Augustus) and a war memorial.

Next time – Lithuania.