Exploring Warsaw

Yesterday, after the horrible night we had, Ania and I slept for a few more hours before going out into the city. We left the hostel around noon and head toward Warsaw's Old Town. This is what we saw along the way.

The Staszic Palace, Neo-Classical design, was badly damaged then burnt down during the Warsaw Uprisimg in 1944. After being rebuilt in 1949 it now the Polish Academy of Sciences. In front of the palace is a monument to Nicholas Copernicus with a depiction of the solar system on the ground. I took a picture of this, it will be posted in my photos albums. Our next stop was the Church of the Holy Cross. A Baroque church, it houses the hearts of Chopin and Reymont in urns inside its pillars. Continuing toward the Old Town, we passed the University of Warsaw with its beautiful gates. We also passed by the Presidential Palace with its security guards at the gates and a park that had photos taken during WWII when Germany was bombing Warsaw on display. Finally entering the castle square, Ania and I took pictures of King Zygmunt's III column. He was the ruler who moved the capital of Poland from Krakow to Warsaw. We also took pictures inside the Royal Castle courtyard.

We decided to head toward the New Town next. We passed by the Church of Our Lady of Grace, a renaissance church, where a wedding was taking place. Matter of fact, there seemed to be multiple wedding occurring yesterday as we passed by a lot of churches and people in bridal attire. Anyway, from there we made it to the Old Town Market Square where the statue of the Warsaw Mermaid is. Images of the half fish and half women statue is used on the crest off Warsaw since the 14th century. Legend goes that there was once two mermaids from the Baltic Sea who swam towards the Danish straits. One ended up outside Copenhagen while the other ended up in the Vistula River near Warsaw. Fisherman, upset that the mermaid was freeing the fish from their nets, fell in love with the enchanting song of the mermaid. But, an evil merchant decided to catch the mermaid, and when he did, he kept her away from water and put her on display. The mermaid's cries were heard by the son of a fisherman and he and a friend freed her. In recognition, the mermaid swore to protect the fisherman from if they were ever in danger. That is why she is armed with a sword and shield.

Anyway, cool story, cool picture taken. We walked by the museum of Madam Curie, a Polish physicist and chemist who was a pioneer in radioactivity. She was the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes. We then walked by the Church of St. Kazimierz which acted as a hospital during the Warsaw Uprising. After praying for a while inside the Church of Our Lady Queen of Poland, or the Field-Cathedral of the Polish Army, we walked across the street to the Warsaw Uprising Monument. It was unveiled the day of the the 45th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising on August 1, 1984 and built in memory of the Warsaw Uprising heroes who fell during the 63 day struggle against the occupants of Warsaw.

Ania and I then decided to go to the Museum of the John Paul II collection. On the way we passed by the Krasinski Palace, also known as the Palace of the Republic. Formerly the seat of the administrative authorities, the Treasury and Supreme Court, it now houses the Special Collections of the National Library. Behind the building, there is a garden that we walked through to get to the JPII museum. Ania and I thought that it would be a museum on JPII but it wasn't. It was a museum that housed a collection of European paintings that was dedicated to John Paul II. Either way, it was interesting to see painting by other European artists, not just Italian. There was a room dedicated to portraits, mythological scenes, scenes from the bible, and paintings of Mary and Christ as a child.

When we left the museum, Ania and I headed back to our hostel. We did a little shopping along our route and I got a few more gifts for people. Our feet were tired, our bodies were tired, and me wanted food. We stopped by a small grocery store to get spaghetti sauce and then used the hostel's kitchen to make our dinner. We had an uneventful night, thankfully, but still went to bed late.