Leaving the airport

Since we weren’t in any hurry after we landed, and since our apartment was near the Central train station, we had planned to take the train into town. However, after wandering through the airport looking at a bunch of signs, we never found the S3 trains to Central Station (only S2 which required a transfer at outer stations) so we took an Uber instead. Knowing this, we also called an Uber back to the airport for our early morning flight. Both were about $10.

Monday

After getting our stuff into the apartment, we took the metro two stops to the 1944 Uprising Museum and spent about 90 minutes reading lots of sobering stories, especially against the Germany and USSR occupation, but also frustration at the response by the USA and UK. The museum pathway chronology was a little confusing — we skipped around a little because of it — but still well worth a visit. Note that the museum is free on Monday, just pick up a paper ticket at the sales office first.

 

After the museum, we walked to a nearby grocery store to pick up some essentials (beer, chips, etc.) then went in search of the I <3 Warsaw sign. There was construction all around but we found a way in!

Tuesday

The weather was threatening rain but held off for our walk around old town, the Barbican Gate, and past various churches. Most of the city was completely destroyed in WWII so this old town was rebuilt in the last century using photos of what it used to look like. It was very quiet at 10am with almost no shops or restaurants open. Presumably tourism picks up later in the day?

Our next stop was the rooftop gardens at the University Library, featuring nice views of the city and a wonderful way to turn roofs into usable park space.

 

We walked along the Vistula River for a bit, then sought out some street murals that Leandra had marked on her map.

 

We took a quick break at the apartment to rest our feet, then walked back toward Old Town to hear the organ concert at St. Anna’s Cathedral, but there was no concert… Not sure what information we got wrong but we left disappointed and decided to head south to the Palace on the Isle.

Our first attempt to use a credit card at a bus stop failed so we walked a little further and finally made it work just as our bus pulled up. We paid the small admission fee for the University Garden and enjoyed the scenery, including some really big dahlias!

 

From there we wandered past the Chopin Monument and further into the large park that houses the Palace on the Isle.

 

Thursday

We wandered around a bit after breakfast before we needed to catch our train, including a mural and views of the Palace of Culture.

 

Tuesday

On our final night in the country we mainly walked through several bar and restaurants areas, but got a nice shot at sunset of the Frascati neighborhood and a musical pedestrian crossing.