…and Away We Go!

We’ve had a great time in Poland with many surprises around every corner!

Our last couple of days in Gdańsk were filled with museum visits. We visited the National Museum to see this triptych altarpiece titled Last Judgement by Hans Memling.

And also the newish World War II Museum which we’ve learned has a controversial history.

Rick Steves’ blog explains it well here.

The building is unique,

And the exhibits well-done, like this re-creation of a city street from the 1930’s.

The weather was a tiny bit warmer (52 degrees) so we took the train to the seaside town of Sopot on the Baltic Sea. We had to pay $2.00 each just to walk on this pier!

Then this seagull wanted to charge us a fee to snap a photo!😊

Throughout our time in Poland we’ve enjoyed visiting interesting sites, eating delicious food, learning quite a lot of history and tasting a few Polish beers. We wholeheartedly recommend Poland as a destination!

Tomorrow we’ll leave from Gdańsk Lech Walesa Airport. We have a short layover in Amsterdam but hope to be home Tuesday evening.

So long Gdańsk! We hope to return one day!

Thanks for following along!

Cheers!

It’s Saturday and we visited the Old Town Market Hall. This market building has been around since 1896. The market has three levels with clothing and other goods on two floors and meats, cheeses, plus baked goods in the basement. Covered space outside is where we found fresh fruits and vegetables.

Cauliflower in the Market

Rhubarb! Just in time for spring baking!

Have you ever made a rhubarb for Pie or crumble?

Homemade jams, sauces or confit?

Many varieties of Polish sausages!

Plus so many other things to purchase and prepare – beets, berries, pears, lettuce and more!

And, while it’s not the raspberry variety, a beret for me!

New Beret!

Locals tell us that it’s unseasonably chilly! We hoped to visit the seaside but will wait a day or so to see if it warms up! Otherwise, we’re having a fun time in Gdańsk!

Like the other Polish cities we’ve visited, Gdansk is charming with lots of history.

We visited the European Solidarity Center which is devoted to the history of Solidarity and the Polish trade union and civil resistance movements.

Monument to Fallen Shipyard Workers (1970)

This is an excellent museum with artifacts and footage from newsreels related to the Solidarity Movement led by Lech Walesa in the 1980’s.

We’ve enjoyed delicious food while in traveling around Poland and have tried many local specialties. This evening we found a cute restaurant and had a healthy plate of salmon, chickpeas and carrots at pleasant Bistro PoMeLo.

Our room at Hotel Liberum is small but cozy and well-laid out. We have a nice view. The location is perfect!

Today (May 3) is another holiday in Poland. It’s Constitution Day! Stores are closed, the city is busy, and families are enjoying a day off. The weather has caught us off-guard as it’s very chilly and sometimes rainy! Temps in the upper 30 degree-range. But all is well and we’re happy in Gdansk!

We’re celebrating two big events today! Most importantly, it’s Larry’s birthday! Secondly, it’s Labor Day in Poland (and the rest of Europe too) – stores are closed except for some of the museums and the touristy shops. Restaurants are filled and streets are packed with families on holiday.

Toruń is a cute, small Gothic city and we’ve found enough to do for a couple of days.

Main Street – Toruń, Poland

The city is famous for gingerbread with shops selling all types of spiced cookie treats on nearly every street in town. There is even a Gingerbread Museum but we arrived too late to get tickets for today.

Gingerbread Cookie Shop in Toruń

Toruń is also the birthplace of the astronomer Copernicus. His statue is prominent in the main square and Copernicus-shaped gingerbread cookies are sold in the shops.

Copernicus Statue

We’re staying at Hotel Spichrz – it’s in a great location near the Old Town but our room is oddly laid-out and a bit funky. The best feature of the hotel is the buffet breakfast with everything imaginable available – homemade yogurt, cherry jam, local cheeses, sausages, apple cake, freshly made omelettes and more!

Breakfast Buffet – Hotel Spichrz

Tonight we’ll have dinner here in the hotel restaurant to celebrate Larry’s birthday.

Tomorrow we’ll take a train to our final stop on this trip – Gdańsk on the Baltic Coast. We’re looking forward to checking it out!

Larry and I are learning more about the difficult history of Warsaw. We visited The Jewish Historical Institute and learned of heroic efforts by people living in the Jewish Ghetto (1939-1944) to document, preserve, and archive accounts of events taking place at that time. Documents were hidden in various containers, in many places around the city. This milk can, filled with historical accounts, was discovered many years later.

We also visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum which is dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. It’s worth visiting but an intense experience.

On a lighter note, we had a fun dinner at Restaurant Honoratka. It is said to have been favored by Chopin. As a bonus, a lovely young pianist played Chopin pieces while we ate dinner.

This display of fruit at the entrance looks real but is actually plastic. It photographs like a still-life painting.

We tried the traditional Polish honey-flavored brandy which is served warm in ceramic mugs like the one below.

Another traditional food is apple cake. It was so delicious that my enthusiasm caused me to flip my paper napkin into the candle. Flames ensued and the wicker bread basket caught on fire as well. A quick waiter came to the rescue the flames were quickly put out.

Chopin, apple cake, brandy, and a flaming breadbasket made for an exciting meal!

Madame Curie was from Warsaw. We missed seeing her Museum but visited her statue overlooking the Vistula River.

Warsaw has grown on us. We are impressed by the strength and resilience of Polish people – especially the citizens of Warsaw. Pre-war Warsaw was sometimes called “The Paris of Central Europe” but it was almost totally destroyed during World War II. Citizens have rebuilt the city to its former glory.

This is the street where we’re staying – Hotel Le Regina is on the left.

Tomorrow we pack again to take the train to our next stop – Toruń!

Note: Thank you to Ela for providing excellent suggestions for foods to eat, restaurants to try, and places to visit in Warsaw! They were invaluable!

Our train from Wroclaw arrived in Warsaw just in time for rush hour. Whew! The Metro Station was very crowded and the day hot, but Larry managed to buy Metro tickets and we were on our way! Once we dropped off our luggage, we walked to Warsaw’s Old Market Square which looks a little like Wroclaw’s Old Town Market Square! The statue in the middle is of a mermaid – an image on Warsaw’s Coat of Arms.

Continuing on from the Old Town is a walk along the pedestrian-friendly Royal Way. Warsaw is a huge, grand city which was almost totally rebuilt after World War II. It has a complicated history – one we hope to learn more about while we’re here.

We’re happy with our choice of Hotel Le Regina as a place to stay – the breakfast however, costs an outrageous $33.00 per person! Instead of breakfast at the hotel we found a very nice cafe nearby. This breakfast (salmon, poached eggs, toast and coffee) cost a much more reasonable price of $7.50!

Today had a great day at the National Museum with works of Polish artists and artifacts from Polish history.

This is an etching of a former Polish King,

and cleverly displayed in a case nearby is regalia, similar to the robe, crown and orb shown in the image above.

The medieval religious art was more graphic than we are used to seeing with many carved pieces including these wooden carved pieces depicting the scene of a nearly life-sized Jesus carrying the cross.

We liked the painting by Wojciech Weiss (1909.)

And the real thing!

Flowers in a Vase – Warsaw Cafe

Yesterday the temps were hot – above 80 degrees and today it’s barely 60 degrees outside! Rain is in the forecast but we hope to explore more of Warsaw tomorrow! It’s a BIG city!

When we added Wroclaw to our itinerary, we had few expectations. In doing research, it was one city that people liked a lot. We didn’t imagine that there would be so many things to do!

Like, for example, a visit to a beautiful Japanese Garden!

Japanese Garden – Wroclaw, Poland

Or that we could spend a day at the Zoo with lions, tigers, bears and Larry’s favorite- meerkats (seen but not photographed!)

Also giraffes!

We’ve had a few cool, blustery days here but springtime has arrived and lilacs and rhododendron are in bloom!

Even with 4 nights here, there are still things we’d like to do! We didn’t get to the National Museum, we didn’t attend a performance of the opera or to hear the Wroclaw Philharmonic and we’ll miss the Jazz Festival by one day!

We feel that Wroclaw (pronounced Vrots-swaf) has a lot to offer, yet, at times we are frustrated by the lack of a really good tourist map or comprehensive guide book.

So, we’ll look for a better guidebook and have a list of things to do if we’re lucky enough to visit again!

Tomorrow we’ll take a 4-hour train ride to our next stop – Warsaw!!

We’re wondering why more people don’t visit Wroclaw! It has lots to offer casual travelers!

The Old Town Square is beautiful at night and seating at outdoor restaurants line the square.

There is lots of green space and walking/biking paths that run along the Oder River.

There are many upbeat and casual pub/like dining options like this one called Doctor Bar.

We’ve found healthy food options –today’s lunch was delicious tomato soup and a beetroot sandwich.

Finding a self-service laundromat took us on another type of adventure off-the-beaten path. We had a good experience at this one!

Wroclaw is an easily walkable city but there is also an efficient tram and bus system.

Our time in Poland has been very pleasant! Compared to other destinations, fewer people speak English but it hasn’t been an issue for us so far. The cities we’ve visited are very clean, the prices inexpensive with plenty of attractions to keep us busy. Tomorrow we plan to check out the Zoo and Japanese Gardens! More to explore in Ole Wroclaw!

Main Square – Wroclaw, Poland

Our Lonely Planet Guide says “Everyone loves Wroclaw” and we can understand why! It has lots of character, the architecture is unique, and there is quite a lot to see. It’s the fourth-largest City in Poland and has a University with 130,000 students.

We are staying just outside the Old Town at Hotel Europeum.

Today we took a self-guided walking tour starting at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene with a statue honoring Pope John Paul II who is from Krakow.

Then past Wroclaw University and on to the Hala Targowa Market. Inside there is a wide selection of local cheeses, produce, and flowers.

Later we visited the Museum of Architecture housed in a 16th-century former Monastery. We saw a photography exhibit of the damaged buildings in Wroclaw post-WW II – it’s stunning to see visual images of the destruction.

We also viewed an exhibition of stained glass including this one with an image of Madonna and Child based on an Albrecht Durer engraving.

We were impressed with the beautiful cloister garden in the center of the museum.

The weather is breezy and brisk. We have two more days to explore…So far, we’re happy here!

We’ve had a fine time in Krakow but it’s time to head to the rail station for our 3 hour trip to Wrocław.

Sharon at one of the Gates entering the Old Town.

For Easter dinner we made advance reservations at a restaurant called Pod Aniolami. The restaurant was unique, the food delicious and reasonably priced. We had a chance to try the Polish red wine which was very good.

Flowers at Restaurant Pod Aniolami.

Many of the museums are closed for the Easter holiday so we haven’t had a chance to check out local art or many historical sights. Shops are open though and we’ve been admiring the beautiful Polish pottery.

Today is Easter Monday and still a holiday in Poland. We’ve learned of a custom where people throw water on each other today. We’ll be on the lookout!

Rain isn’t in the forecast yet, it’s raining outside! Either way, local custom or water from the sky…we might get wet today.

Now, off to do final packing and make our way to the rail station!

Cheers!