Warsaw at a glance, fascinating.

September 16-20th

The old and the new side by side.

Seemed rather odd to come across this palm tree in the middle of a round about, at first we thought it was real. Came to find out that it represents a piece of Israel. Warsaw was the center of the European Jewish world with 3.3 million Jewish people living in Poland. 

Poles represent the biggest number of people by nationality to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. Poland holds the world record with the most people at 6,135 being awarded the title of "Righteous among the Nations" by the State of Israel.

"Greetings from Jerusalem Avenue"

There are constant reminders of strife and constant signs of gratitude and remembrance throughout the city. Either in terms of a museum, a plaque, a wall, a flag .......

The first concert by Chopin was in this church!

Beautiful street leading into the old town.

The old town

Choir group from Norway on a scavenger hunt.

.... being followed by the Hare Krishna

Huge ice cream cone!

Wish I could bring this home for my Mom - her favorite dessert, Pavlova!

Some random shots around town:

Monument to the Resistance fighters.The three sections represent Faith, Hope and Charity.

The symbol of Warsaw, odd considering they are 300 km from water.

 All good things must come to an end and this afternoon we are heading back to Chopin International and Toronto bound.
Four days does not do Warsaw justice but it did allow us to get a taste of what the city has to offer. The first thing you notice is the contrast between old and new. So much of the city had been destroyed during WW11. Warsaw has been invaded or has fought for freedom in insurrection 43 times from 1600 to 1945. It held its first free elections in more than 40 years in 1989.There are 56 museums in this city, a large number of them representing a war or an uprising, there is even a Museum of Struggle and Martyrdom.
One of the first things we noticed was the huge selection of international cuisine. very different from France! We noticed the lack of visible minorities and the large numbers of people under twenty five. They have a nice balance of western traditions mixed in with their own. After what they have been through they have to be adaptable. One commentary we heard said is that the Polish people are very hospitable but they smile less in public than any other European nation because they are conservative and guarded.


"Remember life is a journey, we are lucky to travel. The difference between an Adventure and an Ordeal is Attitude. - make  sure yours is positive."
                                                                    Richard J. Nick