Last
month I shared with you my adventures in Prague. On that trip I also went to
Warsaw.
Warsaw was… better than I expected. It has a terrible wartime past but it also has a beautiful
Old Town and lots of fascinating history.
For
instance, did you know that the Polish composer Frederic Chopin was so afraid of
being buried while still alive that on his deathbed (he had tuberculosis and
died at age 39 in 1849) he made his sister promise to cut out his heart to make
sure he was really dead? So… Chopin’s body is buried in Pere Lachaise
cemetery in Paris (along with Jim Morrison of The Doors) but his heart was sent
back to Poland, and is eternally encased in this pillar in the Church of the
Holy Cross in Warsaw. Fascinating!
Warsaw
is a very Catholic city, and has many beautiful churches…
It was
also fascinating to see the Barbican, the ancient city gate and battlements
(built around 1548) that protected Warsaw… The walls have been
painstakingly restored.
Front biew |
Walls and old moat |
Arrow slit |
Warsaw
is also the home of the astronomer Copernicus…
Coopernicus |
And here
is the old Royal Castle…
Readers
of this blog know I’m obsessed with (er, I’m a really big fan of) the
Rolling Stones. So the highlight of Warsaw for me just might have been seeing this…
In one of the Old Town squares, a husband-and-wife team built
marionettes/puppets of the Stones, and had them “dancing” to the Stones’ music. Pretty
good likeness, right??? LOL.
This is
just a quick look at my 3-day stay in Warsaw. Hope you’ve enjoyed getting a
glimpse of this beautiful city and consider putting it on your bucket list!
Jenna
1 comment:
I have a friend who goes to Poland several times a year. She's of Polish descent and has many relatives still there. Through her, and another Polish friend, I've learned quite a bit of Polish history during WW2 and it's pretty sad and gruesome. Most Americans don't know too much about it. It's supposed to be a beautiful country.
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