Hunting Souse & Bears

Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw was a nine hour mini-van ride from our Aukstaitija eden.  We managed to survive given the scenic countryside we drove through and fascinating glimpses of farm life, seemingly light years away from our own. 

Needless to say, at journey’s end we were all rather tired and with the weather taking a turn for the worse, only too happy to postpone our orientation walk of the old town.  The restaurant we’d booked across the river was otherwise committed, so we walked damp streets looking for something edible.  An Italian café just around the corner was a great find and we ended up eating there both nights. 

If you look closely near the soldiers rifle hand &
reflected in the window, you will see the photographer taking this shot.

Next morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed (well, almost), we headed for a nearby tram.  But wait!  Do bears roam the streets of Warsaw?  The Zoo was just across from our tram stop and with a wide moat (and no fence) it looked for all the world as if the city was full of free-ranging brown bears! 

The inner city of Warsaw is huge.  There is the Old Town, a New (old) Town and a vast park, dotted with castles, fountains, galleries and sculptures, that stretches down beside the Vistuala River.  This city demands to be walked with all its intriguing nooks & crannies, museums, parks, churches and monuments.  We had a day – a week would be barely appropriate to really discover this lovely city.

 

Our orientation tour took in a circuit of the delightful Old Town, even at this hour starting to buzz with visitors.  The area was razed to the ground during WW2 but has been reconstructed - with some effort – to its former glory.  Some interesting craft shops and glittering pieces of amber caught GS’s eye but we had a date at the Warsaw Uprising Museum, a few tram stops outside of the inner city. 

Best described as challenging, this is the place to learn of Poland’s history.  The Museum’s exhibits are set up in an interesting way - perhaps it's a “post-modern” concept.  It’s easier to say the whole experience was unsettling (another Escher encounter?) - from displays that appeared not to follow any logical sequence to a dark and foreboding backdrop, punctuated by sounds of war. 

Bullets on a magnetic field spelled out the unimaginable numbers
involved in the Polish Uprising (WWII).   Uprising Museum, Warsaw

Copernicus, founding father
of modern astronomy

Well yes, we did expect this in some ways, the topics are hardly jolly, but we felt we were inside a computer game!  Finding the exit too became a quest of labyrinthine proportions.  Back on the outside, with a little sun and lots of fresh air, we’d finally escaped!  It was all a little bit dramatic for us…dare I say, oldies!

We needed to relax over lunch, so it was back to the old town to sample Polish sausages and potato pancakes with hunting souse.  Hunting souse turned out to be a thick (beef?) stew with thankfully no offal involved.  After this hearty lunch, the Cap’n headed off for the ultra-modern POLIN Museum dedicated to the history of Polish Jews whilst GS decided to take a slow stroll through the Old and New Towns, poking her nose into anything of interest and if there was time, a quick browse through the extensive art collection at the National Museum. 

The NM has quite a torrid history but now presents a vast collection of art works in a grand building that would seriously take days to explore.  The collections were heavily guarded, well laid out (in historical context) and very interesting.  Sadly, there seemed too few visitors but two enthusiastic young restorers-in-the-making were hard at work copying some of the most famous canvases. 

In speed-walking haste and with so much to see, it was a near miss - the world's most famous kiss!  Apparently the lovers were inspired after reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere.  In 1893, Rodin's sculpture was considered too risqué for public display!  The gallery of religious sculptures also stopped me in my tracks, some most  poignant.

The weather was closing in again and it was time to head back to our Italian discovery – this time to sample their delicious tiramisu.  This travelling business can be seriously demanding!

Auguste Rodin's "The Kiss"