Poland Trip: Day 2

As Eli had an appointment, I spent the morning walking around the old town. 85% of the Warsaw was intentionally destroyed after the failed Warsaw Uprising of 1944 by Nazi Germany’s Verbrennungs und Vernichtungskommando (the Burning and Destruction Detachment), including some of its most important landmarks. The streets and walls teem with reminders of the Second World War: plaques to fallen heroes, boundary markers of the Warsaw Ghetto, and statues of great figures both real and imaginary. Standing at the northern side of Castle Square is a statue of Jan Zachwatowic, the architect who oversaw Warsaw’s rebuilding.

I walked north past the redbrick Barbican all the way to the Church of Saint Casimir and the Church of the Visitation. The churches are built in completely different styles, the former being typically Palladian in its symmetry and ornamentation, while the latter constitutes a perfect example of brick gothic. I ate my store-bought breakfast of cheese and bread on New Town Square in front of the Church of Saint Casimir before heading back again; both churches were in the middle of mass, so I did not go inside.

The only church I did visit was the Archcathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, where mass had finally finished by the third time I took a look inside. Before that, however, I made a loop from the old town, stopping by the Krasiński Palace and the Warsaw Uprising Monument. I also took the opportunity to revisit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Palace of Culture and Science in nicer weather than yesterday.

For lunch, Eli took me to a Mleczarnia, a genre of restaurants serving Polish foods for very acceptable prices. We ate a kind of cold beet soup called a chłodnik and fried potato pancakes topped called placki. Unlike what we do back home, the Poles like to put mushroom sauce on their placki, which is not a bad idea. We also had kompot, which, contrary to my erroneous beliefs, is not simply canned fruit but fruit stew served as a beverage.

Taking public transport, we made two more visits that day. First, we explored the Łazienki Park with its shaded walks and summer residences. Farther south, we also took a stroll around the park and palace of Wilanów, constructed by Jan III Sobieski. By five o’clock, however, I had to take a taxi to the airport. My next destination: Gdańsk.