21 August 2013.
Perfect weather for ducks….
We started our day with a tour of the city with the local guide. We are all rather skeptical, considering the rainy weather. Our first stop is a statue of Chopin in the beautiful gardens of the Royal Baths Park. The statue depicts Chopin under a willow tree. It is said that he used to be inspired by the sounds of the wind, tapping his fingers whilst creating another one of his beautiful pieces.
We also passed various sights that depict some form of memory to all those people who lost their lives so tragically during World War II, including the ghetto’s. There are so many stories. From how the first Jews who were sent off to the concentration camp were actually volunteers, hoping for a better life, to how the Germans tried to destroy Warsaw completely. On one of the monuments, the eyes of the people were depicted like a dead person’s eyes, mostly because the people knew that they would be dying anyway. We are told that the book Rising ’44, by Norman Davies, is a very good account of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
The one thing that Poland managed to get right, was to start rebuilding Warsaw immediately. I have this thing about European cities that should have lots of historical buildings. I do however think that the modern buildings in Warsaw’s city center are beautiful. Where appropriate, they recreated buildings to what they were before the war. But there is also a good balance of modern. And it feels to me like the people are good at remembering the past, remembering those that helped them move on, and forgiving all the horrible wrongs. They have moved on. I like that.
It rained the entire day. We were told that the Polish people love shopping, so I thought I would go and try this out a little. The only thing I got was soaking wet. But I always love seeing what can be found in the shops of foreign countries.
The idea was to have an early night. We ended up having a great supper with some good company. I guess we’ll catch some sleep on the bus tomorrow. 🙂
