Advice from the Warsaw hostel staff put me on the right road to get to see the old city as it is called. In actual fact, a great deal was flattened in World War 2. What is now termed the old city has in fact been totally rebuilt, but in details reproduced from the destroyed buildings. A feat in itself, but one that has you believing that it is actually as old as it is supposed to be. The Poles are very proud that the city has been given a world heritage award. The large plaque is there on the ground for all to see.
Leaving the hostel to get the metro was just a short walk away. Like all the metros I have tried, it was clean, fast and very easy to master, even if the ticket machines spat the dummy on several occasions for me in one day. The trick appeared to be rub the coin on the machine and hey, presto it worked!
The Warsaw metro is simple in that it really only has the two lines, there and back ,so counting the stops made getting off simple.
I got tickets at half price although I had no idea if it was the correct amount, but they do need to encourage tourists so……..!
Getting off at the Arsenal stop initially had me confused, as there are huge roads, large amounts of traffic and pedestrians in all directions. The map the hostel had given me to guide was a good one , but did not have the detail that some of us need. Eventually I discovered the correct road, as always one just needs to go that bit more to find what you are looking for.
I wandered into the old city square, it was certainly an incredible sight with the castle , the old buildings ,the cobbled streets ,school kids everywhere.
Hard to imagine sixty something years ago it was just a pile of rubble.
First to visit the castle, so got the ticket and then started to follow the
arrows to do the castle route. Couple of times I was asked for the ticket, before going downstairs to leave the backpack and coat at the cloakroom.
Coming back up and starting the tour I was asked for the ticket again!! Having to indicate that it was downstairs I was allowed to continue on my way. It was beautifully done with actual paintings of some of the old masters hanging on the wall, on loan from various institutions. All in keeping with the time frame of the period.
Not as opulent as Catherine Palace in St Petersburg it was still very glitzy with mirrors , furnishings and the inevitable gold lacquer on all the carved wall pieces. The living quarters, the chapel and all the rooms that led in a procession from the guards to the kings throne room. It just depended on how important the matter was!
Taking my slow wander through the castle meant it was lunchtime by the time I reached the end of the route. I was delighted to find a Pizza hut very handy to the castle with free wifi! As I always carry the ipad when ever out and about it was definitely Pizza for lunch. Decision easily made as the hostel wifi had been down before breakfast and I really had to have my internet fix! Check the emails, as there is only a narrow time frame to check with home. They are sleeping or I am sleeping!
I hadn’t eaten at the ‘Hut’ for a very long time, just too expensive at home. Here they had a lunch menu for 15 zloty, which I felt was good value for the delicious tomato soup and a cabonara pan pizza and the added bonus of wifi with a good fast connection.
After lunch more wanderings down narrow cobbled streets, so realistically reproduced if I had not read about it I certainly would not have realised they were the same age as myself. So many photo opportunities, one of the more moving many Polish names of soldiers killed in past offensives defending their country, some young men of just sixteen years of age. I sat and listened to some magnificent organ music being played within the chapel that I discovered the plaques. It is the little gems like those that make a trip memorable for me. Buildings are a dime a dozen, so to speak , but it is the people within them that give you the memories.
