April 26, 2014
Got up and had our last breakfast at the agro business, they served delicious homemade strawberry jam. When we checked out they brought me gifts of crocheted butterflies and a crocheted doily!
I was so touched, they were Super to us!
Magda drove us back to Warsaw.
Special thanks to Magda for this amazing time in Northern Poland. With her assistance I met my Polish family and really saw the ancestral homeland. We miss Magda already and we think she is wonderful!
The Novotel in Warsaw is full of teens from Europe and Israel. They are walking from Krakow to Auschwitz on their spring break. We washed some clothes in the tub and are drying them on the heated towel rack. We had dinner with our bus tour at the Freta Restaurant in New Town, it is called that because it is only 500 years old.
Our Tour of the Royal Castle in Warsaw is tomorrow. Once again King Poniatowski, my distant relation.
April 27, 2014
Bus tour of Warsaw and the Royal Castle was awesome. Saw the 2 famous Rembrandts at the castle. Afterwards we had lunch in old town.
We walked to see the heart of Chopin at the Holy Cross Church.
Saint Karol (as I like to call him) was canonized today, celebrations all over Warsaw. We stopped at a church that had a special service, it was packed and parishioners stood outside.
In the evening we went to a Chopin Concert at Szuster Palace. She played Chopin’s Polonaise at the end. Loved it. On to Zakopane tomorrow.
Warsaw is so wonderful, take a few extra days to enjoy the city. Taxi’s are inexpensive, all we did was write down where we were going, showed the taxi driver and he took us there.
Most drivers only speak Polish but they all looked at our paper, read it out loud and off we went. They consider themselves professional drivers, and they know all the short cuts to get where you are going.
We were walking along the Royal Way and we saw a small exhibit on the sidewalk of Belarus. As my father’s family is from Southeast Belarus we stopped to take a look. Imagine my surprise when they had posted a photo of my grandmother Sydalia Lucewicz’s 3rd cousin the famous poet Yanka Kupala! (Ivan Lucewicz). Ancestors all over the city. 🙂
Here is my top 5 things to do in Warsaw:
Old Town: Walk to the top of St. Anne’s Church and enjoy the view.
New Town: Visit the home of Madame Curie
Wedel Store and Cafe: have a cup of their famous hot chocolate
Walk the Royal Way (Old Town to Lazienki Park)
Łazienki Park: see the Jan Matejko Statue & Chopin Statue and spend time at the pond in front of the Palace on the Water.
I googled Ivan couldn’t find anything do you have a link?
Google Yanka Kupala, that was the pen name he used.
Archives of Belarus:
http://archives.gov.by/eng/index.php?id=951386