Circling through Poland - with a bit of Germany thrown in.

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The defensive walls and barbican were originally built in the 16th century







The original statue of "The little insurgent"





The view over the Vistula from just outside the walls



The Wishing Bell. Has a tragic folk tale attached to it.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/old-town-wishing-bell

 

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In the background is St Anne's Church






At the back of the church is a lovely little garden. It is often said to be a 'hidden' or 'secret' garden but going by the number of people visiting it when we did it is a pretty poorly kept secret. However it is still a lovely relaxing spot to visit.















The garden area from below

 

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We visited the Royal Lazienki Park three times. It was only about a 20 minutes walk from our hotel.

Warsaw's Łazienki Park

Warsaw's royal baths park-and-palace complex is one of the city's largest parks and most visited tourist attractions on the Royal Route.

www.inyourpocket.com

There are some gorgeous leafy avenues to walk down plus lakes and historic buildings













The New Guardhouse - built around 1780 as an entertainment pavilion. Converted into a guardhouse in 1830.



The Palace on the Isle - plus a bride. Completed in 1689.

Palace on the Isle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Bridal Waltz

 

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Looking out from the Palace forecourt



Different views of the Palace















You can take a gondola ride

 

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More from around the park

The Piaseczyński Canal (Royal Canal) with Ujazdów Castle in the distance





Animals that inhabit the park



We saw peacocks





And squirrels



Just to showcase my outstanding abilities as a wildlife photographer. The squirrel was very close to the young child



More park structures

The Old Guardhouse - 1792

 

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Finishing off this park

The Chopin Memorial. Free Chopin recitals are held here during the summer.





The performances are very well attended. They hare held twice daily on Sunday. We passed by when the earlier performance was being held and returned for the second one. There was a different soloist for each performance.







We had an 'obstructed' view but at least we had a seat. People kept coming and standing in front of us as well. My wife had to shoosh a young American girl who was gossiping at the the top of her voice nearby - much to the gratitude of the woman sitting on the same bench as us.



Free water supply. Much better than handing out plastic bottles.



Solar powered bench that would play some Chopin.



You can see what I meant by an obstructed view. The number of people in front changed all the time. It mostly wasn't as bad as this.