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.

 

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While we are on a park theme - on a grey and gloomy Sunday morning we went for a walk and ended up here. It is a relatively new park whose building only began 1952. It was known as "The Central Park of Culture" up until 1992 and was then renamed in honour of Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz the Commander -in Chief of the Polish Armed Forces at the start of WW2.

Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły Park - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"The project of creating a new central parkland to the once-densely populated suburb was initiated in 1952. The majority of the pre-war dwellings were either completely destroyed or had to be demolished in the post-war years due to their structural vulnerability and poor design."



The park was amazingly empty. I don't know if was because 'everyone' was at church or they were just having a sleep in on the last day of the School Holidays





Remnants of the Red Palace which once stood here.



Another bride



The park avenues led down to the Vistula River





It certainly did have a 'Communist era' feel to it.









You certainly couldn't complain about a lack of seating







Towards the river there was the "Glory to Sappers Monument" erected in 1975 in honour of the Sappers who had demined Warsaw and the rest of Poland after WW2.

 

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We the walked along the Vistula River. It seemed to me that the city planners currently have made little use of the river frontage and it was pretty unkempt.

In the underpass is a memorial to the crossing of the Vistula by Polish troops attached to the Red Army - once the uprising had been successfully quelled by the naz_'s. Not an 'victory' that is looked upon with much gratitude by most of Poland these days.



While we were there Poland was in the middle of a drought and the Vistula River was at record lows. All ferries had been cancelled.



Another Sappers memorial commemorating the driving of piles to repair the bridges.









It appears that at one time the river bank had been used more often



The National Stadium



You can see how low the water level was




event

 

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We then continued walking towards the Royal Park

Passing by the stadium that is the home of Legia Waszawa who are apparently the most successful Football club in Poland



It is a multi sport venue and has large number of playing fields outside the main stadium. When we were walking past lots of kids were using it for the Sunday sports.



Nearby was The Church of Our Lady of Jerusalem in Warsaw. It was used as a hospital during the Warsaw Uprising and destroyed in an air raid.





Restoration work is still being done on the pre-war tower



The Scouts have had a troubled history in Poland with repression by both the far left and far right.





The Scout House built in 1938 in art deco style. Used as a Wehrmacht training centre in WW2 and then to house the Communist Youth Organisation. Now a youth cultural centre

 

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Some more around Warsaw

Parts of Warsaw are very modern These streets were near the Warsaw Uprising Museum





Not far away is Saxon Garden (Ogród Saski) and the Fontanna Wielka built in 1855 as a feature of Warsaw's first water supply network.







The police car in the distance had just circled around the fountain.



Just metres away is Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square named after a Polish revolutionary and statesman. Amongst other activities he "conceived and directed a manoeuvre that in August brought victory to Poland" against the Red Army in 1920.

Over the years the square has borne a number of names as political and military events have occurred - :

"Name​

• Saxon Square (1814–1928)
• Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square (1928–1940)
• Sachsenplatz (May 1940–August 31, 1940)
• Adolf-Hitler-Platz (1/09/1940–17/01/1945)
• Saxon Square (1945–6.05.1946)
• Victory Square (6.05.1946–1990)
• Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square (1990–2012)
• Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square (2012)"

It houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 

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The Marshall



There is a ceremonial Changing of The Guard at the monument





Seeing the 'goosestep' always feels a bit odd.

The square used to also contain the Saski and Bruhl Palaces until the naz_'s began their destructive onslaught







The buildings that used to surround the square. The archways that are illuminated now form the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier











How it looks now



Archaeological work is being doen with the intent to rebuild some of the buildings







Some of the artefacts uncovered