Warsaw



Warsaw is the city of Chopin, and the composer is celebrated all over town.  We managed to find rooms in a quirky B&B called, wait for it…, Chopin Boutique B&B.  This was a very cute place with lots of character, a great breakfast, and was in an idea location to get to most places on foot.  In addition, each night, there is a concert featuring the music of Chopin in the drawing room.
Each room was different.

Bathroom mural with a King on a commode in the right hand corner



This lovely lady took up a full wall in my bathroom!

We were not in Warsaw for long, but long enough to try, yet again, more pierogies (they were better in Krakow) and see the old town and Warsaw castle. 

The old part of town was quaint and of course quite beautiful.  





This castle was beautiful, but even more impressive was the story that went along with it.  Formerly the home of kings and dignitaries the castle was often the target of aggression.  Apparently during the second world war the castle was destroyed on orders of Adolph Hitler.  Before this, much of the impressive art was looted by the Germans, but also removed by Polish art historians and hidden as a cautious measure.  The castle was then deliberately blown, with holes being drilled into the walls and these then filled with explosives.  It was more or less flattened.  In fact, pretty much all of Warsaw was flattened during the war.

Warsaw castle


Once the war was over the plan was made to rebuild the castle and eventually it was, with funding coming from donations and much volunteer labour.  Each room has been restored as possible, sometimes with only a small piece of the original material as a guide and the rest being remade to fit.  The stored art, and other similar art, fills the walls.  It is truly a monument to the resiliency of the people.




For a final night we went out on the town for a final dinner.  On the menu, the first item in the appetizer section was a pickle and vodka.  This was not in the drinks section, but the appetizer!

So – what’s a girl to do – try it of course !  

A bit of a shock to the system but surprisingly it has become a real favorite.  
A really classic combination.

The pickle and the vodka





And so ends our journey to Eastern Europe.  We loved every bite (and every minute).

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