Day 8 - We got up knowing that the weather forecast said today would be overcast. The rest of the week appears much better. Yet, we figured we would still take the chance to learn a bit of our way around. The name of our hotel Ibis Warsaw Stare Miasto. That means Old Town although we are right on the edge between old and new town.
After breakfast we took one of the trams running outside our hotel a few stops towards the center of the city. Then, we walked towards the river and were in Old Town soon enough!
Although the area contained buildings dating from the 13th century, most of the area was completely destroyed in World War II. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the Destruction of Warsaw.
Not far from the Unknown Soldier Memorial in Saxon Garden
Krakowskie Przedmieście Street
Near the Presidential Palace
Royal Castle of Warsaw
Syrenka (Mermaid) monument on the Old Town Main Market Square.
Old Town Wishing Bell
Street in Old Town Warsaw
Warsaw Barbican
Warsaw Uprising Monument
I find the massive reconstruction efforts both amazing and inspiring. How much easier would it have been simply to start over by ignoring the past! This area is a strong testament to the spirit of the Polish peoples.
As it was nearly mid-afternoon when we were walking back to the tram, we stopped for a lunch. It wasn't cabbage and perogies. We had a huge meals at an Asian restaurant and mine was Pad Thai. This is a modern, fairly cosmopolitan city in 2024.