Day 9 - We learned how to get to the main Old Town area by taking two different tram lines.
Our goal today was to visit the Royal Castle. We thought it a good day to do so as entrance is free on Wednesdays. The Royal Castle of Warsaw has been painstakingly rebuilt and it really was impressive. Jay and I followed the signs for the 'Royal Tour' and were able to take in the place by reading the English translations of signage. The banquet halls and public spaces were jaw-dropping and the residential rooms contained authentic museum pieces.
After exiting the structures, we were back in Old Town for the second day in a row.
St. John's Archcathedral was the oldest church in Warsaw. It was completely destroyed when the Nazis drove a tank inside. We entered and saw how well reconstructed it is. We retraced a few steps but took trams back towards our hotel and stopped at a few more stops to see where the lines run. We had a quick lunch at our nearest train station and walked back for an afternoon break at the hotel.
In the evening, we decided it best to go to the Central Station to buy train tickets. We've decided to stick around Warsaw until June 14. At that time we will head northeast to the smaller city of Białystok. Subsequently, that will give us a chance to spend around 10 nights there and in Lithuania and Latvia. We picked up Polish train tickets to Białystok.
Furthermore, as we've set up our time in the capital, we have decided to do a number of daytrips to other cities and back. The rail makes such trips feasible. We bought round-trip tickets for Friday to Gdańsk on the Baltic coast in northern Poland. We'll choose other trips depending on the weather, our mood, and pure whim.
We ♡ Poland!