Poznan
On our drive from Germany to Poland, we stopped in the charming city of Poznan for lunch. This used to be the capital of Poland, and is midway between Berlin and Warsaw:
The cathedral in the market square. Our tour guide was excited to show this to us because at noon, the bells chime and two mechanical goat figurines come out and start "fighting" each other. It seems mainly a thing for the tourists, but was still cute!
Here come the goats!
We were trying to decide on a place for lunch, and all of restaurants by the square seemed so touristy and overpriced. We walked down some side streets and found this tiny, cute place called "Coco's Cafe", which was completely empty, but the owner was friendly, rosy-cheeked, slightly plump, and reminded me of the Polish grandmother I always wanted but never had. We ordered some polish dumplings - these had pork and cabbage inside with pork "cracklings" on top" - and they were scrumptious.
Warsaw
After a few hours drive, we made it to Warsaw! Our first stop was on the Łazienki Park, which had this beautiful statue of Chopin (and our guide made sure that we remembered that Chopin was Polish not French, as many people think!):
We spent the next few hours on a bus tour of the city. While we drove around, our guide provided us with some staggering facts about the city. For instance, much of the infrastructure in Warsaw is only 50 years old max, because 85-90% of the city was destroyed and 800,000 people died during the war. 800,000, in just one city. It's hard to comprehend how much suffering and destruction Warsaw endured. But also pretty amazing to think of how resilient the people are to almost completely rebuild an entire city within a decade, and how the city strives to remember everything that occurred:
Memorial commemorating the uprising in 1944
Monument outside of what used to be the Jewish ghetto
Palace of Culture and Science; actually a former communist building.
Old Town after the war....
...and currently.
Old Town Square
Jasna Gora
The next day we stopped at Jasna Gora Monastary, which is considered the holiest place in Poland and is visited by about 5 million people per year. It's most famous for the image of the Black Madonna, to which many people attribute magical powers:
Inside the monastary. On the walls are crutches and walking sticks left behind by those who have been healed.
The Black Madonna
Our guide at the monastery. I remember there was this one moment where he was describing the Black Madonna in his thick Polish accent, and then his cell phone rang, at which point he said, "Pardon me, but I am a modern man!" and picked up the call. We all had a good laugh.
Up next, Auschwitz...