Hello from Warsaw, Poland!
We are standing in front of probably the most… well, absolutely most recognizable building.
Oh yes.
In all of Warsaw.
This is the Palace of Culture and Science.
And there’s a bit of controversy around this building I think it’s fair to say
because it opened in 1955 as a gift from Stalin to Poland.
So you can understand there’s some mixed feelings about it,
however it is a beautiful building so we’re going to head inside and take a look.
We made it inside.
This building is enormous.
It feels like a fortress when you’re trying to walk your way around.
But we are inside the main part now
and there’s a lot of different stuff in this whole complex.
It’s more of a complex than just one building.
There’s theatres and museums and a cinema
and…what do we want?
We want to go to the top.
So we got tickets.
You can go up in the tall tower and see the view of Warsaw
so that’s where we’re going to go now.
We’ve just come up to the top of the Palace of Culture and Science.
We’re not sure why Yoda is here but I think it’s fair to say we’re happy that he is here.
He’s…anytime you see Yoda, it’s a good thing.
So…I’m viewing this as a sign of a good day to come.
I don’t need the why or how, I just need Yoda.
Exactly.
We took the elevator up to the 30th floor.
This, by the way, is the highest building in Warsaw.
We’re at 114 metres right now
and there’s a lot of development and construction happening here
and no better place than up top to see that happening
so I don’t know how long this will stay the tallest building
but for now it’s definitely the best place to get a great view.
Oh that sun is coming out!
That’s nice!
And it’s really cool that you can walk around the whole top of the building.
And I like that for the rest of our time in Warsaw
I can look up at this Palace of Culture and Science and know that I was right up there.
It is very chilly up here as you can tell
and quite windy so we have taken the 360 view
and we’re going to head back down to the streets to keep exploring Warsaw.
I don’t know if you can hear that lovely sound of the wind going through the trees
but we’re walking through another huge park
and I’ve noticed how green Warsaw is, would you say?
I would definitely say.
There’s parks dotting the city everywhere you look.
Yeah, there’s parks everywhere and this one is huge.
We’ve just come across something really, really important in this park
that I wanted to share with you.
This…this mark on the ground marks where the ghetto…the Jewish ghetto used to be.
And you can see it clearly on the ground
and then there’s a plaque here talking about it.
It says that the ghetto here was 759 acres
and that it was cut off from the rest of Warsaw in 1940
and then the Nazis held approximately 360,000 Warsaw Jews
and 90,000 from other towns were brought in to this ghetto
and nearly 100,000 of them died of hunger.
Just hunger alone.
And during the summer of 1942, they deported 300,000 people
to gas chambers in nearby concentration camps.
And on April 19th, 1943, there was an uprising here.
The people in the ghetto realized that they were going to die anyway
and wanted to fight and so they did
and the fighting here lasted for more than a month.
And this place where we’re standing right now,
it says is where one of the main entrances to the ghetto stood
and it’s here on April 19th, 1943
that the SS rode through and killed the remaining people who were living here in the ghetto so...
this is just so sad.
So terrible.
You can’t even possibly imagine but so important to remember what happened here in this place.
I don’t know about you but I’m hungry.
I’m starving.
I’m absolutely…you can hear my stomach right now.
I can hear it too.
And we found a milk bar nearby
so we are going to stop in there for some much needed Polish food.
We found Oranżada again.
So I got this orange one.
I’m not sure what flavour this is Marc.
Oh, Zelona?
Maybe that’s lemon?
It’s ‘white’ flavoured.
And then we each got kompot
and we got the same thing that looks like… like a beet salad
and then this is pork goulash with some potato.
It looks good!
Looks really good.
And I love the…you can see behind like they have these nets holding the lights.
And then we’re all in this kind of long booth almost like a train.
Bon appétit or no, I mean ‘smacznego’.
Zosh…za…
Smacznego.
-Smacznego.
Smacznego.
Mmm.
Is it hot?
No.
It’s just delicious.
Oh!
Oh that is good.
Oh!
My belly’s full!
That milk bar was really cool.
It was!
It was really modern and the seating was really cool.
All the little booths.
It did have the really cool old tiles though.
Yes it did…it did.
I liked it a lot.
The food was delicious.
There was no English at all so we pulled the whole ‘I’ll have what he’s having’ thing.
Luckily there was someone sitting…
Just point.
…right by the cash and I was like, ‘I’ll have that. That thing.’
Which actually was delicious.
Yeah and that meal…all of what we got was 46 złoty
and then the dessert was what 7?
About 7.
-About 7.
Yeah. -So…
So quite reasonable.
A very inexpensive, you know, reasonably priced meal for really good food.
We’ve arrived at our next stop for today,
which is a museum that both of us I know have really been wanting to visit called POLIN.
So we are going to walk around with our audioguides here
and learn more about Polish Jews
and, of course, you know on the way here earlier
walking through that park, we passed the wall of the former Jewish ghetto
and this museum is very close by to that
so we’re going to learn more about that here.
This museum is a little overwhelming.
There’s so much information and history to take in here.
It starts with the first arrival of Jewish people to Polish lands
and takes you all through history.
This is an 18th century village now
and you can see there’s like people walking around
and it’s very interactive
and all these touch screens and my audioguide is just full of information.
So there’s a lot to take in here.
This room is made to look like a synagogue
that once existed in a Polish city in what is now present day Ukraine,
made of wood — 17th century.
And then these incredible paintings on the ceiling were done throughout the 17th and 18th century
and unfortunately, like most of the synagogues, they were destroyed during the Second World War
so this is a replica of what once was.
And you can see on the ceiling there are pictures from the zodiac — the horoscope signs.
And the painting is just so intricate and detailed.
I find this room really interesting.
It’s talking about the time when Poland ceased to exist on a map.
It was split between Russia, Prussia and Austria
and you can see the portraits of those leaders looking down at the empty throne of Poland.
We’ve entered now the part of the museum about World War II and the Holocaust.
And Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939
and they have archival footage here from October 5th, 1939 just over a month later
when Hitler himself was present for a victory parade that took place here in Warsaw.
The Germans established around 600 ghettos throughout occupied Poland
and here on the wall, you have the names
and have a sense of just how many ghettos there were.
The Germans collected the Jews street by street.
The street names are on the floor and stairs leading down to the Umschlagplatz.
Jewish policemen helped Germans round up Jews
hoping to save themselves and their families by cooperating.
Jews were gathered in a big crowd at the Umschlagplatz
and violently loaded onto cattle cars.
The trains pulled out and headed east.
No one knew exactly where they were going.
Within two months, the Germans had deported 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to their death.
Well we’re just leaving POLIN and it was quite a moving museum.
It’s just absolutely devastating what’s happened to the Polish Jews.
There were about 6,000,000 Jews murdered in the Holocaust
and half…about 3,000,000 were Polish Jews,
which is over 90% of the prewar Jewish population of Poland.
So…
Very heavy.
Yes.
And it’s started to rain outside
which is quite fitting for the mood I think we’re both feeling now.
Yes it felt appropriate to walk out and see some grey sky
so now we’re just going to walk and I think be quiet.
And reflect.
Yeah, just think about what we’ve seen.
We’re just walking along near the park we were in earlier
where part of the Jewish ghetto once stood
and passed another border on the ground where they’ve marked where it used to be.
And yeah…just reflecting…oh sorry.
Reflecting on Poland…on the Jewish museum
and we are headed to…now…
a very uplifting kind of event called Time for Chopin.
It’s a concert of Chopin’s music
and we’re really lucky because this particular concert is his Nocturnes.
I know you’ll like that.
Yes…which I really do so I’m really excited
but we’re a little bit late so at the moment we’re afraid of being in time for Time for Chopin.
But I hope we’ll make it on time.
We just made it!
It’s 5:59 — the concert starts in one minute.
We’re soaking wet but we are here and we are here in time for Chopin!
Welcome her please…Katarzyna Hushta.
It’s so beautiful.
My souls feels like it’s not only full but like pulsing
and I think earlier today was really draining and emotional obviously
and now Chopin is just filling me right back up.
I can’t agree more.
Yeah.
It’s intermission right now.
I have a…I don’t actually know what this is but na zdrowie.
Na zdrowie.
Oh that’s nice.
Tastes like a little…like a dessert wine.
Mmm yum.
And I think playing Chopin every single night in the same small room
does something to the vibrations in here and I’m totally serious.
Oh yes.
Because when we walked in I just felt good
and I just keep feeling better and better the more she plays.
This is the best.
Wow, wow, wow, wow! -My heart is feeling pretty full right now.
I can’t even talk.
That was unbelievable!
A whole hour of Chopin and his Nocturnes tonight.
These concerts are on every day at 6 o’clock in the Old Town here in Warsaw.
And I think actually we were in a part of the old castle…the royal castle,
which helps to explain the incredible atmosphere in there.
Anyway, I cannot recommend coming here highly enough.
It’s every single day in Warsaw at 6 o’clock.
There’s no excuse not to come.
You have to come and see this.
It’s called Time for Chopin — I will link the information below.
But wow — that was unbelievable.
Definitely worth the time. -Exactly, exactly, exactly what we needed.
And I think what we need now is…
Pierogi!
Pierogies!
Gone a little too long since the milk bar
so we’re going to go find some dinner now.
We came to a chain restaurant called Zapiecek.
It’s so good — we’ve actually been one time before
and the food comes really fast.
Everyone’s really friendly
and you get so much food that it just covers your entire table.
Bon appetit.
Thank you!
Smacznego!
Two plates of pirogies down, one plate of dessert pirogies to go.
I didn’t know about dessert pirogies until coming to Poland this time around.
It’s the best concept ever.
So we got like a variety of different ones.
They have currant, blueberry and apple cinnamon raisin.
And to go on top, warm vanilla sauce.
It’s so good.
So full of pirogies!
I love that place!
It’s called Zapiecek and it’s a Polish chain restaurant
and I love that there’s, you know, International students
and locals and visitors like us all in one restaurant.
Just really good vibes there.
So, I loved it.
I would go again.
And today was a really Warsaw day. -It really was!
I was thinking about it and it was really the kind of day you can only have in Warsaw.
So I hope that you guys enjoyed it like we did.
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Bye!