(Overly) Warm, (Pleasantly) Welcoming Warszawa

In December of 2004, I set foot on the island of Britain for the first time, and was entranced as a reader.

In September of 2007, I set foot on the island of Britain and made it my home.

I spent so much of this spring waiting for God to work a miracle so that I. and I could stay in that country that we had made our home, but when it became apparent that this was not to be, I began planning the most glorious final hurrah I could imagine for our final weeks in Europe. Britain was determined that we leave their shores by the traditional anniversary of American independence from Britain (by this I mean the fourth rather than the second of July) so we went to my new favourite country for a three-tiered holiday intended, nebulously, for "getting healthy."

We began in Warszawa, in a hostel on the fourth floor of a stately old building with the most enormous stairs conceivable. Most of our stay in the capitol city of Poland was spent eating and drinking (because "getting healthy" requires rest and relaxation).

(Above: I. consults a map at one of the sidewalk cafes we visited on our first afternoon in Warszawa)
(Below: I. with his own cone of what was possibly the most disappointing ice cream I have ever had in Poland, in part because despite its rather significant volume, the middle was hollow!)

We had goulash at this restaurant one night. Although they had indoor seating, this photo was actually taken from our dinner table.

This building is called the "Palace of Culture and Science." We've neve been inside, but it is one of the big Warszawa landmarks.

We began our Poland trip in Warszawa this time for two reasons. First of all, the plane tickets were delightfully inexpensive. At the same time, having had only an hour to see Lazieniki Park and the Palace on the Water on our last trip (and in the dead of winter) I particularly wanted to spend a day wandering around the park and showing I. (who was already back in Britain for my Lazieniki dash) its splendors.

We had a very happy afternoon in the park, though we walked less than I had planned because it was ridiculously and miserably hot for our entire two days in Warszawa.

I. was able to see his first peacock up close!

There were several peacocks in the park, and they kept up a rousing discourse with one another from various sides of the lake.

Eventually, we found a bench and stopped to enjoy the view for a while. It was quite tolerable:

One of the big plans for this trip was to hike the Tatras mountains in Southern Poland, so we spent only two days in Warszawa before hopping on a train to the mountain city of Zakopane. And, in the interest of drawing out our final hurrah for as long as possible, I shall save the Zakopane photos for our next post.