Can you see all the bullet holes?

A Palace

There are so many Palaces in the city, I cant even begin to remember which was which! They are all huge and very impressive.

Chopin Institute

Frederick Chopin was born near Warsaw and studied his music there under Elsner. Every 5 years the Chopin International Piano Competition is held in Warsaw at which only Chopin's music is played. Top class competitors from all over the world take part. WInners include such world famous pianists as Vladimir Ahkenazy, Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich and Krustian Zimerman.

National Theatre

Warsaw had loads of HUGE buildings. This is the National Theatre, built in 1825 - 1853. Ravaged during WWII it was greatly enlarged and refurbished and now houses the National Opera and Ballet. This is the front facade ....

... and this was the back of the building.

The language ....

We learned a few words of Polish. Winda meant 'a lift'. Windy meant 'more than one lift'! This was a sign in our hotel.

Strawberry season

The strawberry season was in full swing and the delicious fruits were for sale everywhere. I did my very best to eat as many of them as possible!

Lion Guard

There are two of these guys, one on each side of the entrance to the Presedential Palace.

The Presidential Palace

This beautiful building be4longed to many important families . From 1685 it was owned by the Radziwill family who sold it to the governemnt After WWII the palace became the Council of Minister's Office and was the setting for important political events. The Warsaw Pact was signed here in 1995. Since 1994 it has been the official residence of the President.
Each morning at 9.00 the changing of the guiard ceremony took place, complete with drumming and trumpet flourishes. Our room was just aboove the courtyard. You can see our window on the top floor of the hotel - that little window in the roof. So we had a bird'seye view every morning of the ceremonies.

Hotel Bristol ...

where we stayed, is the top 5 star hotel in Warsaw. It is immediately next door to the Presedential Palace and about 5 minutes walk from the Old Town and the Royal Palace. It was founded by Paderewski ( composer, pianist and politician) in the 1800's and was a great society venue for parties and receptions that were regarded as the most stylish in Warsaw. Marie Curie´s Nobel Prize was celebrated there. During the wars the Gestapo lived in the hotel and it was also used as a hospital. After the was it was completely refurbished and was reopened by Baroness Margaret Thatcher in 1992. Among the impressive guest list are Queen Elizabeth of England with Princes Charles, Phillip and Andrew. Princess Anne, Richard Nixon, Tina Turner, the Shah of Iran, Emperor Akihito, Pat Murphy and George Black(!) and many more famous artists and state-people.

The Ice-cream man cometh ...

Irelandzki Pub.

Of course we found the Irish Pub in Warsaw! It served guinness and had Irish band nights.

Vacancies for a good band ....

Red Squirrell in Lazienki Park

This was the cutest little guy. First he was up in the tree. Then he came down and begged nuts from someone. He was quite happy to just stand there, with people passing by, chewing on nuts. (Sorry the pics are abit blurred).

Chopin Memorial Garden,Warsaw

Frederick Chopin was boen near Warsaw and lived in the city for several years. He is commemorated in this garden, part of the huge Lazienki Park on the East side of Warsaw. We walked there on Sunday morning - it took about 1.5 hours - and caught a piano recital. It was lovely.