I'm back.....
 

Bet you didn't even know I was gone.

My trip report is upcoming one of these days. I went to Berlin, then Warsaw, then various cities and towns in eastern Germany, primarily so that I'd be compelled to speak German. Boy, am I tired of speaking Germany! Badly. Not badly tired. Speaking German badly.

Welcome back, Peg! I'm certain your German is 99 44/100% better than any other American the locals encountered. We only have grocery store/hotel German and most everyone we meet seems happy we're making an attempt.

I can't wait for your trip report! We got back a week ago from Germany/Austria so we can compare notes.

Best wishes in recovering from jet lag... we started taking melatonin (temporarily) before bed to get us over the hump.

Happy recovery!

Welcome back, Peg! Good to see you again!

Welcome Back !

When you get rested up ,you can start on the trip report.

Was wondering when you'd be back!

good, so what happened? Back from eastern Germany myself.

Hi Peg

Welcome back & please brighten our cold Aussie winter with traveller's tales.

And yes, I think you're probably way too modest about your German linguistics.

Who are you?

hi, Peg, hope you had a good trip. I'm going to Warsaw in a couple days and if it isn't too much trouble, could you just list the sites you went to this trip? You dno't have to do detailed trip report or explanation.

I just remember you went to Warsaw before, maybe just last year, and said you wanted to go back because there were still things you wanted to see but hadn't been able to. So I was wondering what those were that enticed you so much to want to go back, as I figured they'd be the less obvious sites and was hoping for tips. I know, of course, the usual biggies mentioned in guidebooks. I'm very interested in history also.

Herzlich willkommen zu Hause, Peg.

Glad you had a good trip and gave your Deutsch a good outing.

looking forward to your TR when you have the energy to write it.

Welcome back, Peg! Am looking forward to your trip report. I just got back from northern Germany; actually heard some English spoken in Binz, first time in 3 visits!

WELCOME HOME Pegontheroad! Can't wait to hear more about your latest adventures. Your friend, Suze

Hee is another who can't wait to hear about your trip. But no pressure;-)

I am sure that your German is much better than you believe!

Welcome back Peg. I was wondering why you weren't posting but figured you must be away. I'll look forward to reading about your trip.

Welcome back Peg, you are my hero and so hope when I am your age I am doing half of what you do. I have my greetings down and can ask for certain items in the store and eating out but that is about all.
Rest up and come give us a trip report.

Christina, I did some tours in Warsaw this time. The best one was the WWII tour, which focused on the events such as the Warsaw insurgency. There's a stunning memorial to Polish fighters, with large bronze (I think) figures coming out of the ruins or going down into the sewers, their way of moving around during the fighting.

I also visited the museum of the Insurgency and the Pawiak prison museum and the museum of the history of Polish Jewsl

I also saw the Umschlag platz, which had been the train station where people were loaded onto trains to take them to Auschwitz or other camps. There are also a couple small remnants of the wall of the ghetto. I saw the Ghetto Heroes monument, where Willy Brandt in 1970 famously fell to his knees in a gesture of contrition for Germany's crimes against Polish Jews.

There's a memorial to the fallen and murdered in the east, those those people were the victims of the Soviet Union, not the Nazis.

On my first trip to Warsaw I took a half-day tour of the city and saw Lazienki Park, which is lovely. I also visited the Old Town a couple of times.

Warsaw if redolent of history. The city seems alive with it.

I also took a Cold War tour of the city, mainly to see the social realist architecture. There were some great bas relief sculptures of figures of workers idealized in that social realist way. I especially enjoyed seeing the Communist party headquarters, an attractive white marble building. When I asked my guide what was in it now, he smiled ironically and said, "The Stock Exchange." Also on the side of the building I saw a Mazerati dealership and a Villeroy and Bosch store.

And you can't miss the Palace of Science and Culture, one of Europe's truly ugliest buildings, a gift from Stalin to the people of Warsaw.

I did tours this time because on my own I couldn't see everything I wanted to see.

Thanks, I'm about to leave in an hour. I was planning on going to the museum of the history of Polish Jews. I am staying at the Hotel Polonia so no, I don't think I'll miss the Palace of Science and Culture.

I'll see if I can find info on such tours, I suppose at the Tourist Office if not in the hotel. I like the WWII history idea. I'm only there 3 days, though, and as it is my first stop, I'll have jet lag the first day, for sure.

I'm going to Krakow after than and already signed up for a tour there on the Communist era in the city, they have a special section that was supposed to be a model Communist City there (Nowa Huta).

I stayed at the Polonia Palace last year and certainly had a fine view of the Palace of Science and Culture. Every day, all day.

By the way, I was told that the Polonia Palace was the hotel used by the German Wehrmacht--and also General Eisenhower and other bigwigs.

I arranged half-day general tour of Warsaw at the hotel. It showed a lot, but of course not as much as the WWII tour. It was enjoyable, though.

Yes, I've heard of Nowa Huta. The one thing the government left out was a Catholic Church, in arguably the most Catholic country in the world.

I hope you have plenty of time for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. It's very comprehensive and very well done.

Yes, I've heard of Nowa Huta. The one thing the government left out was a Catholic Church, in arguably the most Catholic country in the world. >>

Peg, this won't help Christina as she's already left, but there are two Churches in Nova Huta - both quite modern. One is Archbishop Wojtyła's "Ark", and the other also a lovely building with beautiful stained glass. The In your Pocket guide says that it is indeed true that Nova Huta was planned without churches and that the people themselves campaigned and protested to get a church built, the Ark being built between 1967 -1977. I hope that Christina gets to see it.

I certainly agree that the population of Krakow are very devout - we were there on a Friday when many of the faithful, including young people, were queuing for confession, and lamps had been lit in may places to commemorate the death of John Paul II who had died 2 years before our visit.