The Final Journey III - Warsaw
My trip now takes me away from the former capital of Poland and towards the current capital - Warsaw. I’m visiting another friend of mine there while also recovering from getting the tattoo.
Wednesday - The Golden Coach
The journey from Kraków to Warsaw takes another four hours with the bus. I’m meeting a friend there who’s studying here in the Polish capical and, thanks to semester holidays, now has a bit of time on hand to show me the city.
The fact that I’m arriving in a golden instead of the expected green bus is something of great amusement to us both. I arrive in the late afternoon, so we decide to go back to her apartment and prepare ourselves for the next few days instead of already strolling through the city.
Thursday - Swords and the old Masters
Thursday is free entrance day for the Museum of Polish Military History and because my fascination with medieval weapons is no secret we spend the major part of the afternoon just there: between armours with moustache, elegantly engraved firearms, dangerous looking phalanx-weaponry and a collection of international weapons, with war boomerangs, Indian Pata-swords and Chinese Da Daos.
Afterwards our path takes us to the National Gallery, where we not only find picture of Polish artists but also some from international masters. Everything can be found, normal portraits, romantic landscapes but also abstract compositions. We point out funny details in the pictures and get lost in long discussions about possible meanings of these.
Friday - The Royal Gardens
A beautiful public park in Warsaw is the Łazienki Park, which combines green nature with classic buildings and peaceful walks. Spread over the whole surface of the park are different buildings, museums and exhibitions which are all accessible for free on Fridays.
Including these exhibitions is the sculpture gallery in the Old Orangery, the Łazienki-Palace in the middle of the park and the museum of Hunting and Riding. Next to all these buildings we are also able to spot lots of wild animals running through the meadows - squirrels, hooded crows and even a peacock invite us to stop and observe for a while.
After the mosquitos start coming out of their hiding places and the sun starts setting we go back to the city centre and visit the old town of Warsaw, where we also stop for dinner, before going back to the apartment to sleep.
Saturday - The Polish Versailles
My last full day in Poland we spend in Wilanów, a suburb of Warsaw where another big park houses the baroque Wilanów-Palace - partially destroyed in the Second World War but rebuild in its original style and opened as a museum on the life of the royal family and their legacy.
Before stepping into the palace we take a walk through the park, because the museum is only allowed to hold a limited amount of visitors at the same time and we have to wait a little before being let inside.
The park is lighter than Łazienki and feels more personal in its whole character than the public park in the city centre. Because of renovation works not all areas are opened wight now, and the museum, too, has a few closed off rooms.
We want to be back a little earlier than the other days, so that’s fine with us - and thus, we enjoy a nice evening in with fresh fruits, popcorn and a good movie, before I leave early the next morning for the twelve hour ride back to Budapest.
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