Warsaw

In Warsaw we spend four nights in an apartment in the "Old City". The old city is 50 years old, but was designed to appear to be 200.

The Germans destroyed the old "Old City" and 85 percent of Warsaw in a fit of Hitlerian pique after the 1944 general uprising by the Polish population of Warsaw. This was the second uprising in Warsaw. The first was the 1943 uprising in the Jewish ghetto by 400,000 Jews.

About 800,000 of the prewar Warsaw population of 1.2 million were killed in WWII. This compares with total American deaths of 400,000 and British losses of 370,000.  Nearly 18% of the Polish people were killed in WWII, the most per capita losses of any country.

The Poles couldn't catch a break. After the Germans left the Russians rolled in and stayed  from 1945 until 1989. However, my research indicates that Poland is rebuilding quickly now. Per capita GNP is above Greece and Hungary and has tripled in the last 25 years.

We visit the Museum of the Polish Uprising, The Palace of Science and Culture and the Lazienki Gardens and Palace.

The picture below is one of the squares in the Old City.

Polish pilots exiled in Britain air dropped small arms to the Polish people during the General Uprising.

The Lazienki Palace. The Germans set fire to it and drilled 1,000 holes in the walls in preparation to blow it up, but failed to detonate the explosives. It has been restored nicely based on prewar photographs.

Talk about almond encrusted trout....

Whenever I see a statue of David, I feel better about my junk.

Gotta love mirrors....

A rainy evening in the old city....we'll be back in Sarasota tomorrow....