Rather than taking another trip to Kraków, as we had first talked about, Jess and I decided to stay in Warszawa for the first weekend of her vacation.  We did this so that we’d have time to rest and recouperate, as well as to see some of the things we hadn’t seen yet that were right here in town.

We started by taking a trip out to ?azienki Park.  Previously we had only explored just inside the gate, where we were for a concert at the end of the summertime, and there was a lot more to see!

People everywhere were feeding the animals – Birds and squirrels – and because of this, they were very friendly.  We managed to snap a shot of a squirrel that climbed up on Jess looking for food! Unfortunately, we didn’t have anything to share with him.

Beyond the friendliness of the animals, we were also surprised by the types of animals we saw.  The squirrels were like nothing I’ve seen before back home, with their long pointed fuzzy ears and bright red color.  They looked more like a grey squirrel with red squirrel coloring and rabbit ears!  In addition to the sqrabbits, there were peacocks everywhere!  This was the first time I’ve ever encountered a peacock outside of a zoo, and it was strange.

The park itself is very beautiful.  It is fairly wooded with numerous paths and ponds.  We happened to visit on a perfectly autumn day that was cool enough to enjoy wearing a jacket, but not so cold that you went numb.  And the leaves had all changed and drifted down around us like snowflakes, while we crunched along.  I took the opportunity to try out some of the features of our new camera.

In addition to a refreshing encounter with nature, the park also houses some old palace structures.  I believe some of them used to be the summer home of one of the later Polish Kings, but I couldn’t tell you which ones.  There was also a Greek ampitheater built in the 1700s which sat out in the water, while the audience watched from the shore.

It was very relaxing, and I can see why many residents go there regularly on the weekends.

The Wilanów Palace (also known as the Versailles of Poland) was built in the 1600s for King John III Sobieski

This palace sits a few hundred meters back from the main roads, and only maybe a couple hundred more from the roads to our apartment.  And after living virtually next door, we finally decided to pay a visit to the palace.

The Palace is an enormous structure, surrounded by beautiful gardens and parks.  It survived the destruction of World War II and the Warsaw Uprising, due to it’s location farther to the outskirts of the city.  Though it was heavily damaged and is still being restored, much of the original structure and artwork remains intact.  The palace now serves as a museum of national art and pride.

Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed inside the palace.  But even if we could have, we would not have had room on our camera for everything.  Nearly every wall and ceiling is painted with elaborate frescoes and carvings.  There were displays of weapons and armor, collected by John III, as well as magnificient portraits of all of the previous owners and their families.

After King John III and his sons, the palace ownership passed to powerful Polish families.  Many of the 19th century palace owners are buried in the Potacki Mausoleum in the park outside of the palace, next to St. Anne’s Church.

We spent a few hours roaming the park and palace exterior, and about an equal amount of time inside, looking at the artifacts of Polish history that are kept there. 

By the end of the day, our brains were full and our feet were tired, so we plan on returning another time.

An added bonus on this trip was the art exhibition that was on display in the palace’s old kitchen. 

The palace often plays hosts to concerts and art/historical exhibits, and serves as a Museum.  We hope to return for more events in the future!

More Information:

• Wikipedia
• Museum Palace at Wilanow

On Saturday, Jess and I decided to head up to downtown Warsaw and check out the Warsaw Film Festival.  We weren’t sure what to watch, and had looked through a few of the descriptions of the movies playing in the "English Only" theaters.  As we were about to leave, we noticed a few other friends of ours were planning on seeing Autism: The Musical (www.autismthemusical.com).  We hadn’t seen this one, and it interested us, so our decision was made.

We were a bit early, so we bought our tickets, then got some Tiger Chai Latte’s from Coffee Heaven (good stuff).

The Warsaw Film Festival is a large, international event with filmmakers from various countries around the world showcasing their work.  Autism: The Musical was the only movie we ended up watching, though I’m sure there were many other good films there!  It was produced in the U.S., so we didn’t see anything very international, but it was VERY good.

The movie is about a woman, Elaine, who adopted her son, Neal, from Russia.  Over the years, it became apparent that he was not developing as was expected.  She discovered that he was autistic.  Some of the things she said people told her, like "Send him back to Russia" were heartbreaking.  But Elaine has more of a heart than that, and set out to defy society’s preconceptions and hopefully open people’s eyes.

I can say that she opened mine a bit farther.

Not that I’m close minded, but there’s always room to grow, and always things you didn’t know.

Without giving too much away, the movie follows a group of autistic children as they participate in Elaine’s "Miracle Project".  The Miracle Project is essentially a play that the children help write and then perform.  The movie follows their preparation, covering their successes, failures, and struggles.  They also spend a good amount of time on most of the children’s backgrounds.

The underlying theme is that autistic children are not lost cases.  They can accomplish as much as anyone, but they’re not the same as most people.  So rather than to simply not try because it’s too hard, or too strange, these families joined together to prove the world wrong.  They fight the world and themselves every step of the way to overcome what they see as more of a language barrier than a disability.

In the short duration of the movie you really come to know and adore all of the children for who they are, and their own personal quirks…  Lexi who mostly repeats what’s said to her, the over-articulate Wyatt, Henry and his Dinosaur obsession, Adam and his cello (and the girl he likes!) and the Silent Neal, who seems to have ultra sensitive hearing, reminds his mother, and in a way the viewers, to be a better listener.

The movie tugs at your heart, and brings on a few tears and a few more giggles.  It is a sobering experience, sharing both the playful times and the challenges that these families face every day. It reminds us that our most difficult struggles bear the greatest rewards.  Or as Khalil Gibran wrote in The Prophet: "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain."

Some days, you need to slow down and appreciate the things around you.  The sights, sounds, smells…  is it weird that all these senses start with "s"?  

I digress.

As I was saying… sometimes you need to slow down.  Take in every moment like the first bite of fine food, the first sip of a hot drink on a cold day, or a morning hug.  You close your eyes and take it all in, letting the sensation be absorbed through every fiber of your being.

But other days, you just gotta crank up the music, cut loose, and dance (or workout… TKD works for me, too).

Today – I’m dancing.

P.S. – I’m not the only one who got a hat

With a little help and asking around, Jess and I went online and reserved a room at the Blue Hostel, and our train tickets to and from Kraków.  After we stocked up on food supplies for Jess, and got a good night’s sleep, our journey began! 

Our room at the Blue Hostel.

The Hostel was just outside, or maybe on the edge of, Old Town.

There was a little bar next door where we had a drink at the end of the day on Saturday, before retiring.

The Planty Garden

On your way in to Old Town you pass through this garden, which encircles the entire Medieval center.

It was built over the old moat, which was filled using the rubble from the devensive walls when they were torn down at the turn of the 18th century.

Nice Church

I’m not sure which church this is, but we saw it and it was empty, so we decided to poke our heads in.  It was very beautiful, but we were locked out of the main structure.

There was a woman praying next to us, as it seemed many came to do.  The sun was coming in and it made for a nice photo.

On our way to the Central Square

We passed a few large, ornate buildings, like this Theater.

There were also a few small, but beautiful gardens.

We wound our way through the narrow, cobbled brick streets and found an information booth, where we picked up a tourist guide and a small map.

Wawel Castle

Now with some direction, we went south and climbed Wawel hill to pay a visit to Wawel Castle.

The castle is set atop a hill, overlooking the Vistula river and the Old Town.

In the castle, there is a Cathedral where many of the Polish Kings were crowned and entombed.

Wawel Cathedral

We weren’t allowed to take photos inside of the cathedral, which is a shame because it was amazing.  I did get a few photos of the mismatched building from the outside.

Part of the tour included climbing the bell tower.  I’m not sure if photographs were allowed, but everyone was taking them, so why should we be different?

Sigismund Tower

There were several bells along the way up this tower.  All of them were huge.

To get up the tower, you had to squeeze between the posts, and clamber up some sturdy, but narrow, stairs.

It felt like we were climbing up a wooden spiderweb.

The bells (at least the topmost one) have been announcing important events and religious holidays since 1521!

Dragon’s Den

We didn’t pay for tickets to see the rest of the castle, so we bypassed the castle interior and went under it instead!

The Dragon’s Den is a cave that leads out under the castle.

The rock was full of small holes, almost as if the dragon dug out little holes for himself.

Vistula River

After emerging from the dark depths, we took a moment to sit on the banks of the Vistula and admire the view. 

The sun was lowering, leaving a sparkling trail in it’s wake.  A lot of other people shared our sentiment and sat for a bit, and took some photos.

Shopping

After our castle and cave exploration, we roamed around the town to see what the shops had to offer.

There were many street performers and artists.  We picked up a few of the drawings, but sadly, this bear couldn’t come with us.

Saint Mary’s Basilica

On Sunday, we had a little time to kill before our train left, so we saw a few of the other gems in Old Town.

The Basilica is far from the least of these!  It is a beautiful 14th century gothic church, built before the central square was even established.

The Basilica has two tall towers at it’s front.  A bugler plays a tune on the trumpet there every hour since the 16th century.  Before that, the trumpet wasy played at the opening and closing of the city gates, and as a signal in the event of invasion or other important event.

The Barbicon

Of course, with my love of castles, we couldn’t leave without exploring this.

The Barbicon is best preserved of the few remaining such devensive structures in all of Europe.

Before the walls were demolished, and the moat filled, this was the main entry into the city.

That’s the brief summary of our self-guided tour.  Next time we go, we plan to stay longer and take a guided tour of both the Salt Mines, and Auschwitz.  Not the most uplifting of places to visit, I’ll admit, but still an important piece of history, which will no doubt be very informative.

You can see all of the photos from our trip in my Kraków Photo Album

Oh yeah…  I got a hat…