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.