Let me finish a thought about Warsaw: St Anne's Church was soooo beautiful! Very ornate, gorgeous organ- would have been lovely to hear a concert ( and, of course, I could sing along:)
The reason it survived the war: the parishioners got the soldiers drunk- " toasting to the memory of St Anne"..they added sedatives to the wine..soldiers woke up too late to complete the destruction- had to move on..so, wine saved the day!
With the cost of petrol soooo high, there are a lot of small cars..one was what we call the Smart Car; it was neon green and pepto bismol pink--hard to steal that one and get away unnoticed:)
Old Town in Warsaw was quaint and so picturesque..strolled and shopped and checked out little alleys and courtyards for the afternoon. Found an authentic Polish pub: David had pierogi and I had potato pancakes ( my father used to make them when we were kids..probably on "meatless fridays")..
Then, to see how many different countries' dishes we can try, found an Egyptian restaurant ..had Arabic soup..and a noodle dish..great photos of the pyramids decorating the walls..don't worry, that won't be the next trip; we'll wait til they're not kidnapping the tourists or robbing tour busses en route to the pyramids...
Last night was another spa night: hot tub and sauna were lovely!
We really enjoyed Warsaw--different that was expect ( thought it would be a industrial city scape without the culture..always heard Krakow was the place to see).
Train to Krakow - 2.5 hours..smooth ride..first class car with only 6 "couches"..pretty country side and rolling hills ..lots of small farms and individual green houses..David had his eyes glued to the gardens..
"Hoofed" it to the hotel, at the suggestion of our bus driver, Tadeus...well, Tadeus, maybe something was lost in translation, but it was quite the hike - over cobblestones- with luggage....I was not thinking good thoughts upon arrival....Hotel Chopin is not nearly as nice as all the others on this trip ( believe it or not, the Holiday Inn in Warsaw was gorgeous!)....small rooms, no spa or amenities...oh, well, I'll tell the travel agent to cross Chopin off her list.
Spent the afternoon in the Town Square..the largest Medieval square in Europe...yes, that puts it smack on the World Heritage Sites..it's quite a bit more touristy here...busy. ,,lots of touristy shops..alleys are not so Old World or artsy...it's funny cause it's just the opposite of what was expected....I can't tell you how many people said " Oh, you'll LOVE Krakow"---don't get me wrong, it's fine, but not the artsy spot of its reputation...saw a gorgeous catherdral and castle ( gotta have a castle)...the churches are like museums with all the sculptures, stained glass, paintings, marble, bas relief etc....in fact, we haven't been to an art museum at all this trip...the art is found in so many other places..
Had lunch at another Polish restaurant, of course: David tried Kielbasa and sauerkraut and I tried beef goulash ( very different from ours- lots of beef pieces and 2 beef cutlets in a tasty red sauce; but, no noodles or rice ( not that I haven't had enough carbs to choke a horse...yikes!)..
Sore throat and cold thingy seemed to go around our group...David and I had to lay low a bit later today...got some meds from Pharmacy ( God only knows what it really is, but...)..that and tea and red wine should kill the germs.
And, I made reservations for the salt mine tour tomorrow..I know, it sounds awful, but it's one of the top ten museum/sites in the world..whole alcoves, chapels, statues etc made of salt..we get to go down into the mines for 2 km...have to dress warm...will probably think about salt differently after we see what it takes to get it to the Moton Salt box....it's still a functioning mine. but it doesn't seem like the "post-retirement" job that dreams are made of:)
We'll celebrate David's birthday with a lovely dinner and "toasts" and maybe a concert in the evening....
Since no news is good news, I'm glad there were no phone messages....always nice to have an email,though, cause I know that's a cheery greeting.
Thanks for following along to the Baltic Nations and Poland and Finland.....Clark photo will be busy printing a bunch of photo memories, that of course I'll share ( fair warning!).
bye of now..catch up with everyone when we get home.