Warsaw - Milk Bar

Warsaw - Milk Bar (Bar mleczny)

A Polish milk bar is a no-frills, self-service cafeteria which serve dishes at ultra-low prices.  The menu is posted on the wall.  You point and order what you want, pay in advance at the cashier, collect a receipt to give to the person dispensing the food, collect the food and find a table.  After you finished the food, you have to return your dirty dishes to a common area.

A kind English-speaking Pole gentleman guided us in our order and collection of food.  We had something milky, dumplings and omelette.

Warsaw - Wedel Chocolate Lounge

Warsaw - Wedel Chocolate Lounge

WEDEL is Poland's oldest chocolate brand (over 150 years old).  The chocolate lounge is recommended in travel guide books.  Besides chocolate drinks, they also serve pralines and ice-cream.

The official Wedel web-site is at:
http://www.wedelpijalnie.pl/english/home/204

Reviews of the Wedel chocolate lounge in Warsaw can be found here:
http://www.warsaw-life.com/eat/restaurants_details/291-Wedel

Warsaw - Wilanów Palace

Wilanow Palace

Wilanów Palace was a summer residence of Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland during the period 1674-1696.  Wilanów takes its name from words in Italian´villa nuova´.  It is now a state owned museum.  When we reached there in the evening (5 pm), the museum has closed for the day.

Warsaw - Palace on the Water

Warsaw - Palace on the Water

"Palace on the Water" is at the foot of a hill in Lazienki Park.  It is a former residence of the king.  An existing bathhouse (lazienki in Polish) is incorporated in the Palace.  There is an Island Amphitheatre set on an islet in the lake, where plays are occasionally performed in summer.

Warsaw - Lazienki Park and Saxon Garden

Lazienki Park and Saxon Garden

Lazienki Park (Royal Baths Park) is the largest park in Warsaw.  The Chopin monument (top left) is near the middle entrance of the park.  It depicts the composer sitting under a willow tree.

Saxon Garden is the oldest public park in Warsaw.  In this park you can find the monument of (top right) Maria Konopnicka (famous Polish poet and writer), (bottom left) sandstone statues and (bottom right) monument of Josef Pilsudski (Polish stateman).

Krakow - Around Old Town

Krakow - Around Old Town

(top row, left) the hotel we stayed in was within walking distance from a shopping mall (top row, middle).  Down the road, we saw the (top row, right) Wawel Castle.

(middle row, left) We saw a popular ice-cream cafe, Wentzl, which was well known for its (middle row, middle) spaghetti ice-cream. (middle row, right) This is one of many "milk bars" in Poland which served cheap meals for locals.

(bottom row, left) One of few cardinal hats spotted.  It now reminded me of the 2011 movie, "The Adjustment Bureau". :-)



(bottom row, middle) Young Pope lived here, (bottom row, right) This is the Archbishop's Palace. The Pope waved from that window.

Krakow - Old Town

Krakow Old Town

The Old Town has plenty of historical monuments.  It is best explored casually, savouring the architectual details, while dropping into cosy cafes along the way.

(above pic, left column) St Mary's church (St Mary's basilica) has 2 unequal towers.  The lower one served as a bell tower and held 5 bells, while the taller one functioned as a watchtower.  Every hour, a bugle call is played on a trumpet from the higher tower.  The melody is based on 5 notes and breaks off abruptly in midbar.  Legend links it to an arrow piercing a watchman's throat, while he was sounding the alarm after spotting the invaders.

(middle column, top pic) The Town Hall Tower is next to the Cloth Hall.  The Cloth Hall was built for cloth trade but now the lower floor trades souvenirs while the upper floor is an arts gallery. (middle column, middle pic) This is the statue of Adam Mickiewicz, surrounded by 4 figures - Motherland, Learning, Poetry and Valour. (middle column, bottom pic) We were delighted to find the hot chocolate served in Poland is actually sinfully melted chocolate!

(right column) The main market square is car-free and the largest medieval town square in Poland and reputedly in all of Europe.  The above landmarks are all on this market square.

Krakow Old Town Street Performers

On a sunny day, there are many colourful street performers in this market square.

Krakow - Wawel Castle Grounds

Wawel Castle Grounds

[Time for a Fun-Pic :-) ]
[Source: Rick Steves' Poland travel guide] There was a Hindu concept of "chakra", where people believed that a powerful energy field connects all living things.  Mirroring the 7 chakra points on the body, there are 7 points on the surface of Earth where the energy is most concentrated – Delphi, Delhi, Jerusalem, Rome, Mecca, Velehrad, and here.. Specifically this left corner on the back of the courtyard.

People would press against this corner to try to absorb some good vibes from this chakra spot.  :-)

Krakow - Kazimierz and Nowa Huta

Kazimierz and Nowa Huta

(top row) Kazimierz is located within walking distance southeast of the Wawel.  It was a former Jewish Quarter.  Spielberg came here to shoot "Schindler's List" as this town had one of few remaining visual relics of Jewish heritage.

(bottom row) Nowa Huta can be reached from Krakow by tram.  You alight at Plac Centralny, the suburb's central square.  It was a former communist town.  The landscape varies little throughout the district.  This town served as a dormitory for the steelworks workforce.  We noticed a lot of Polish elder folks as we walked around the suburb.

Nowa Huta park

Krakow - Wieliczka Salt Mine

Wieliczka Salt Mine

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is on Unesco's World Heritage List.  A guided tour will bring you to 3 upper levels of the mine.  You will be walking about 2km through the 14 degree Celsius mine, so dress comfortably.  The guided tour starts every 5 to 30 minutes, whenever there are enough tourists. Only selected tours are conducted in English.

Minibuses to Wieliczka Salt Mine depart every 10-30 minutes from the Krakow bus terminal.

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

We made a side-trip to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. There were scheduled buses that brought us there from Krakow bus terminal. We paid for an English guided tour so we could have a better understanding of the place. It was well worth the time and price. We left the camp feeling both sadness for the Jewish prisoners and anger at those who did the horrible things to them.

(Top row, left) A sculpture of a man chained to a pillar till his death.

(Top row, right) “Arbeit Macht Frie”, ie. “Work Sets You Free” - where in fact, the only way out was through the crematoriums' chimneys.

(Bottom row, left) Electric fencing that can be seen around the camp.

(Bottom row, right) There were so many captured prisoners that a second storey had to be added to the building.


In "X-Men: First Class" movie, Magneto grew up here.

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

(Top row, left) A wall designed to catch bullets.

(Top row, right) The outside view of a “Dark Cell”, which could hold up to 30 prisoners. There was only a small window near the top of the cell for ventilation. In winter, snow would fill the trench outside the window and the prisoners in the cell would suffocate.

(Bottom row, left) Photos of prisoners who were hung at that spot.

(Bottom row, right) This was where Hitler was hung after the war.

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

(Top row, left): Even though the camp was opened to tourists, there were still some restrictions for visitors of the camp, some were out of respect for those who have perished.

(Top row, right): A signboard showing where "the corpse of prisoners shot while trying to escape were displayed, as a warning to others".

(Bottom row, left): The camp orchestra kept the prisoners in step, so it was easier to count them.

(Bottom row, right): A signboard stating "If a Polish prisoner escaped, the family members were arrested and sent to Auschwitz. They were made to stand under a sign announcing the reason for their arrest and that they will remain in the camp until the fugitive was found. So that other prisoners would be aware of this policy."

Birkenau Concentration Camp

This camp was a short distance from Auschwitz Concentration Camp. A scheduled complimentary shuttle bus brought us to and from this camp. This camp was an expansion after Auschwitz overflowed with Jewish prisoners.

Top Row: Electric Fencing in the Camp, the railroad where trains of prisoners arrived.

Bottom Row: The barracks, as seen from the watch-tower; The famous watch-tower as seen in the movie, "Schindler’s List".

Birkenau Camp Compound

In Barrack 3, prisoners were put in 'standing-cells' big enough to hold 4 standing prisoners standing back to back. The cells were like chimneys, covered from floor to ceiling by bricks, with only a small opening for the prisoners to crawl in at night after their hard-labour work and crawl out the next morning after standing in the cell the entire night. There were times where 4 might crawl in at night but only 2 got out alive the next morning, only to be put back in again at night with another 2 more prisoners.

Out of respect for those who perished, photo-taking was not allowed in that Barrack.