Another big day reminding me that I could be fitter as I adjust to walking, being hot and being tired from the business of life over the past few months. I had pre- booked tickets to the 1000Yr History of the Polish Jews and the Warsaw Rising Museum. Neither are open on Tuesday so it had to be today or never and they are the ‘must see’ ones. Otherwise one should never try to see them both on the same day. They are both massive and all consuming…although my ‘all-consuming’ tended to keep leaving me!! I needed Rose with me to say …thats enough lets get out of here!!
I spent so much time in the History of the Polish Jews that I had to hop in a taxi to get to the next one in time for my timed ticket (but maybe, just maybe, thats an excuse!!!). Having said that I’ve rapidly got my head around the Warsaw tram system and am quite proud of my efforts to negotiate the city on PT. Somewhere in there I had cabbage soup for lunch!
Anyway, 2 museums…that was it today! What did I learn? Bloody hell ,in the hierarchy of disaster, trauma and a shit deal from history, the Polish Jews have to be top of the list and the Poles generally next. 5 years under the Germans got rid of most of the Jews, followed by 55 years under the Soviets. We should thank some bloody higher being every day for being born when and where we all were.
The Warsaw Rising Museum just explained, for me, the city that Warsaw is today. Basically the Germans totally destroyed it leaving a Green Field for the Soviets to make as ugly and bland as their limited imaginations could manage. I was also struck by the fact that I thought I had seen it all with the destruction of cities like Cologne and Dresden by the allies but I had never heard a lot about the total destruction of Warsaw by the Germans. Why is this so???
After the Museum I got on the tram ( achievement being that it was the right tram) for home. A short walk to the hotel and miracle of miracles I found a little supermarket that sold wine! In my excitement I forgot a most crucial thing…I bought a bottle of wine with a fucking cork and, probably due to the rush to get packed, I hadn’t packed what is usually an essential for me, a corkscrew!! Anyway a resourceful Irwin as always I managed to get the cork in (as opposed to out) with a pair of scissors. I’m not sure who would be proud of me these days, but Lin would have been!
Then I wimped out. I was looking for restaurants to eat dinner around here somewhere but it started raining and my phone search rated the hotel as a good restaurant so I went down and ate here. It was definitely a wimp -out as I haven’t really conquered the eat out scene at all. I had spare ribs, it was huge and I didn’t enjoy it that much…so stupid deal that one. I had an espresso martini as compensation.
Tomorrow I feel will be more relaxed. I’m going to walk to and around the Old Town. No major attractions to overwhelm the senses, just a walk, maybe some time by the river and maybe get a decent meal for at least one of the meals. But that will be another story…..until tomorrow, goodnight