Picketts in Poland: July 2013

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Last Days with Family before they return to the US

A trip to the Warsaw Zoo, Geocaching, and returning to Old Town with Rebecca and Becca….

.…before our goodbyes at the end of their visit in the summer of 2013.

Warsaw Zoo
I have been to the Warsaw Zoo a few times and this trip was by far the easiest travel experience. We took a tram, got off across the street from the beautiful St. Florian's Cathedral, walked through a park….and arrived at the Warsaw Zoo!

Visiting the zoo was a lovely activity for a summer Monday morning. Since we only had 2 full days left with my sister Rebecca and Becca, we ventured out once again.

The Warsaw Zoo is a great place to walk and visit. We saw a few active animals, but because it was getting quite warm, many of the animals were less active than on previous visits here.

We saw a large group of turtles sun bathing….

….a brown bear wandering about his enclosure….

….and the king of the beasts sits on what appears his lush, grassy throne.

We found the home of the Zookeeper who helped hide and keep many Jewish people safe during the days of WWII and the German occupation.

The account of the Zookeeper and his wife is in the novel "The Zookeeper's Wife".

This large ceramic egg reminds me of Polish folk art…but I have never quite figured out its significance in the center of the zoo.

The apes, gorillas and monkeys were all quite active and fun to watch.

Here is a flock of storks near the zoo entrance. Storks are very important birds in Poland, and are even considered one of the symbols of Poland….most likely because they migrate here from Africa to lay eggs and raise young.

The nest building begins in the early spring and babies are born in the latter part of April. The storks stay in Poland until late August, then leave for Africa….a sign that summer is coming to a close.

I had not seen the flock of storks on previous visits….so this was quite interesting.

Our visit to Warsaw's Zoo was great for a summer morning and afternoon.

Leaving the zoo, we walked through the park, and approaching the tram stop we once again saw St. Florian's Cathedral.

This Catholic church is the Praga District and can easily be seen from the western side of the Vistula River….from Old Town, and even the Cultural Palace. This church was destroyed by the Germans as they were leaving Poland in 1944 after the Warsaw Uprising. It was left in ruins for many years but in the 1950s it started to slowly be reconstructed.

Geocaching with Becca….
Mark and I were introduced to "geocaching" when my sister Rebecca and Becca came to visit. While looking online for a spot to leave a geocache….Becca discovered that there was a geocache in our nearby neighborhood park.

All of us were looking, then Becca and Rebecca found the location….

….in the hollow of an old tree.

My contribution was finding a stick that Mark used to clean the debris and who-knows-what-else off of the cache and retrieve it.

Here is the Polish geocache that was found

Becca looked at the contents and signed the log.

It was a fun adventure…

….and our first success story in finding a geocache….near our home, no less!

Old Town….once again.

I asked Rebecca and Becca where they would like to go on their last full day in Poland, and both wanted to return to the Old Town area once again. So we took pictures….

….enjoyed the beautiful cobblestone streets….

….and went to my favorite outdoor staircase….

….Kamienne Schodki.

I love this tiny spot in Old Town.

My sister Rebecca found a small oil painting of "Forget-Me-Not" flowers…so appropriate for a reminder of her four weeks in Poland.

Becca had made plans to leave her own geocache, and she found the spot near the Little Insurgent Monument where she wanted to hide it.

The Little Insurgent Monument was unveiled in the early 1980s. It is a bronze figure of a boy soldier….

….honoring the children who served as messengers during the Warsaw Uprising.

Becca hid her geocache in the green bushes seen in the picture below. However she later found out that this location was too close to another geocache (though we never found it).

Too soon it was time to say goodbye to beautiful Polish flowers and gardens….

….and lody (Polish ice cream).

Goodbye to the swan family….we enjoyed watching the cygnets grow over the four weeks we walked through our neighborhood park

Our four weeks together were amazing….we traveled throughout Warsaw, to Kraków, and to Berlin. We explored, learned, ate, and enjoyed being together.

I loved our family connections and was so happy that my sister Rebecca and her granddaughter Becca could be in our home for four weeks. Thank you for filling our lives and home with wonderful memories!

July 17, 2013…..up early to drive Rebecca and Becca to the Chopin Airport
Do zobaczenia!

Friday, July 12, 2013

Week 4 with Family in Poland

Our Last Week in Warsaw with Family

More exploring, celebrating birthdays, and being together in Warsaw.

Łasienki Park…. Our 2nd trip to the Royal Łasienki park lasted longer than our first trip when we came here on my birthday. The weather was great and our walk throughout the park was most enjoyable!

The majestic Chopin Monument

The willow tree next to Chopin reminds one sometimes of long fingers bent over…almost in a position of playing the piano.

We took a short boat ride around the little lake…

across from the royal summer residence.

The Royal Summer residence ...

which has a great front yard view!

Inside the summer palace, we saw interesting statues...

beautiful architectural features...

beautiful book ends...

and always interesting clocks.

We took a self-guided tour and visited 6-7 buildings throughout the park which were of importance to the royal families that once lived in Warsaw.

Łasienki Park is also filled with wild peacocks and peahens….

and beautiful flowers are everywhere!

There are also small cafes inside the park…Rebecca and Becca enjoyed their "dessert lunch"…they said their crepes were heavenly!

A beautiful summer day in Łazienki Park.

Wilanow Palace

My sister Rebecca and Mark celebrated their birthdays one day apart during the last week we were together. Rebecca had wanted to go to the Wilanow Palace on her birthday so we made a morning of visiting this Palace which is very close to our home.

Though I have visited this palace twice before, I always come away learning something new.
Inside the palace there are many beautiful rooms….

interesting decor and clocks...

and statues and pictures honoring the royal families.

Today we also explored the outside grounds of the Wilanów Palce.

The beautifully manicured gardens during the summer season were gorgeous!

Backyard view of the palace

Both Becca ….

and Rebecca found little nooks to pose inside.

I loved exploring the Wilanow gardens together...

Returning to Kim's Polish shop was another fun activity for a birthday…this time it was Rebecca's turn to find some Polish treasures.

Directly across from Kim's Polish shop is a small E. Wedel cafe.

We enjoyed birthday treats….and though a summer day in July…it was cold! So convenient that the restaurants here in Warsaw have blankets to use!

Birthdays are so much fun celebrating together!

University of Warsaw Library and the Marie Curie Museum
On another day...
we climbed up the flights of stairs to the rooftop gardens of the Warsaw University Library