Throughout the weekends in May and June...we began riding our bikes to parks in Warsaw.
Our destination for this day was the Warsaw Citadel....an early-19th century fortress built by Tsar Nicholas I when Poland was ruled by Russia. To get there we rode up and over hills and stairs, and also along muddy paths.
Mark is standing on an embankment above one of the walls of the Citadel.
Finding very old looking walls...since near the Citadel property, we thought this may have been a part of the original Citadel.
Modern artillery made the Citadel's use as a fortress obsolete by the end of the 19th century. However when Poland regained its independence in 1918, the Polish Army assumed control of the Citadel and it remains a functioning Army facility....
....so we were not able to ride inside the walls.
After the Citadel we decided to ride over to Old Town. Mark and I had ridden to Old Town a few times before, but never from the northeastern side of Warsaw.
Once in Old Town we stopped for "lody" even before lunch.
I never tire of visiting my favorite staircase in Warsaw, near the Rynek.
Bartek showed us that at the bottom of the staircase, across the street there is a second part to this staircase....
....which is slightly offset from the first part, and leads to another street below.
I just love these stairs!
Shortly after riding out of Old Town we passed the Warsaw Uprising Memorial. Here we said our goodbyes to Berenika and Bartek, then Mark and I continued riding toward home.
Across the street from the the Uprising Memorial we discovered another beautiful park, located behind the Krasinski Palace.
To think we were just discovering this palace and park for the first time!
After riding a little further we noticed an interesting building....it appeared to be newer on the upper levels, and older on the lower levels. Getting closer...
After riding a little further we noticed an interesting building....it appeared to be newer on the upper levels, and older on the lower levels. Getting closer...
.... there was a plaque affixed to a wall that had many bullet holes in it.
Translated: While here during the Warsaw Uprising....in defense of the old town....soldiers from the National Army fought and perished.
The P/W symbol below stands for Powstanie Warszawskie...."Warsaw Uprising" in Polish.
It is the symbol of the Uprising, and is placed alongside the building to further commemorate the valiant sacrifices of the people who were a part of the Uprising
Riding past the Tomb of Unknown Soldier memorial.
Riding past the Tomb of Unknown Soldier memorial.
By now it was mid-afternoon and we had worked off the lody that we had eaten earlier, and were ready for lunch. So we headed over to Nowy Swiat and found a lovely garden restaurant tucked behind a building on the busy street.
I love eating outside...cool breezes, warm sunshine...and no mosquitoes!
Riding home we passed beautiful esplanades filled with colorful summertime flowers.
The next week Mark decided that weekend bike-riding wasn't enough, and that he wanted to ride his bike to work....after all it was only a 7.5 km ride!
He enjoyed the ride and made it safely to the office....though it did require riding alongside cars and buses in the roundabout intersection at Jerozolimskie and Marszalkowska in the very busy Centrum area.
Since that first ride into his office, Mark has ridden to work 3 mores times!
On June 19, there was a Polish Public Holiday....Corpus Christi (Latin words meaning: Body of Christ). It is a both a national holiday and a Catholic holiday commemorating the first communion.
As a public holiday, the schools, banks, government offices, and most businesses are closed....even retail businesses are closed, except for a few restaurants. In Poland there is no such thing as going shopping on a holiday like there is in the U.S. It's a holiday for everyone, and the U.S. could learn something from Poland in this regard.
As a public holiday, the schools, banks, government offices, and most businesses are closed....even retail businesses are closed, except for a few restaurants. In Poland there is no such thing as going shopping on a holiday like there is in the U.S. It's a holiday for everyone, and the U.S. could learn something from Poland in this regard.
Mark and I rode our bikes up to the Łazienki Park...Warsaw's largest and most popular park.
Summertime at Łazienki.
Bicycles are not allowed in the park so we found a place to park and lock our bikes...then wandered inside the park for a few hours.
We took a 10 minute boat ride around the little pond.
It was relaxing, and though the park was bustling with people it was a very peaceful ride.
While meandering around different areas of the park we found places where people can rent lounge chairs....many Polish people like to bask in the sun.
Red squirrels are some of the wildlife in this park....in abundance.
I had heard of the Belvedere Restaurant, but never knew where it was located...it looks nice and inviting. Maybe we will visit here before leaving Warsaw.
The restaurant shares a name with the Belvedere Palace...which happens to be just up the hill.
In center of the photo below the back side of the Belvedere Palace is visible between the trees. We have seen the front of the hotel many times when passing on a bicycle or in a car or bus....but this view from the back was beautiful.
Lovely hydrangeas.
Polish holidays are a great way to spend time together!
During my birthday month of June, I had wanted to visit a number of Warsaw's parks....so on the first day of summer, June 21, we visited Park Skaryszewski.
This park is near the National Stadium., across the Vistula River....and it is huge! We drove to the park but returning on bikes would be a good idea as there were great bike paths and it was so quiet and green!
As we walked toward the entrance to the park Mark noticed a tree branch that had grown through the fence, and then cut off. Thinking about how it must have occurred, it was truly an odd sight!
The park has the shape of a kidney or heart so we explored the different areas. Parts of the park are less manicured and therefore more natural-looking than some other parks....
....but other parts are beautifully groomed.
A pretty rose garden....
....and one of the statues scattered throughout the park....a girl dancing.
Mark found a large fallen tree to climb onto....
....successful.
Clusters of flowers are placed in various parts of the park..
....and lots and lots of green. Below is a bush with an interesting array of branches but no foliage.
A man-made waterfall....
....that looked refreshing and peaceful.
Most interesting were the red squirrels....not afraid of people, and seemingly almost domesticated....
....probably from all the visitors that feed them. This squirrel was so sure that Mark had something for it to eat that it started climbing up Mark's leg!
Visiting parks around Warsaw was most enjoyable during the month of June...including our neighborhood park which we visit almost daily.
There are so many green areas in and around Warsaw! Taking the time to explore and enjoy so much green space during the early days of summer has been enjoyable and rewarding!
