Wednesday, October 11, 2006
War Saw
From Vilnius, I took the overnight bus to Warsaw, Poland. But we won't dwell on that crime against humanity.
Warsaw was the first city that I visited the first time I went to Europe, so it was kind of neat to go back and take another look. The Old Town square in Warsaw is cool to me because it's a 20th century rebuild (Hitler had it destroyed as punishment for the Warsaw uprising), but it feels pretty authentic. Not really much else interesting to report about my time in Warsaw, except that I went to a Catholic mass on Sunday morning in one of the churches in the Old Town. And the place was packed! I'm not talking all the pews were full, I'm talking people were standing shoulder to shoulder in the center aisle and overflowing the narthex onto the street. Not tourists, mostly Polish people. And did everybody still attempt to kneel and stand at all the appropriate places? You better believe they did. Later that day I went to the Church of the Holy Cross, where Frederick Chopin's heart is encased in one of the pillars of the sanctuary. That was cool, but not quite as dramatic as church with the Poles.
Oh yes, another Warsaw landmark is the ever-visible "Stalin's Palace of Culture and Science." It was a present To: Warsaw. Much Love, J. Stalin in the 50s. Nowadays it houses a museum and some theaters. The Poles (also not big fans of the Soviet occupation) nicknamed it after part of Stalin's anatomy. I'm sure you can guess which part.
Above: Old Town Square; Stalin's Palace
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