It was cold at the Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport the morning Sue and I landed at Wlochy, which happens to be 10 kilometers away from the city center. We were required to pass through a passport control station before entering security which took a longer time than anticipated, there being very few screening points.
Being driven to our one of the best spa hotels we saw rows of ghetto-like structures, all very functional and unpretty a relic of the city’s Soviet past, no doubt. We also saw some derelict milk bars, all harking back to the communist era.
After checking in at the hotel the first place we stopped by was at the Warsaw Monument to the Uprising. What we felt is truly indescribable. The statues dedicated to the war heroes trying to rescue their city from the clutches of the Nazis and the communists drove both Sue and me to tears.
One of the monuments was dedicated to a child soldier wearing boots and helmets a couple of sizes too big for him. Some 200,000 people were mowed down to death even as the Soviet army watched on. I felt a shudder creep up my spine.
We wandered around the Old Town in silence and pretty soon our spirits began to revive beholding the restored monuments. Some of the old turreted houses with rust-colored rooftops looked so cheerful as the sun rays set them alight that we couldn’t help feeling heartened. The entire ambience spoke volumes of the dauntless spirit of the city- I salute it with all my heart.
We walked around the Old Town Market Square taking in our fill of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance building and churches. Through all my travels I rarely remember being this moved.
We also stopped by in front of the charming Zamoyski Palace built in a delightful French Renaissance style. The lovely faced and beautiful lawns made us – temporarily – forget the horrors of the war.
Warsaw is one place I will never forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment