PARIS OF THE NORTH
It is funny to think that the beauty of modern day Warsaw can be attributed to an XVIII century painter Bernando Bellotto Canaletto (the nephew of the famous painter Caneletto). Our Bellotto Canaletto at some point became a court painter for King Stanislaus, and began painting Warsaw with an amazing accuracy. After World War II, when Warsaw was almost completely destroyed, his paintings were the ones that helped the government rebuild Warsaw to its former, beautiful self. Rather fascinating.
There are several mini city-venters throughout Warsaw, but the heart of the city is the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and the Castle Square. The architecture is wonderful, and you can enjoy the people watching while sipping Aperol Spritz, which in our opinion is the most popular aperitif in Warsaw during the summer. Very near the Castle Square we found a little market selling the best sausages and cheese. You can also just sit there and listen to excellent pianist play Chopin on the square. The famous French-Polish composer and pianist Frederick Chopin is inextricably intertwined with Warsaw, and there are piano concerts offered daily throughout the city for app. $10, which is a great price for U.S. based art lovers.
Warsaw is a fun city with inhabitants who know how to enjoy life and use every beautiful and sunny day to its fullest potential. In the summer the city is full of beach chairs everywhere, for citizens to use freely while sipping coffee or beer. The architecture of the city is amazing, as is food.
We ate lots of delicious food during our Warsaw stay, and enjoyed many fancy restaurants, but I still think about these sausages and cheese on which we snacked. Another place not to miss while in Warsaw is the Lazienki Park- it is the largest city park with a wonderful little lake on which you can take a boat ride and enjoy the scenery. The park is full of families and children, and it also hosts a beautiful Chopin monument. It is couple of degrees cooler in this park, so it is perfect summer hangout. With lots of lounge chairs of course.
While enjoying Warsaw, it is difficult not to think about World War II (which began here in 1939, few years earlier than for most of their European neighbors), nor not to remember Warsaw's Jewish population, almost completely wiped out during the war. In 1968 the Government had another wave of antisemitism during which most of the remaining Jews emigrated to Israel, but today the efforts are made to rebuild the former Jewish neighbourhood and the Jewish population.
