Palace of Culture and Science...

The Palace of Culture and Science is the tallest building in Poland at 778 feet (237 meters). It was a gift from the Soviet Union to the people of Poland. It took only three years (from 1952 to 1955) for the 7,500 Russian and Polish workers to finish the tower.

Inside the building are several theaters, movie theaters, museums and a swimming pool. 

On our final afternoon, we paid to take the elevator to the viewing terrace on the 30th floor.

While the views were very nice...

...the statues surrounding the tower weren’t particularly beautiful.

Warsaw Zoo...

Last year I read The Zookeeper’s Wife, a true account of how the zookeepers saved dozens of Jews by helping them get out of the ghetto, hide in the zoo and then move to safety. My memory is so bad that I forgot about it until I was in town and Veronica asked if I was going to the zoo to see where it happened; unfortunately that meant I was too late to organize a tour.

The zoo opened in 1928. It was bombed in 1939 and then closed in 1940; the remaining “valuable” animals were moved to Germany and the rest were killed. The zookeepers’ home called the Crazy Star Villa was built in 1931. It was the only building in the zoo that wasn’t destroyed. The villa’s basement as well as animal enclosures were used to hide Jews.

Frankly, I wasn’t that impressed with the zoo itself.

We enjoyed visiting the Cathedral of St. Michael across from the zoo. Originally built in 1904, it was blown up by the retreating Germans in 1944 and rebuilt in 1972.

Neon Museum + Urban Art...

Another day we crossed the river to go to the Neon Museum, which is dedicated to preserving Cold War era neon signs.

It was a small, but cool museum.

This was a particularly cool example of urban art as it was impossible to tell from across the road if there was actually a giant hole on the side of the building.

I don’t know the significance of the individual parts, but thought this mural was quite cool, too.

History of Polish Jews...

The Nozyk Synagogue, originally built in 1902, was located in the small ghetto and was used as a stable by the Nazis. Although it survived the war, it was later demolished and rebuilt. Unfortunately, it was closed when we went past.

This memorial tree stands in front of the remnants of Pawaik Prison, built in 1835. After serving as a Gestapo prison during WWII, it was destroyed by the Germans in 1944.

The walking tour ended at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which opened in 2013. After having a picnic lunch in the park, Jimmy and I went to this impressive museum.

I especially enjoyed seeing the reconstructed interior of a wooden Polish synagogue from 1650. It was damaged during WWI, rebuilt, and then destroyed by the Nazis.

The entrance hall was quite impressive, resembling a gorge. According to its website, it symbolizes a gap in the 1,000-year history of Polish Jews.

Outside the museum was the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, built in 1948 to commemorate the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 partially using materials brought by Nazis into Warsaw.

We also went past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, which was erected after WWI as part of Saxon Palace which was destroyed during WWII. 

Warsaw Ghetto...

We took an excellent walking tour of what once was the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest of the Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Europe during WWII with over 400,000 people imprisoned there. These sidewalk signs designate where the ghetto once stood.

The Warsaw Ghetto was burned down by the Nazis in May 1943 after a Jewish uprising. A few of the original buildings from the small ghetto are still standing.

Most of the remaining buildings are falling apart so there are protective wiring to catch falling bricks. Some are still occupied...

...and some aren’t.

This sculpture and its twin across the street stand as a reminder of the staircase that once existed to march Jews up and over the road between the walls of the small and large ghettos.

The tour guide showed us a similar photo to this one that I found on Wikipedia.

This building, which was outside the ghettos, is the same one seen in the background of the above photo.

St. Augustine Church, built in 1896, was one of the only surviving buildings within the large ghetto. Only 1 of the city’s 300 synagogues survived the war.

Back to Warsaw...

The following day I surprised Jimmy with a stay at a small spa hotel. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of a boring industrial area, so we just hung out at the pool and ate dinner there.

The next day we dropped off the rental car and took the train into Warsaw where we were spending three nights at this cute apartment.

We walked all over the city, including to this market built in 1905, which has been converted to a modern supermarket.

We walked down to the river and found that there were several riverboat restaurants. We enjoyed sitting on beanbags in the sunshine and drinking cheap California wine.

We moved down to the water level for dinner...

...and eventually moved to the riverfront beach to watch a World Cup game. 

Back to the Wedding Site...

After a few hours of sleep, we headed back to the wedding site to go to a brunch at a nearby restaurant on a lake.

It was nice chatting with folks, but the food was not nearly as good as what we’d had the night before at the wedding.

Afterwards, we went back to the wedding site to help clean up. Nick’s dad was enthusiastic and very helpful. Later that evening, we enjoyed going to the aqua park at our hotel. It was small, but the water slide was fun and the hot tub was relaxing.

Late Night Shenanigans...

At midnight there was an impressive fireworks show...

...and fresh pierogies were put out including these delicious vegan spinach ones. The buffet dinner earlier had an incredible assortment of salads and appetizers for vegans, vegetarians or meat eaters, plus lots of grilled food. 

During dinner an amazing band played and afterwards a DJ played until the wee hours of the morning. Here is Jimmy dancing with Julie...

...and between steps with Freya (being photo bombed by Dave).

Jimmy later took photos of me hanging out at the bar Nick built with Kevin, a hasher from London, and Alex, Ola’s British cousin.

There was definitely no shortage of alcohol at this wedding.

This is one of the last late night photos I took before the party finally wrapped up after 4 a.m. There was no doubt that this was one of the best weddings we’d ever attended.