Warsaw, Full of Surprises

"I say that Warsaw surprised us, first because we hadn't realized that the city was completely rebuilt after being totally destroyed in WWII -- and I mean completely rebuilt. The Polish people painstakingly replicated the design of many of the buildings that had been reduced to rubble.

Don't those buildings look like they were built long before the 1940's or 50's? With the combination of the old style structures and newer, modern skyscrapers, Warsaw has a very interesting skyline.

The largest building in Poland, which was built as the Joseph Stalin Palace in the mid1950's, is despised by the Poles because it is a constant reminder of the oppression they suffered under Soviet occupation. Today it contains -- among other things -- theaters, a congress hall, and a swimming pool. This is just one wing of the massive building, which takes up an entire city block.

A beautiful park is located within the city -- another surprise that we discovered on our walking tour today. The statue in the background below is of Frederic Chopin, the Polish composer and pianist.

Throughout the park are lovely gardens and a former palace which now houses a museum.

We saw a memorial to the victims of religious persecution who were sent to Siberia during the time that  the Russians occupied Poland. All faiths were represented in the memorial.

A final surprise was learning about the resilience of the Polish people. No matter how many times their country has been conquered, invaded, and occupied, they will not allow themselves to feel defeated. Their attitude is very inspiring.