MADE IT TO WARSAW

Well, we made it!  By the time we arrived in Warsaw, we had been awake for more than 24 hours.  We were so rummy that we took a taxi to our hotel rather than finding our way by bus or street car like we usually do.Our hotel is on the east side of the Wisala River.  This is the side the Russians occupied and while it was a battle ground, it was not leveled as was the west side of the river which was occupied by  the German army.  This is an older, more residential section of the city and we find it quite comfortable.  It’s within walking distance of old town and some of the main attractions in Warsaw.Each morning we are treated to a generous, tasty, breakfast buffet. Everything from pickled herring to chocolate cereal.  The beds are wonderful and the bathroom spotless and tiled from head to foot.  Everything seems new even though the buliding is old.  It’s all very environmentally conscious.  Instant hot water, a master switch by the door so that when you enter your room, you insert your door card into a receiver and it automatically turns on all the lights.  When you leave the room you take your door card out and all the lights turn off.  No wasted electricity.  As you walk down the corridors or stairs, only the lights that you need come on.  Then they automatically go off as you pass by.  Very neat modern technology.  Of course we have full internet service.  All this for $60 a night.  The breakfast alone would cost us $20 for two if we went out to a restaurant.  Speaking of restaurants, we found this place about 3 blocks from the hotel.  It seems Italian oriented, but you can get almost anything you want.  We have eaten there two nights in a row and have had wonderful vegetarian meals washed down with a reasonable house wine.Here, Marlene is having mushroom soup and roasted vegetables and I’m having a mushroom pasta with a side of steamed spinach topped with parmesan cheese. This morning as we have done the last two mornings, we walked across the Wisala River to old town.From the bridge, we also get a view of the main downtown district.  Old town was completely destroyed by the Nazis in 1944 and has since been rebuilt to look exactly like it did before it was destroyed.Castle square is where you enter the old town from our side. 
The city itself is made up of narrow streets lined with small shops and many cathedrals.  We have wandered almost all the streets browsing and people watching.On my next post I’ll have some pictures of Saturday’s wanderings.