14 June - Warsaw, Poland

We did more walking today. We went to see the Warsaw Uprising Museum which was quite special. We spent about 3 ½ hours there. The exhibits were well laid out and varied and made the experience a most interesting learning experience about this period of Poland's history. It covered the invasion of Poland and the Uprising and then the aftermath as the Soviets took over the country. There were many audio-visual displays, artefacts, movies, oral history interviews on movies as well as audio. Poland was left to fight the Germans alone towards the end of the war with little help from the West and Russia stood by and waited to pick up the pieces – a tragic story for Poland. The museum opened in 2004. It could not have been established until the fall of communism as the truth was not taught. According to the Russians, they saved Poland. This was a very worthwhile visit not just from the historical perspective but also to see a modern museum offering such a variety of ways to see the history.

We then walked to the “old town” past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, guarded by two modern day soldiers. We walked through the old town, looking at monuments, buildings and churches and the lovely streetscapes.