Trip to Poland

The Belgian embassey inn Warszawa

Warszawa

Warsaw facts

Every member of the Queen's Royal Hussars of the United Kingdom light cavalry wears the Maid of Warsaw, the crest of the City of Warsaw, on the left sleeve of his No. 2 (Service) Dress.
Members of 651 Squadron Army Air Corps of the United Kingdom also wear the Maid of Warsaw, the crest of the City of Warsaw, on the left sleeve of their No. 2 (Service) Dress.
Every member of the Regiment wears the Maid of Warsaw, the crest of the City of Warsaw, on the left sleeve of his No. 2 (Service) Dress. This honour was awarded to the 7th Hussars by the Commander of the Second Polish Corps in recognition of their valour in support of the Polish Forces during the Italian Campaign in World War II. Traditionally the original crest presented to the Regiment is placed in front of the Commanding Officer on Dinner Nights.
One of David Bowie's songs featured on the album Low is called Warszawa.
One of Joy Division's songs on the album Substance is called Warsaw. The band itself was previously called "Warsaw" as well.
There is a Danish heavy metal band called Red Warszawa.
In August 2007, a band from Norway, Superfamily, recorded a song 'Warszawa', with video shot in the city's notable places
There are ten towns in the USA called Warsaw.
Leo Gerstenzang invented cotton swabs in Warsaw.
The Miss World 2006 competition took place in Warsaw, in the Palace of Culture and Science, Congress Hall.
The mermaid, or syrenka, is the symbol of Warsaw.This symbol can be found on the coat of arms of Warsaw and on statues throughout the city.

The Warsaw dialect (called Gwara warszawska in standard Polish) is a regional dialect of the Polish language spoken in Warsaw. The dialect evolved as late as 18th century, mainly from the Masovian dialect of the Polish language, under notable influence of several languages spoken in the city of Warsaw. After the destruction of Warsaw in the aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 the Warsaw dialect has been in decline. It is estimated that in modern times it is almost extinct as the native language and is preserved mostly in literary works.

Warsaw is divided into 18 districts. The central district is called Śródmieście and is surrounded by 6 other districts often collectively referred to as the Centrum (Centre). These are: Mokotów, Ochota, Praga Północ, Praga Południe, Wola and Żoliborz.
The remaining 11 peripheral districts are: Bemowo, Białołęka, Bielany, Rembertów, Targówek, Ursus, Ursynów, Wawer, Wesoła, Wilanów and Włochy.

Trip to Poland - Day 2

Trip to Poland - Day 2 Part 2

Trip to Poland - Day 2

Waking up early the next morning to go and discover Warszawa. Of course, I have to settle the dispute about payment for my room first but after 20 minutes on the phone to England this is solved too.

Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 370 kilometers (230 mi) from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2006 was estimated at 1,700,536, with a metropolitan area of approximately 2,600,000. The city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi), with an agglomeration of 6,100.43 square kilometers (2,355.4 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area — Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 8th biggest city in the European Union.
Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising

Trip to Poland - Day 1 part 3

Arriving in Poland: the weather wasn't too cold but it was snowing! No real snow, just soggy, white rain, but it looked a lot like snow so that was good enough for me. The taxi drivers were waiting in line for me and although I had been warned, I did not ask the driver for his taxi license. He drove me to the hotel for a whopping 125 Zloty (35 Euros). This might not sound like much to the Irish, but it should have cost me no more than 25 Zloty (7 euros). A busticket would have cost me 7 zloty but I was glad to be at the hotel. Arriving at the reception it turned out they lost my reservation and they asked me for 176 euros which I already paid. After a short struggle they gave me the keys to room 907 and we would sort out payment the next morning. At the local supermarket I bought a few Polish beers and I ate a Pizza at the only restuarant near the hotel. I was knackered, so time to go to bed.

Trip to Poland - Day 1 part 2

after 1,5 hours in a packed train I arrive at Köln Hbf. After a 'Frietje speciaal met Frikandel', a Dutch speciality which I can't get in Mainz, I took the S Bahn to Köln-Bonn Flughafen.

Cologne/Bonn Airport (German: Flughafen Köln/Bonn, also called Konrad-Adenauer-Flughafen or Flughafen Köln-Wahn) (IATA: CGN, ICAO: EDDK) is an international airport located in the Wahner Heide nature reserve, 15 km southeast of Cologne city centre and 16 km northeast of Bonn. It is the sixth largest airport in Germany and one of the country's few 24-hour airports. In terms of cargo flights it is second. In 2006 the number of passengers climbed to 9.9 million.

After a pleasant flight I arrived in Warszawa, finally.

Trip to Poland - Day 1

On November 27th I finally was going to see Poland. I could hardly wait to see it after all the stories I heard about it. Taking an early train from Mainz to Köln I was soon cruising at a comfortable speed along the Rhine valley.

Between Bingen and Bonn, the Middle Rhine flows through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, and is the stretch of the river known for its many castles and vineyards. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2002) and known as "the romantic Rhine" with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages and many lovely wine villages.

The train also passes the fabled Loreley.

The Loreley (also written as Lorelei) is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, which soars some 120 meters above the water line. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents there.
Loreley is also the name of one of the beautiful Rhine Maidens who lured navigators of this river to their dooms with their alluring singing, much as the ancient Greek Sirens did.
In 1395 the Loreley showed up as vineyard of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen.
The name comes from the old German words "lureln" (Rhine dialect for "murmuring") and "ley" (rock). The translation of the name would therefore be: "murmur rock" or "murmuring rock". The heavy currents, and a small waterfall in the area (still visible in the early 19th century) created a murmuring sound, and this combined with the special echo the rock produces which acted as a sort of amplifier, then gave name to the rock itself. The murmuring is hard to hear today due to the urbanization of the area. Other theories include attributing the name to the many accidents, by combining the word "luren" (lurk) with the same "ley" ending, with the translation "lurking rock".