IHS in Warsaw

Well, the adventures continued into our new city!  First, though, we have to say what a great group this is.  Everyone is mellow, kind, inclusive, enthusiastic, and polite.  They have been so much fun, and the Canadian teachers have complimented our group.

We left Berlin on Tuesday morning.  Our bus took us to the main train station, where we boarded the Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity train.  Students loved this because it reminded them of Harry Potter--six to a compartment.  After a bit of heaving luggage, we settled in.  The coffee cart came by a few times (you have to pay in Germany but not in Poland), and lunch was served in the restaurant car.  From the train we got to see a fair bit of the Polish countryside, including the Swiebodzin Christ the King statue, which is 108 feet tall (making it the largest Jesus statue in the world, 3m taller than the one in Rio).  The trip took about six hours, but it was fun--we had a good time socializing, laughing, sharing the German candy we had brought along, reading, having lunch in the restaurant car, and napping.  Trains are a great and comfortable way to travel--check out the proof below!

 We arrived in Warsaw and were instantly impressed.  The city is very modern, and it is full of interesting buildings.  However, it was the Old Town Warsaw, a UNESCO World Heritage site, that took everyone's breath away.  After a short walking tour and information about the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 (not to be confused with the ghetto uprising of '43), we were given some free time to explore the old town.  Changing money into zloty took us down some random hallway, but we got it sorted quickly.  The old town was breathtaking, but since over 85% of Warsaw was destroyed in WWII, it is a reconstruction, with buildings stolen from towns around Poland for its construction!  Even so it isn't uncommon to find places all over the city still sporting patches or pock marks from bullets.

Viki, our guide, tells us about the Old Town

Aaron and Jacob learn about the construction of the town

Kaela and Justice will tell you that the mermaid is the symbol of Warsaw

Heading down the wall to the fortress gates, which were outdated by the time they were completed.

American, Canadian, Canadian, American

Hailey touches the 3D map of town

Sarah and Aaron are enjoying themselves, too!

Justice, open your eyes!

Beneath the column with the miraculously undamaged statue!

 After a dinner at the hotel, students crashed once again.  They awoke ready to take on Warsaw!  We began with a trip to the Jewish Historical Institute, where we viewed a film about the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw during WWII, then saw art which forward-thinking ghetto Jews had hidden in secret archives as their legacy.  It was pretty powerful.  A quick stop at the local bakery and market for snacks fueled us for our bus tour with Jan, our local guide.  We visited the grimmer sites such as the Umschlagplatz, where Jews were deported from the ghetto to death camps, and the various memorials to people like Janusz Korczak, orphan caretaker of the ghetto (he was to be spared deportation, but chose to go with his children on the transport and probably to be gassed with them).  18 Mila Street was the hill that is a memorial to Mordechaj Anielewicz, leader of the ghetto uprising, and others.  We also saw the memorial to the righteous and the statue of Jan Karski, a diplomat in Poland's exiled government.

Jan explains the significance of Mila 18

Kaela, Sarah, and Jacob learn about the Ghetto Uprising

After this grim history, we headed to a different section of town and saw the statue of Jozef Pilsudski, the garden with its tribute to Polish composer Chopin, and the Lazeinki Krolewskie palace (I hope I spelled that right!) Students laughed as Jan told them of a Russian minister to Poland who had to flee a palace under the poofy skirts of his wife, and they laughed again at the irony that Poland's last king was forced into exile when the country was invaded by his ex-lover, Catherine the Great.  He fled to Russia.  Jan was a wonderful storyteller!  Our bus tour took us by examples of Soviet architecture, modern pavilions, and back to the Old Town, where we had a few more hours of free time to explore the church, the gift shops, the cafes, and more.  Then it was back to the hotel for a rest.  Because tomorrow's lunch options are limited, we took the time to walk across the street to the local shopping mall and grocery store.  Students got to experience a slice of Polish life as nobody there spoke English!  We picked up snacks, checked out some of the shops, and generally looked around before heading back to the hotel for dinner and a mixer game with our Canadian friends.  Good times!

Gus, as the only person in the group with any sort of mustache, was the only "man" in the group by old Polish standards.  He would have been allowed to carry a sword.  Scary thought.

Learning so much and loving it!

Tess and Sera like the gardens, but Serren especially loved the birds

Kaela and Kendra like the weather

Our group at the palace, where we were photobombed by Japanese diplomats who had just ended their meeting inside!

Alex tries pierogi, a traditional dumpling dish that was excellent!

Gus sitting in a cafe in Old Town Warsaw

Tomorrow it's off to Krakow.  Students commented to us that they learned so much today, and the lovely weather we've been having has only made it more enjoyable!