Zurich to Wawsaw overnight

Flying from Zurich to Wawsaw, Poland, a mere two hour flight was a little more than the kiwi travellers had bargained for…..the short story, 8pm plane delayed (at least not cancelled like a third of the other flights on a Sunday evening), waiting for our Bolt (Uber) taxi in the wrong place, losing the first one and having to book another, and arriving at our air BnB at a half past midnight to a very patient host! A list of instructions, and finally into bed at 1.30 am. (No idea where we were apart from “Wawsaw”)

Awoke to our view from the tiniest deck I’ve ever seen, it’s about 10 inches wide and as long as the door! Still a deck and a luxury in Northern Europe.

A little slow to get going, but needed to shop for a few supplies.

We are living very close to many food supply stores!

Buying bread and a treat! The good places, we worked out very quickly, have queues!

We took a walk around our neighbourhood to the Vistula river, the longest river in Poland, that runs through Wawsaw.

I think we are going to need some bikes to explore this area. A bit overcast and quite chilly, reaching 20 degrees Celsius today, puffer jackets needed this morning.

The gardens in our gated complex of apartments. Supplies in hand, we returned around 11am, for Russ to have a rest and Sue to catch up on some work.

By 2pm, the sun was streaming in and the afternoon looking warm…time for another walk to Old Town Wawsaw, which appeared quite close on the map…things are not always as they seem and we realised later we had definitely taken the scenic route!

First discovery..

The university gardens. Roof and wall greenery, quite the eco system…we did see people on the roof, but thought we would save that for another day.

Still heading to Old Town, we decided to give the uphill a miss and skirted around the outside of this church on the hill…

There was no avoiding the uphill, however, and we did have to take a side path to get up into the old town, we should have realised all old European towns are either on a hill or on a lake.

Wandering around the streets, narrow cobbled, and colourful plaster.

The Royal Palace, on the square, free tours on Wednesday’s (a shorter version – perfect for Russ, we’ll lock that one in).

Checking out the next ride..and still thinking electric bikes may be a better option. (I could never put my toes on the ground if I needed to stop suddenly)

Old town Wawsaw was practically demolished at the end of World War II, by the Nazis, and has been slowly rebuilt in the exact replica of the original design.

The walls and gate into the city, and surrounding the city are a great example of the rebuild.

We found an off the beaten track cafe, that was away from the tourist throngs, and enjoyed a latte before heading towards home for the evening.

This was, however, tempting – a Pilsner truck/bar in a backyard courtyard!

And no city is complete without an Irish bar!!! Moving right along….

To the Church of the Carmelites dating back to 1780.

The Presidents Palace, and current residence, based on the chains and security guards holding the fort.

No adventure is complete without rubbing shoulders with the locals.

Russ got picked up by a homeless person, who was very interested in our part of the world it seemed. However, it took a while, but yes he asked for money! Russ told him he had none, his wife had all the money. Russ was telling the truth, but his new friend thought he was lying and along with some other strong words, told Russ he was stupid (not very nice really).

A street of churches, and a pensive statute, a cardinal Steffan, a very highly regarded member of the Pole society during last century.

And the 18th century Holy Cross church containing urns of the hearts of notable Polish people, one being the heart of Chopin.

Wishing I had brought the puffer jacket, as the sun had gone and wind was up again, it was time to head for home for the evening, and an early night after a busy day and not much sleep in the last 48 hours.

Wawsaw is promising to be a wonderful adventure!