Viva la Furia Roja! A Trip Report - Prague, Poland, and Dresden 6/7-6/21 - Page 9 - PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel
Viva la Furia Roja! A Trip Report - Prague, Poland, and Dresden 6/7-6/21
About This Page: This is a discussion on Viva la Furia Roja! A Trip Report - Prague, Poland, and Dresden 6/7-6/21 within the Globetrotting: General Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; Oddly enough, I've been watching the Bachelorette and they were at the exact same wall painting on it...I was hoping ...
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Oddly enough, I've been watching the Bachelorette and they were at the exact same wall painting on it...I was hoping to see where they painted from your pics, but I couldn't remember what it looked like. She did explain why they call the wall that, and it was something to do with music not being allowed in that city at some point. I wish I could remember the rest, but it was a couple of weeks ago. I've been waiting for this part of your TR to tell you that. The show was on a few days after you told us that.
Kathy, if you don't have The Lost Wife yet, I'd be happy to send you my copy as soon as my sister's finished reading it.
Is anyone else having trouble seeing the pics? They are all showing up on my computer.
I would love to read The Lost Wife when your sister is finished!!! Thank you!! I think it was just my computer at work, because at home on my laptop I can see all your pictures.
That's a really long travel day! I would have also been happy to finally be out of the car!! Looking forward to hearing all about Poland!
I feel your pain on the GPS getting mad about the highway thing... happened to us in Germany. Construction kept us from the route the GPS wanted us to take, and boy was she mad about it... lol!
Prague just jumped up like 20 spaces on my list, to near the top. I can't wait to hear about Poland!!
Wow! Thanks so much for writing this TR. I am really enjoying it!
When travelling to Scotland last year, we came through Manchester and Paris, in both places you had to drive forever in the plane and then we didn't get off at the terminal. They loaded us into busses and then we had to drive forever to get to the terminal. It was really weird, but I guess it saves them from having to build more terminals and gates. But it really adds to the time between landing and being able to get to your next gate.
So in Prague they don't use the Euro? I thought only Great Britian opted out of that.
Was there a lot of damage to Prague during WW I and II? It looked like they still had a lot of historic buildings. The castle was just amazing!
Was that first Cathedral Catholic or Eastern Orthodox? Just wondering.
And thanks for the info about the Jewish area, the golem story reminded me of Frankenstein, KWIM?
Can't wait to read more!
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Donning my Wellies to cut Peat in Scotland Melissa
Oddly enough, I've been watching the Bachelorette and they were at the exact same wall painting on it...I was hoping to see where they painted from your pics, but I couldn't remember what it looked like. She did explain why they call the wall that, and it was something to do with music not being allowed in that city at some point. I wish I could remember the rest, but it was a couple of weeks ago. I've been waiting for this part of your TR to tell you that. The show was on a few days after you told us that.
LOL! Why were they in Prague on the Bachelorette? I thought that was always in the US?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
That was a VERY long time in the car! You're lucky that Kyle was ok doing so much driving. The hotel looks very nice and so does the pizza!
I agree, I'm very lucky that Kyle likes to drive! When we're just doing short drives (around home) I almost always drive because I'm just a control freak like that (), but I get too tired on long drives.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, that was a long drive. I'm not surprised you were exhausted and hungry when you got to your hotel.
It sure was. I was just glad we got the longest one out of the way first!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a long travel day! But that pizza looked yummy!
I still dream of Telepizza...
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
I would love to read The Lost Wife when your sister is finished!!! Thank you!! I think it was just my computer at work, because at home on my laptop I can see all your pictures.
That's a really long travel day! I would have also been happy to finally be out of the car!! Looking forward to hearing all about Poland!
Great, I will send the book to you as soon as I get it back. Glad the pictures are working for you now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark
That pizza looks really good!!! Can't wait to hear about your adventures in Poland!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shazza
Wonderful report! This forum section is very expensive - now have to book trips to Prague, Iceland, Norwegian Fjords, and Fiji, just to name a few.
Beautiful sunset photos in Prague!
I know what you mean! Fiji and Norway are on my list too! (Fiji's always been there, Norway's a new addition. I'm not sure I could ever convince myself to go to Iceland. As pretty as it is, I HATE the cold and just having "ice" in the name might do it in for me! )
Quote:
Originally Posted by Principessa_di_Fata
I feel your pain on the GPS getting mad about the highway thing... happened to us in Germany. Construction kept us from the route the GPS wanted us to take, and boy was she mad about it... lol!
Prague just jumped up like 20 spaces on my list, to near the top. I can't wait to hear about Poland!!
Oh, I hope you go there sometime! I would love to relive my trip in your TR. GPS are sure tempermental, aren't they?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MGW
Wow! Thanks so much for writing this TR. I am really enjoying it!
When travelling to Scotland last year, we came through Manchester and Paris, in both places you had to drive forever in the plane and then we didn't get off at the terminal. They loaded us into busses and then we had to drive forever to get to the terminal. It was really weird, but I guess it saves them from having to build more terminals and gates. But it really adds to the time between landing and being able to get to your next gate.
So in Prague they don't use the Euro? I thought only Great Britian opted out of that.
Was there a lot of damage to Prague during WW I and II? It looked like they still had a lot of historic buildings. The castle was just amazing!
Was that first Cathedral Catholic or Eastern Orthodox? Just wondering.
And thanks for the info about the Jewish area, the golem story reminded me of Frankenstein, KWIM?
Can't wait to read more!
Great questions!
Czech Republic does not use the Euro - they use Czech crowns. Poland does not use the Euro either - they use Polish zloty. Germany (our final stop on our trip) does use the Euro of course, so we had lots of fun keeping all of the different money straight.
Prague saw almost no damage from WWI or II, that's why it's so amazing. The people tried to comply with the invaders to spare their citizens and city, but we know what happened with the Nazis anyway and then the Russians. Poland on the other hand saw immense damage, especially Warsaw, but everything has been reconstructed so beautifully you would almost never know. Dresden has been reconstructed very nicely as well.
St. Vitus cathedral (the one at Prague castle) is Roman Catholic. That whole area that we were in is almost 100% Roman Catholic. In Poland you can't hardly take a step without seeing a monument or shrine to Pope John Paul II....but let me not get ahead of myself. They are VERY proud of him though. I think we only saw one Russian Orthodox church (it was in Warsaw), and unfortunately it was too late to go in it that evening.
I totally agree with your parallel between Frankenstein and the Golem. That makes complete sense.
DAY 6: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 – Warsaw, a City of Mermaids, History, and Ticks
I don’t have too terribly much as a narrative for today because we basically walked all over creation (well, Warsaw creation) and took lots of pics. So I’ll explain what we saw as captions on the pictures for the most part.
We woke up and had breakfast at the buffet that was included at our hotel. It was very nice, the best breakfast buffet I’ve had at a hotel. They had the most amazing granola with raisins and dried apricots and all kinds of wonderful oats and things. I thought it was a little strange at first when I realized that the milk to put on the granola was hot, but it actually worked really well because it softened up the oats nicely. I was hooked. I also really liked that they had these huge juice glasses so I didn’t have to keep going up to the buffet twenty times to get more. I’ve already discussed my giant intake of juice at breakfast when it’s free to refill.
After we’d had our fill at breakfast, we got in the car and headed for the train stop. It was just a few short miles away. (There was actually one that was a little closer to our hotel, but it didn’t have a guarded parking lot. We’d heard that it was worth it to drive to one that did.) Getting tickets for the train was a bit confusing, because the woman at the ticket booth spoke no English at all, and there wasn’t a sign about it to really point to. Funnily enough, an older gentleman heard us trying to communicate with the woman and came over to ask if either of us spoke German. Apparently he didn’t speak English either, but could translate between German and Polish. Well, it just so happens that I’d had 5 years of German in high school and college, and (amazingly ) remembered enough to figure out that for the ticket we wanted, we could just buy it on the train. I guess the lady at the ticket booth only sold one way tickets. Strange, but ok. We got some change from the lady at the booth, and then turned to go back to the platform and wait for the train. As we turned around we realized the train was actually there already, so we ran back across the street as fast as we could. Fortunately the conductor saw us running and waited a second. (It would be a half hour till the next train, so we appreciated her waiting for us.)
It was about a 30-35 minute train ride into the center of Warsaw. We came out of the underground station right at the FanPark for the Euro. It was HUGE compared to the one in Prague. (And later, we found out, it was huge compared to any of the other Fan Zones.) It could hold 100,000 people. We started to head towards Old Town Warsaw. Since Poland’s team was playing Russia that evening in Warsaw, just about everyone walking in the city was donning either a Poland scarf or something equally patriotic. We decided to get in the spirit, so we stopped at a store (I can’t recall the name, but it was similar to a Walgreens) and bought some cheap Poland scarves. Had to support the home team today! We continued walking all around the OldTown area and taking pictures, then we ended up walking to the New Town area as well. The city was very picturesque in these areas. It was amazing how well they had reconstructed these buildings. For those who don’t know, Warsaw (and much of Poland, but especially Warsaw) was completely destroyed in 1944. The city tried to fight back against the Nazi invasion, and the ensuing battle tore Warsaw apart. It was totally decimated, but they have done such a wonderful job bringing the historical buildings of the city back to life. I was looking at our map and decided that the Jewish cemetery didn’t look that far, so I’d really like to see it. Apparently I was not quite reading the scale on the map correctly, because it felt like we walked forever to get there. Once of the super touristy areas, Warsaw wasn’t quite as nice. We didn’t feel unsafe or anything, it was just lots and lots of Soviet era block apartment buildings and not much else.
I loved the overlay on this hotel. Soccer scarves!
Warsaw had these replica mermaid statues all around town for each country in the Euro. Of course I found the Spain one first! The mermaid is the symbol of Warsaw, and you'll see the real statue in just a minute...
This cracked me up. McDonald's was a Euro sponsor, and apparently this Burger King billboard was too close to the Fan Zone to be able to use it's name.
Polish bank ad starring who else, Chuck Norris!
Saxon Park
Saxon Park
Fountain at Saxon Park
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Changing of the guard at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
There was a quote by John Paul II on the ground by this cross. The Polish people LOVE him and are very proud of him.
Old Town area
Me with a view of National Stadium behind me
Old Town Square
The real Mermaid statue
The Barbican - part of the original walls that surrounded Warsaw
Monument to the 1944 Uprising. More than 200,000 Polish citizens were killed in this battle.
The National Library
Part of the outline of the Ghetto Walls during WWII
New Town Square
This is what the following building looked like in 1945...
We finally made it to the Jewish cemetery (and figured out how to get in, which was a trick in itself). We paid the admission fee and began wandering around. I was really surprised at how unkempt and overgrown it was everywhere. I was even more surprised when we saw some newer tombstones that people were still buried here. I have no idea how they got the caskets in such tight wooded overgrown areas. We finally decided to turn around and head back to the exit before we got lost. It was getting late and we wanted to be back in the Fan area by game time. There was a really heart-wrenching monument at the front of the cemetery by a man who was the only one of his 30-something cousins to survive WWII. While I was reading about it, I noticed Kyle had sat down on a bench and was playing with his socks and pant legs. I asked him what he was doing, and he said looking for ticks. Oh fantastic. I am not a woodsy person by any stretch of the imagination, so I hadn’t even thought of that as we were tromping along through the trees. Kyle hadn’t either until we were already deep in the woods, so he decided to wait to tell me about it until we got out and could look for the ticks. Lovely. He had two on his jeans by his ankles and found one on me. Yuck! I was praying that we’d gotten them all.
We left the cemetery and started the loooooong walk back to the Fan Zone area. By the time we got there, it was starting to get really crowded. I was getting tired (remember what happens when I get tired? ) and standing in the midst of a huge crowd to watch a game I honestly didn’t care one way or another about (there was no way either of those teams were getting to the final) was starting to sound like a really BAD idea. I also had visions of trying to catch the train with all of these people AND all of the people pouring out of the stadium after the game (the stadium was one stop from the Fan Zone). No bueno. Kyle felt the same (especially about the train situation), so we decided to just call it a day and catch the train back to the hotel now. (When I saw the coverage of the Fan Zone later during the game I was SO happy we hadn't stayed. It was completely packed - every last one of the 100,000 people the area could hold was in there. They didn't look like they could even move!)
Trying to keep these fans seperated...
It was super easy because everyone was pouring into town, but few were already heading out. We got back to the hotel and decided to get room service for dinner. I had a bit of a headache (from not drinking enough during the sunny day, I am sure) and relaxing for the rest of the evening in our room sounded like a winner. The room service was delicious, and of course I was happy because they had gnocchi!
Can you tell I am a big fan of potatoes? Our delicious room service meal of gnocchi in butter sauce, potato slices, and veal braciole with a wonderful, sweet sauce.
I sort of wondered if we were the first people who’d ordered it (remember this hotel was really new), because when Kyle went down to request an English menu the people got very excited that we were going to order it in our room. (Excited happy, not excited upset.) Or maybe they were just excited because they know Americans tend to really over-tip in Europe. We’re guilty of it… I just can’t get used to the idea of leaving a small tip or none at all, despite how much the waiters are getting paid. After eating our nice dinner and watching the soccer matches, we took showers and went to sleep. (I did find one more tick…I shudder just thinking about it…when I was getting undressed for my shower. Fortunately, though, it was just walking up my leg and not attached so it was easy to grab and kill. YUCK!
Up Next: Day 7 – Gdansk: a BeautifulCity by the Baltic and my favorite Fan Zone of them all!
Amazing pictures of Warsaw! The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was really beautiful. It's sad that the cemetery was so overgrown. Some of those stones looked really old. But I could do without the ticks, YUCK!!
What a beautiful city. It's somewhere that's not on my radar at all and doesn't get much press as a place to visit here, but there's certainly a lot to see.
About This Page: This is a discussion on Viva la Furia Roja! A Trip Report - Prague, Poland, and Dresden 6/7-6/21 within the Globetrotting: General Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; Oddly enough, I've been watching the Bachelorette and they were at the exact same wall painting on it...I was hoping ...
I'm not surprised you were exhausted and hungry when you got to your hotel.
But that pizza looked yummy! 
"Sparky" Me & Dana @MVMCP
Melanie
), but I get too tired on long drives.
They are VERY proud of him though. I think we only saw one Russian Orthodox church (it was in Warsaw), and unfortunately it was too late to go in it that evening.
It was very nice, the best breakfast buffet I’ve had at a hotel. They had the most amazing granola with raisins and dried apricots and all kinds of wonderful oats and things. 
I thought it was a little strange at first when I realized that the milk to put on the granola was hot, but it actually worked really well because it softened up the oats nicely. I was hooked. I also really liked that they had these huge juice glasses so I didn’t have to keep going up to the buffet twenty times to get more. I’ve already discussed my giant intake of juice at breakfast when it’s free to refill. 
) remembered enough to figure out that for the ticket we wanted, we could just buy it on the train. I guess the lady at the ticket booth only sold one way tickets. Strange, but ok. We got some change from the lady at the booth, and then turned to go back to the platform and wait for the train. As we turned around we realized the train was actually there already, so we ran back across the street as fast as we could. Fortunately the conductor saw us running and waited a second. 
We started to head towards Old Town Warsaw. Since Poland’s team was playing Russia that evening in Warsaw, just about everyone walking in the city was donning either a Poland scarf or something equally patriotic. We decided to get in the spirit, so we stopped at a store (I can’t recall the name, but it was similar to a Walgreens) and bought some cheap Poland scarves. Had to support the home team today! 
We continued walking all around the OldTown area and taking pictures, then we ended up walking to the New Town area as well. The city was very picturesque in these areas. It was amazing how well they had reconstructed these buildings. For those who don’t know, Warsaw (and much of Poland, but especially Warsaw) was completely destroyed in 1944. The city tried to fight back against the Nazi invasion, and the ensuing battle tore Warsaw apart. It was totally decimated, but they have done such a wonderful job bringing the historical buildings of the city back to life. I was looking at our map and decided that the Jewish cemetery didn’t look that far, so I’d really like to see it. Apparently I was not quite reading the scale on the map correctly, because it felt like we walked forever to get there. 
Once of the super touristy areas, Warsaw wasn’t quite as nice. We didn’t feel unsafe or anything, it was just lots and lots of Soviet era block apartment buildings and not much else. 
While I was reading about it, I noticed Kyle had sat down on a bench and was playing with his socks and pant legs. I asked him what he was doing, and he said looking for ticks. 
) and standing in the midst of a huge crowd to watch a game I honestly didn’t care one way or another about (there was no way either of those teams were getting to the final) was starting to sound like a really BAD idea. 
I also had visions of trying to catch the train with all of these people AND all of the people pouring out of the stadium after the game (the stadium was one stop from the Fan Zone). No bueno. Kyle felt the same (especially about the train situation), so we decided to just call it a day and catch the train back to the hotel now. (When I saw the coverage of the Fan Zone later during the game I was SO happy we hadn't stayed. It was completely packed - every last one of the 100,000 people the area could hold was in there. They didn't look like they could even move!)
I had a bit of a headache (from not drinking enough during the sunny day, I am sure) and relaxing for the rest of the evening in our room sounded like a winner. The room service was delicious, and of course I was happy because they had gnocchi! 
(I did find one more tick…I shudder just thinking about it…when I was getting undressed for my shower. Fortunately, though, it was just walking up my leg and not attached so it was easy to grab and kill. 
YUCK!
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