The capital of Poland, Warsaw is a much bigger city than Gdansk, Krakow, or Lodz, and was decked out in large-scale Christmas decorations. It is common in big European cities for organizations of young people to organize free daily walking tours. In Warsaw, there is one called the “orange umbrella tour.” You meet at a specific point in the city at a specific time, find the man with the orange umbrella, and off you go. Anyone can pick up and join the tour at any time. It was a great way to see much of the city with one day off.
See the Orange Umbrella??
Christmas city decor and the Warsaw Castle:
The castle and Old Town in Warsaw are both unfortunately, also not original. Seeing this added to the reality of how devastating WWII was for much of Europe. The Old Town had burnt down several times throughout Warsaw’s history, and the castle was repeatedly bombed and attacked in the Second World War.
The first time the German army bombed the Warsaw Castle was on September 17, 1939. It was exactly 11:15am when the bomb hit the clock tower, and the clock stopped. When the castle was finally rebuilt in 1974, its commencement began at exactly 11:15am, and the clock began working again at the same time it was cut off from the bombing. From then on, every day a trumpet player plays the Polish National anthem from the top of the Castle Clock tower at exactly 11:15am. in memory of all that was lost to the Germans, and all that has been rebuilt and regained. The orange umbrella tour strategically meets by the castle at 11am, so that each attendee has the opportunity to hear the trumpet player and experience a bit of history.
The first time the German army bombed the Warsaw Castle was on September 17, 1939. It was exactly 11:15am when the bomb hit the clock tower, and the clock stopped. When the castle was finally rebuilt in 1974, its commencement began at exactly 11:15am, and the clock began working again at the same time it was cut off from the bombing. From then on, every day a trumpet player plays the Polish National anthem from the top of the Castle Clock tower at exactly 11:15am. in memory of all that was lost to the Germans, and all that has been rebuilt and regained. The orange umbrella tour strategically meets by the castle at 11am, so that each attendee has the opportunity to hear the trumpet player and experience a bit of history.
Some other sights we saw were St. John’s Archcathedral rebuilt (after destruction in WWII) with an effort to include as many original bricks as possible, and a huge bronze bell displayed in the middle of a street near the cathedral. It is said that the bell has never been utilized in a church or tower, but the Polish people believe it brings good luck to those who circle it three times.
We also walked by the “narrowest house” in Warsaw, a clever architectural design by its landlord, making the house triangular shaped, so that the front wall is extremely narrow. Maybe its no coincidence that at the time of its construction, property taxes depended on the width of a building’s external front wall.
Being with two friends who also play mermaids in our show, we were excited to find the Warsaw mermaid statue in the center of Old Town Square, and hear the Warsaw mermaid legend.
According to legend, a mermaid swimming in from the sea stopped on the riverbank near the Old Town to rest and she found the place so admirable that she decided to stay. Local fishermen living nearby noticed that something was creating waves, tangling nets, and releasing their fish and although their original intention was to trap the offender, they fell in love with the mermaid upon hearing her sing. Later a rich merchant trapped the siren and imprisoned her in a wooden hut, but a young fisherman heard the mermaid’s cry and with the help of his friends released her, whereupon she declared her readiness to offer fishermen her help whenever it would be needed. Ever since, the mermaid armed with sword and shield, has been ready to help protect the city and its residents.
The rest of our day around Warsaw was equally enjoyable, as we walked a bit more around the Old Town and fortress walls, found a delicious bakery for lunch, and stopped in stores to try on old hats on our walk back to our hotel. Our company had its Opening Tour Party that night, and a day later began our last week of shows in Polish.
RSS Feed