I've not been blogging recently as I have been away and also have had some problems with downloading photos, the Internet and losing some of my blogs. My last blog took me over 3 hours to write - mainly waiting for the photos to download. However, onwards and upwards and hopefully success!!
A few weeks ago, Anna and I left here:
To fly to here, courtesy of the much maligned, but beloved by me, Ryan Air!
We flew to Bydgoszcz, just a 2 hour flight, and were met by a driver from the 'uzdrowisko' we were staying at called 'Pod Tezniami.' Now, uzdrowisko loosely translated means Wellness Centre, there really is no equivalent in the western world, yet these places are very common in eastern Europe. People over there usually visit once a year and are often referred by their employer for a two or three week check up and for R and R. It is a MUCH better idea than the western view of health (or ill health) but the two disciplines work hand in hand for the benefit of the patient or client. The centre is overseen by a qualified MD and RN's are on call 24/7.
The place we stayed at was Ciechocinek which is about 30 mins away from Torun on the map. It
is famed for it's salt water therapies which are used to treat respiratory ailments, cardiovascular disease and a host of other ailments. Ciechocinek lies on a massive underground salt water basin.
The underground water is pumped up to these graduation towers and is then allowed to evaporate over the willow branches, called teznie, which are seen here in close up:
There are three of these towers in Ciechocinek and they are massive. They create a micro climate in the area and infuse the atmosphere with saline and other ions that "create the atmosphere perfectly suitable for rehabilitation, regeneration and relaxation." That was a quote from the spa site!!! Whatever, seeing as we weren't yet a bunch of old crocks, we went along for the experience and were glad we did!! However this was not a walk in the park! My day started at 0740 am with a 30 min back massage by Vlad the Impaler!! A different and tortuous way to start the day!! He spared no mercy AT ALL!! I did utter a Jesus Christ at one point (I was thinking much worse but didn't know the Polish equivalent!!). I staggered off the massage table like a drunk after each session! The only thing making it worthwhile was the knowledge of being wrapped in peat and cocooned in a warm blanket following the massage. The day was broken up with different sessions that were tailored to the individual including TENS, exercise classes, soaks in the large whirlpool pools and meditative sessions in the salt chamber where EVERYONE fell asleep as evidenced by the little snores heard all over the place. There was also a beauty salon with treatments ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous e.g.. snail slime being plastered on one's face in the eternal quest for youth!! We passed on that but did treat ourselves to a facial (not of the snail variety!) and a pedicure. There were also lots of other activities including Tai Chi, belly dancing, Qi Gong, a male choir and local excursions to places of interest. Would I do it again?? Yes, maybe but not for a few years. Oooh and how could I forget???? The food was absolutely divine! This place is definitely not where to go if you're planning to lose weight unless you are very disciplined which I'm not!! It was all very healthy but oh, so good.
I didn't take any photos in the spa, it really would have been too intrusive, but if you Google "Pod Tezniami" there are lots of photos on the web to give you an idea of the place.
We did go for lots of daily walks to supplement our "healthy" visit!! These trees fascinated me:
Any ideas of what they are?? At first I thought they were bird nests but no, way too many. After checking in at reception, we found out that this is mistletoe!! Now, I knew mistletoe is a parasite but I always thought it grew on a bush!!
On our Sunday off, we caught the local bus and tram to Torun, the Polish Gingerbread capital! This is what we found! Poland has come a very long way in many respects since the days of communism but unfortunately has also picked up some of the worst western traits:
After a week of R and R and decidedly feeling a lot more limber, we left Ciechocinek to go on a 3 hour train ride to Warszawa. We left a decidedly ugly-looking train station which harked back to the communist days and was presently being refurbished:
To arrive at a much more modern looking train station in the capital city:
We overnighted at a lovely old hotel close to this Russian Orthodox church:
And visited with Anna's friends, Ella and Andrzej who prepared two lovely dinners for us.
They live in an apartment behind the church. Post-communism it's now a co-operative. The blue Perspex building in front of the church is the entrance to the Metro. We also noticed quite a significant police presence on the streets, we were told this was because of the problems that were happening in the Ukraine.
On our last day in Warszawa (I hate the name Warsaw, it sounds very harsh and Germanic) we took a bus tour to see some of the city sights:
The statue of Frederick Chopin (whom we all know is Polish, right??) at Lazienki Park. Piano concerts are held here in the summer.
A walk through Lazienki Park which was the summer residence of one of the last King's of Poland, can't remember which one, my Polish history is rusty!!
This red squirrel was super cheeky and friendly!!! I haven't seen a red squirrel in years!
We played silly buggers on the bus tour, the tourists were all English speaking so we pretended to be Polish!!! And I think we got away with it! Oh well, it did release the inner child!!
We walked around the Stare Miasto or Old Town of Warszawa. Sorry about the shadows, it was that time of day!! The sun was shining but it was freezing!!
During World War 11, 90% of Warszawa was destroyed by the Nazis:
"Warsaw has to be pacified, that is, razed to the ground." Adolf Hitler 1944
The planned destruction of Warszawa was put into full motion after the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The Uprising infuriated the German leaders who wanted to make an example of the city:
"The city must completely disappear from the surface of the earth and serve only as a transport station for the Wehrmacht. No stone can remain standing. Every building must be razed to its foundation."
SS chief Heinrich Himmler
It is a tribute to the human spirit and to Polish Nationalistic pride that the Old City has been rebuilt to it's pre war glory. It truly makes me proud to be Polish! What a pity we have not learned from history and that the IS idiots are destroying priceless temples and artifacts in the Middle East.
In the centre of the square is a statue of the symbol of Warszawa - the Syrena - a mermaid with a sword and shield. Legend has it that there were two mermaids swimming in the Baltic Sea, one swam down the Wisla River (the Vistula) and became the symbol of Warszawa and the second mermaid swam to Denmark and became, of course, the Little Mermaid of Copenhagen. And no, I'm not making this up!!
Just outside the old city walls there is a memorial to the 22,000 Polish commissioned officers and Polish intelligentsia who were slaughtered by the Russians at the beginning of the war on the orders of Stalin. The mass graves were found by the Nazis who blamed the Russians and vice versa and it was not until 2010!!! that the Russian State Duma agreed to a declaration blaming Stalin and other Soviet officials for the massacre. Katyn refers to the forest in Russia in which the victims were executed and buried.
We also stopped to visit the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest of all the Jewish ghettoes in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War 11. It's now is the site of a beautiful museum opened in 2013 and unfortunately didn't have the time to visit, and also to this:
A memorial to the Jewish people who perished there.
While we were there a group of Jewish teens from Israel came to see the memorial. If you look closely some of them were wearing the Israeli flag.
Sadly our time in Warszawa came all to quickly to an end. It did make me realize I'd like to come back to Poland for a longer period and especially to brush up on my Polish which improved tremendously in even the short time I was there. So that's something to look at for the future!!! And we know of course that no trip anywhere can be had without doing a bit of this:
They even have Starbucks!!!!
A bright red (what other colour is there except bright???) Italian leather bag, perfect for future travels and oh, so soft…….
So, now I am back in England, the sun is shining but it's cold, cold, cold. This is what I saw today:
And yesterday WAS March 21st, the first day of spring!! Yay!!!
And tomorrow I'm going to the land of leprechauns!!!
Talk Soon
Zoe
