Our hotel is the oldest in Warsaw: Hotel Bristol.  Awesome blend of history and modern luxuries.

It was spared from the WWII bombing because it was a Nazi headquarters during the times of occupation.  Lost of history.

It is also right next door to the Presidential Palace.  Very convenient to have security nearby and not require private bodyguards during our stay.

We visited Chopin’s memorial in a national park in Warsaw. He died at age 39 due to tuberculosis. We learned on this trip that he only liked to play for small audiences and never for large venues.

The large ghetto in Warsaw was destroyed in 1943 due to Jewish uprising and all people we killed with very few survivors.  We visited the memorial and museum in the center of the former ghetto.

Approximately a year later, the Polish underground uprising resulted in 150,000 civilians killed and almost 85% of Warsaw burned or destroyed by the Nazis as retaliation.

Some things like the old town area were completely rebuilt after the war.  The old town market square was a delight to visit.  Kind of like the main square in Venice, but with a Polish culture.

Much of Warsaw still have the Soviet style houses and buildings today, but much is slowly disappearing and many things from that area retained only for historical exhibits.

Hint: The Soviet history is not very popular in Poland.

If interested, you can see the run we took in Warsaw as well!

From there, we went to Krakow.