How the week flew by. Seems like yesterday I was meeting Jenna and Kelly at the airport. Now they are on their way home. We miss them already. Our last day with them was in Warsaw. Carolyn and Adam stayed in Lublin while the rest of us went by train to Warsaw on Tuesday. We spent the afternoon walking around Stare Miasto and Nowe Miasto (Old and New Town. New Town isn't new but it is newer than Old Town). We then cabbed it over to Folk Gospoda where we had dinner reservations. The restaurant serves up traditional Polish recipes. Th description of the restaurant on www.warsaw-life.com/eat/restaurants_details/148-Folk_Gospoda describes it best:
"If you like your beer in big mugs and your meals 90% meat, served in a traditional Polish inn where all the furniture is wooden and heavy and everything reminds you of the good old days of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Folk Gospoda is the place for you. The meals are hearty and the beer is always flowing, and to help create the atmosphere of Polish country life, folk music from around the world plays constantly. So if you think you can handle it, order up a "Tyskie for strong men" (that's five litres of Polish ale!) and a pig's knuckle from the stove or a "rustic rollup" and enjoy the folk life!"
Needless to say (but I will say it anyway) I did not order the five litres of Polish ale (comes in a big glass pipe with a spigot at the bottom - quite the sight). Kelly stated that the schnitzel was some of the best that he has had, quite the compliment considering his travels. Delaney, our overly picky eater, tried a chicken schnitzel with French mustard and honey. I thought the mustard and honey would be on the side but the chicken was coated with it. She bravely scraped off as much as she could and ate about 1/4 of it without complaint. Jenna devoured a salad bar and ignored the veggie soup that she ordered (more of a broth than a soup). I had a potato pancake stuffed with meat (yes, about 90%) and veggies, and .5 litre of Zywiec beer.
After a good nights sleep for Delaney and I (Jenna being the night owl made their room more active) we headed over to the Centrum Nauki Kopernik (Copernicus Science Center - see pics above). We first visited the museum the day after we arrived in Warsaw back in January. On that day, we stood in line for 2 1/2 hours before we got in. Yesterday, we were first in line after arriving about 45 minutes after the doors opened and paid 57 PLN ($20) for a family ticket for the four of us. We were greeted by about 200 elementary school kids on field trips (later on in the day they were replaced by a smaller number of high school kids). I think Jenna went into overload for the first couple of hours, but she settled in nicely and got serious about exploring the exhibits. After eating lunch in the cafeteria there (four nice lunches for a total of 75 PLN, about $25) the girls got back to work and Kelly took a hike to the Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego (Warsaw Rising Museum, www.1944.pl/en) and after a couple of hours, hiked back to the science center. The high quality of the museum and the low cost (from an American's viewpoint) of visiting make it the best bargain that I can remember ever seeing. I believe that Poland may be one of the best kept secrets of Europe, which is a shame as the country has so much to offer. A note on the amenities of the museums here in Poland - they all either have free coat and bag checks or lockers that require either a 1 or 2 PLN coin to use, but you get your coin back when you are done.
After leaving the museum, and trying a free Nestle banana flavored ice cream Popsicle that they were handing out at the entrance (I don't think that they will catch on), we walked to the Royal Route so that Jenna could finish her souvenir shopping for the family. She scored big and that is all I will say as she is not home yet. We then found a cab (a Chrysler mini-van of all things) and after retrieving Delaney's and my luggage from the hotel, we headed to the train station for dinner. We found a kebab place just up the street and had a nice meal together. Delaney, once again the trooper, had a dish that is best described as pulled BBQ chicken without the sauce, very tasty. Jenna had the chicken kabob and Kelly and I had the lamb kabob. We parted company at the platform, Delaney and I awaiting our train and Kelly and Jenna hunting for an allusive travel alarm to ensure that they would be up and ready at 0'dark thirty to catch their flight out.
Safe travels to all and thanks for visiting.