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| This is part of the Old Town, with buildings dating back hundreds of years. All was blown up by the Nazis and had to be painstakingly reconstructed. | The central square in the Old Town is surrounded by these colorful buildings. In warm weather, the restaurants set up outdoor seating. | |
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| There are all sorts of outdoor events that take place in the Square. | A corner of the Square. | |
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| A waiter bringing an order out to a restaurant's outdoor area in the Square. | Can anything be more picturesque? | |
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| One of the entrances to the Old Town. | The entrance at the other end. The large building to the right is the old Royal Palace. King Zygmunt Waza stands atop the pillar. | |
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| A shot of the Royal Palace. | And another. | |
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| Looking in the other direction toward one of the main shopping streets outside of the Old Town. | A closer view of the shopping street close to the Old Town entrance. | |
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| Bridge to the Praga
district. In World War II, Soviet troops stopped their offensive there while the
Germans took care of the Warsaw insurgents on the other side of the river. That
way, the Soviets wouldn't have to face Polish opposition to their
eventual "liberation" of the capital and the establishment of communist rule in
postwar Poland. I stayed in a flat in Praga for three weeks in December, 2006. Read what the Warsaw Voice has to say about it. |
The ruins of a former bank, the scene of wartime fighting between Germans and Polish insurgents during the Warsaw Uprising of August-September 1944. | |
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| Lazienki Palace (Palac Lazienkowski), a stunning example of neoclassical architecture built by King Stanislaw August Poniatowski in the 18th Century. The grounds are spectacular and include the Chopin Monument where, each summer, piano recitals of Warsaw's famous composer work are held. | Here's a restaurant located on the grounds of the Lazienki Palace. | |
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| The food was as lavish as the interior. | Wilanow Palace, the royal Baroque palace built by Jan Sobieski on the southern edge of the city, modeled after Versailles. | |
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| There's lots of churches in Warsaw, mostly Roman Catholic, of course. | This church is used by the military. |