Vist-ul-a

A hard-hitting museum visit, commemorating the Warsaw Rising, the story of the struggle against occupation of the city by Nazi troops. Among major cities Warsaw was singularly decimated, driven largely by Nazi anti-semitism that destroyed Europe's largest Jewish ghetto, and the strategic location of Warsaw as a key battleground between Germany and the Soviet Union. From a pre-war population of 1.3 million, by 1944 fewer than 1,000 remained living amongst the ruins. The bombing of cities like Coventry and Dresden is well known, but I'm not sure they approached this level of obliteration.

A result in the budget hotel I moved to after the conference ended, with this sunny view over the River Vistula. Today included great Polish breakfast fare, perfect temperatures and successful mastery of Warsaw's trams and metro. Late afternoon I headed to the Warsaw budget terminal, practically in the next province, to shuffle like cattle, witness flaring tempers and reluctantly wrap up an excellent few days in Poland. Several more Polish cities deserve to be explored.