Sunday, December 28, 2008

Warsaw, Poland.

Rachel and I arrived in Warsaw on December 25th. There was very little happening in the city as Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays throughout Europe. Arriving in Warsaw was quite a different experience than our initial arrival in Berlin a week and a half earlier. Warsaw was clear still working to modernize and was a mix of eastern and western influences (as opposed to Berlin which has experienced its modern rebirth).

Warsaw was cold, the streets were empty, and on our first night we ate at a restaurant attached to a casino (which litter the streets of Warsaw).

On the bright side, we were staying in the Palonia Palace hotel, and the digs were palatial. We visited the "Uprising Museum" and it was one of the most impressive museums I have ever seen. Our Friday night ended by randomly stumbling upon the one synagogue in Warsaw (well, not so random...Rachel has excellent "jewdar") and were invited to stay to light the Hanukkah candles, Shabbat services and dinner.

After the dinner a few of the young people at the service asked us to join them for a Hanukkah party (which turned into drinks at a bar). We met Regev from Israel and Tamara from Warsaw and Tamara's friend Aggie also from Warsaw (all of whom are now our friends on Facebook...read the "Facebook" post for more on this).

As you look at the pictures from Warsaw (on the blog) you will see images from two full days and many pictures from the experiences detailed in this blog (train to Warsaw, Palonia Palace, Uprising Museum, and evening out).

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