It was another hot day here in Warasw-in the 90's. There is a difference between the heat here and the heat at home-i think I mentioned that not many places have air conditioning, therefore it isn't easy to escape the heat.
I went to the Chopin Museum yesterday here in Warsaw. Fredric Chopin was born in Warsaw, so being that I saw Mozart's museum in Salzburg, I figured I would check out the Chopin museum. This isn't the first time I have been exposed to Chopin. Chopin had a house in Palma de Mallora, Spain, and on a shore excursion on the transatlantic cruise on the Carnival Breeze, I went to a short concerto of his. (that was the same day I met my girlfriend).
The museum was three stories tall, and when you buy a ticket-you are given a plastic ticket similar in size and weight to a credit card. To view the various exhibits you have to place your "ticket" in front of them. (I think it activates the exhibit in English, or whatever the holder's language is). Anyway, either I had trouble figuring it out, or it just didn't work too well, because I had difficulty with it. Additionally, the museum was very hot (no air conditioning) and crowded, with groups of school kids running around, playing with all the exhibits.
Beyond the heat, crowds, and kids, I think the museum consisted of letters colleagues, students and family members wrote to Chopin, and of course the soundtrack was Chopin's works. I left after maybe 45 minutes. BTW I don't think Chopin had kids, (from what I could tell at the museum-although I could be wrong), and he summered in Palma de Mallorca, so I don't think he was into inner-city heat.
After Chopin, I went back to the hostel for a nap. And then I went on another free walking-tour-this one being a food tour. If you remember, I went on a food tour back in Krakow-this one was similar but some of the foods we're different. The group went to different restaurants, and we sampled Borscht (beetroot soup), Zapiekanka (the French bread pizza-similar to Krakow), polish donuts, and also 4 different types of beers. It was a nice afternoon. By the time the food tour was over, it was maybe 6:00n pm.
After the food tour, I took a tram across the river to Praga, which is the old section of town-supposedly the only section of Warsaw that wasn't demolished in World War 2. The old section looked like the new section-except parts may have been a little newer. I saw a modern shopping mall there.
Then I walked across the bridge to the old town and walked back to the hostel.
