Wilanow Palace Warsaw

This afternoon we visited Wilanow Palace, a short coach ride from the city centre.

Wilanow Palace is a Baroque royal residence set in 45 hectares of beautiful manicured gardens. Originally home to King John Sobieski III in 1677.  We were taken on a guided walk through a number of rooms within the palace with their sumptuous furnishings, lavish interiors and hundreds of paintings and tapestries.
After the death of the King, the Palace became the property of his sons, and in 1720, a run down property was purchased by one of the wealthiest women in Poland of those days – Elizabeth Sieniawska. In 1730, the Palace, for three years, was owned by king August II the Strong, who made considerable changes in the residence, particularly as far as the internal décor is concerned.

In the middle of 18th century, the Wilanów property was inherited by the daughter of Czartoryski, wife of a field marshal, Izabela Lubomirska, during whose reign, Wilanów started shining with its previous glory. Sixty nine years later, the Duchess gave Wilanów to her daughter and her husband, Stanislaw Kostka Potocki. Thanks to his efforts, one of the first museums in Poland was opened in the Wilanów Palace, in 1805.

Wilanow Palace

Kings Bedroom

Warsaw

We arrived in Warsaw late afternoon the day before our Insight tour was to begin.  We had time to familiarise ourselves with the city before the start of the tour.

We took the hop on hop off bus around the city on two routes and also tried our hand at catching trams which wasnt as successful because we purchased our tickets and the machine kept our change of 20 Zloty which was disappointing.

At the end of the day we returned to the hotel and met up with our tour director and fellow travellers and the coach took us to the old town where we enjoyed a lovely dinner at a restaurant outdoors.

This morning we visited the old town with a local guide who told us that the old town was entirely rebuilt after WW2.   It has cobblestoned streets and medieval looking buildings all brightly coloured. 
The Old Town Square is the oldest and one of the most charming squares in Warsaw.  It was laid out at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.  Festivities and markets were organised here but convicts were also executed.  In the middle of the square stands a statue of the Warsaw Mermaid the emblem and guardian of the city.  Hanging baskets of colourful flowers are on nearly every building and the steps leading up to shops and houses are adorned with flowers and shrubs.

The Old Town Square

The Mermaid of Warsaw

Frankfurt to Warsaw by train

We left Frankfurt bright and early in the morning on the ICE train bound for Berlin.  We had to change trains in Berlin for the train to take us to Warsaw.

Berlin is huge and there are many train stations.  We arrived in Berlin Central and we alighted from the train.  When looking at the board we were surprised that our Warsaw train was departing 10 minutes earlier than what was printed on our ticket.

We got on the train and then discovered that we should have taken the ICE train two stops further to catch the Warsaw Intercity train from there, 10 minutes later.  So, that's where our 10 minutes went.  Fortunately it didnt matter as the Warsaw train stopped at both of these stations.

Our first journey was 4 hours on the train and the second train was nearly 5 hours.  A long day, but very pleasant.

it was interesting to watch the changing scenery.  Looking out the window between Frankfurt and Berlin I spotted a castle on the hill.

Later on the Intercity train to Warsaw rolling through the Polish countryside it reminded me very much of rural Russia.  Littered with communist style derelict buildings, former factories crumbling and with broken windows.  Blocks of pale dreary looking flats, abandoned and derelict.  Half built houses also abandoned.  Machinery rusting and lying by the side of the tracks.  Piles of broken bricks, glass and other junk littering the fields.
It all looks extremely poor and the roads are incredibly pot holed.  There was plenty of agriculture though.  What looked like wheat and corn mostly.

Frankfurt train station

Castle I spotted from the train somewhere near Berlin

Berlin Centrale

Berlin Hauptbahnhoff

Me on the train to Warsaw

Frankfurt

We woke this morning to another 40 plus hot day.  We decided that it would be too hot to be riding around on the open top hop on hop off bus so instead we purchased a day ticket for the train, bus and tram system to take us wherever we decided to go.

We jumped on a tram right outside our hotel to take us to the old town.

Boasting modernity, steel and concrete skyscrapers, Frankfurt is unlike any other city in Germany.  A high-powered business and finance hub, home to the glowing new headquarters of the European Central Bank. However, at its heart, Frankfurt is a vibrant, traditional and charming city, featuring welcoming apple wine taverns, village-like areas, boutiques and street art, large parks and half-timbered buildings huddled between medieval streets.

The Römerberg Square is Frankfurt’s busiest and most beautiful market square.  Just a few footsteps from St. Paul’s Church, you get a glimpse of the city’s medieval core. Its history goes back to the 12th century, having served as a trade hub drawing visitors and merchants from countries as far as France and Italy. Some of the fairs held here centuries ago, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, are still being held today,

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Römerberg Square 

the Ostzeile

the Main River

Paris to Frankfurt

The following morning we left Paris to travel to Frankfurt for a 2 night stop.

We arrived at the train station, the Gare de l'est, early as we had to validate our Eurail Pass.  There was a huge crowd of people in the SNCF office and we were told it could be an hour to wait and were given a numbered ticket.

A young man gave me a seat which was really nice of him.  it was very hot in there.  It turned out we only ended up waiting about 45 minutes.  It only took a couple of minutes to have our pass validated and we were soon out of there.

We walked into the station which has a huge domed roof of clear perspex I think it is.  It was extremely hot.  Outside the temperature was above 40 degrees so inside the station where there is no air conditioning it must have been about 10 degrees hotter.

the train staff were handing out free bottled water.

Our train was delayed for 10 minutes, then the board said another 10 minutes and so on.  A message came up on the board in French which translated into a bushfire on the train tracks.  Then the train was delayed again. 

In the end it was about an hour before we were able to board the train.  Eventually we got moving and the screen in the train told us were were travelling at 219kms an hour.  But, further along the line the train slowed and eventually we were travelling at about 150kms.  Our journey was delayed by 90 minutes in the end.  But at least we were able to get to our destination. 
An announcement during the journey told us that there were people on the track at one stage that had to be removed from tracks before we could proceed.

By the time we got to the hotel we were pretty hot and exhausted so we just went for a stroll from the hotel down to the river we stopped at a nice outdoor cafe for a drink.

The German ICE train in Frankfurt

The Holbeinsteg footbridge

The Holbeinsteg footbridge

The Holbeinsteg footbridge

Paris

After returning our hire car at Victoria station we headed across town to St Pancras station to catch the Eurostar to Paris.

We arrived at the station on a very hot and sticky morning and discovered that all the trains to Brussels were cancelled.

There were hundreds of disappointed and angry travellers everywhere.  Very few Eurostar staff helping people with cancellations and/or rebooking.  There was a huge queue of people and very little information being provided.  It seemed to be an electrical problem and the trains were cancelled until Friday, 3 days later.  Someone told us that 600 hundred people were stuck in Amsterdam in a Eurostar train that had a power failure.  Presumably due to the heat.

We werent sure if our train was affected but it was only the Brussels trains that werent running.

Our train departed on time and arrived in Paris on time which was pretty good considering the heat of the day and chaos at the train terminal.

When we arrived in Paris it was 42 degrees at around 6pm.  We went and checked into our hotel and then went for a walk around the area nearby.  Because it was so hot we decided not to use the metro but just stroll and take in the sights and stop in a cafe here and there for a drink and a snack.

Windsor

We have been staying with friends in Cobham Surrey and we visited Windsor which is less than half an hours drive away.

I love Windsor.  I love that the Castle is right there overlooking the main street of the town.  Officially know as the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Windsor Castle is the largest and oldest inhabited castle in the world and apparently the Queen's favourite weekend home.

With a rich mix of history, culture and heritage it's one of the loveliest destinations in the UK.

We didnt visit the Castle but we did take a 40 minute boat trip along the Thames past the racecourse and Eton College.  Past narrow boats and motor boats moored under the shade of the huge willow trees dipping down into the water.  We saw quite a few brave souls in swimming.  It was a very warm day in the mid thirties.

When the boat turns around at the lock you get a wonderful view up river to the Castle.

Lacock Wiltshire

Our next stop after Wales was Lacock in Wiltshire.

There's lots to discover in Lacock village; quaint traditional stone cottages, the old workhouse, the medieval tithe barn, the old lock-up and the village church.

The name Lacock dates from Saxon times when the earliest permanent settlers lived by the Bide Brook, which runs through the middle of the village. They called it lacuc or 'little stream'.

With its central grid of 4 streets Lacock looks much like it did 200 years ago.  It's oldest house is older than the 13th century Lacock Abbey.

Lacock village is often used for film and TV productions, mostly for its picturesque streets and historic cottages. The village’s most famous appearances include 'Downton Abbey', the BBC’s 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Cranford', and the films 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' and 'Wolfman'.

William Fox Talbot lived in the Abbey, a remarkable man who was the pioneer of photography.  The Fox Talbot museum is dedicated in his name and regularly hosts photographic exhibitions.

We had hoped to stay in Lacock but everything was fully booked.  I found a tiny village just 4 miles away called Beanacre and a hotel that was formerly a country mansion called Beenleigh Hotel.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We entered the property along a sweeping driveway overhung with giant oak trees providing dabbled shade.

We pulled up at the rather grand entrance and went inside to the reception.  The girl at the desk showed us to our room, called a cosy room.  It was quite large and modern and very comfortable.

We only stayed the one night but wished we had been able to stay longer.

We were there to meet a friend from Australia who is living over here at the moment.  We had dinner with her and her family at a restaurant called the Sign of the Angel which we all thought was a strange name.

Llangollen Wales

We went for a train ride on the Llangollen Railway which travels about 10 miles to the town of Carrog where the train stops for about 1/2 hour before returning to Llangollen.  There is a lovely tea room at the railway station.

We were hoping for a steam train but it was a diesel engine.  However, we were in the first carriage right behind the driver with a big window looking at the rail line.  It was the best view, a better view than you would have from a steam train.

The Chain Bridge