Warsaw

Downtown Warsaw, decorated for National Independence Day, when Poland declared independence from Russia in 1918.

The Royal Castle. Most buildings in Warsaw have been destroyed a couple of times, and the castle is no exception; it was destroyed by the Swedes in the 17th century and the Nazis in 1944.

Ceiling mural

Polish Atlas

The Royal Throne

Hurts So Good

For some reason there was a painting of Socrates and his wife.

Polish Joffrey

John III Sobieski, the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1674-1696. He lead the victorious Polish, Austrian, and German troops in the Battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire, and is heralded as the savior of European Christianity.

I'm obligated to post pictures of the churches from everywhere I go.

The center of Old Town is very touristy.

Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Bee for Vendetta. Ha!

Nicolaus Copernicus

I visited the National Museum of Warsaw. Here's some of my favorite paintings. Partridges, 1891, Jozef Chelmonski

Antibes - Morning, 1914, Paul Signac

Polish Hamlet, 1903, Jacek Malczewski

Obsession, 1900, Wojciech Weiss

"I will fight my sister tooth and nail to get what I deserve. Because I, Bertram Geiss, am still Daddy's fancy boy."

The Battle of Grunwald. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's victory over the Teutonic Knights in 1410 began the golden era of the Jagiellon dynasty.

I also visited the Museum of the Polish Army. This is an 80 cm armor piercing shell used in "Dora," the largest railway gun every developed. It was only used once: by the Nazis in the Siege of Sevastopol (Crimea, Ukraine), 1942. Only 47 rounds were ever fired.

An "Insurgent Armored Vehicle" used by the Poles in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

Marshall Jozef Pilsudski was arguably Poland's greatest military leader and largely responsible for the establishment of the Second Republic of Poland in 1918.

The museum had a respectable collection of militaria from around the world.

Gatling Gun

A cavalry charge between the Poles and the Soviets during the Battle of Wolodarka, 1920. The Polish-Soviet War is arguably the last war in which cavalry was even remotely useful.

A jerry-rigged catapult used in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

I'd like to meet the man who needed armor for his mustache.

Badass armor worn by the Poles in the Battle of Khotyn (1621) when they fought off an Ottoman invasion.

Polish armor worn in the mid-18th century...

... and the military uniforms worn a couple decades later.

The Palace of Culture and Science, Stalin's gift to Poland. It is the tallest building in Poland and the 8th tallest building in the European Union. I saw Skyfall here.