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Warsaw (Poland), August 12th to 15th.


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I thought of a escapade to Warsaw, basically to enjoy some cool summer weather, and leverage the August 15th holiday (Assumption of the Virgin). Thought of seeing @urbanoid again, we talked a bit on Whatsapp, he talked to @Damian, and, well, there are two happy coincidences:

  • The new Polish Military Museum in Warsaw opens the 13th.
  • August 15th is the anniversary of that battle on the Vistula against the Red hordes, now Poland Armed Forces day, so big parade, and with some new equipment this year.

So perhaps some more members of the grate sight could want to join. Warsaw hotels are affordable, the vacation days one needs to take are one or two, and no need of rent cars as we will be in only one city, plus a excursion by train to Poznan.

Currently the schedule is:

  1. Visit the Poznan armor museum Saturday the 12th, arriving in Poznan by train about half past ten. Price of train from Warsaw is about 100 zlotys in 1st class.
  2. Visit the Polish Military Museum in Warsaw Monday the 14th. Free admission.
  3. Attending the parade Tuesday the 15th.

Sunday the 13th could be used in any of the different museums Warsaw provides.

Departing Tuesday afternoon to be at work Wednesday is a possibility.

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14 hours ago, Markus Becker said:

No word from BansheeOne or Dave C? 

I'm just coming off my summer holidays next week, so bad timing. Though I might in fact be in Poland on a company outing some time and was thinking about hitting up some of the local contingent, but a date hasn't been fixed.

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Just to keep everyone interested entertained. New Polish Army Museum will open August 13th, In period of August 13th to 15th you can go inside for free.

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Friday, day 0 of the Polish C&F

 

My trains -all three- were on time. 

Jose's flight to Milan too. The one to Warsaw got cancelled. New ETA Saturday 13:40. Too late for Poznan. 

 

Speaking of, I decided to walk from my hotel in Poznan to Fort VII -former Prussian fort turned SS prison aka killing camp. Went to the wrong palace. Fort VIIa, privat place for reenactment and unlike what Google said, most of the time closed. The right one was in shooting distance but by that time also closed. 

 

A 7 km walk not for nothing. Roadside bistro. The beer was ok, the waitresses definitely so and the price was nice. 

 

For more fun with Satnav, see the next episode. 

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Saturday, day one of the Polish C&F:

 

Matt picked me up on 10 sharp. We set the Satnav to the Google location of the tank museum and got a Dave. 

We were lead into in residential area with smaller and smaller roads. Eventually so much the we got very worried but there were pedestrians. They were navigating by phone, so the end of the road was leading to the parking lot? 

Except it was a home owners lot. A local lady explained that this is happening a ..., well often. So much that she left the gates open for the likes of us to turn around. 

Some manouvering in thigh spaces assisted by Lexus tech got us out without a scratch, on the main road to to the museum.

Top tipp for the local tourist board. Signs. 

Again no sign for the correct Fort VII museum we went through and came across a fox. Very tame, we got within less than 5m to it while he/she/it was drinking from a puddle of water that was in the shade. 

The fort is beautifully restored, the tank museum has many of the usual AFV and some less so: TKS, 203mm SPG, Krug...

From there went into the ungodly mess if a construction site that's the old town: leave no not road ripped up. We got food and drink anyway, plus a quick visit to the Greater Polish Uprising museum and then we went the 300 km to Warsaw. 

In two tanks(of gas) because the driver wasn't The Stick. All I remember is that he drank as much as me in Holland and drives like the Polish cousin of BansheeOne. 

A traffic accident(by others) and some near escapes by us we f...ed up the check in to the parking lot with the app. 

So onwards to food and drink. Except the place we picked only had the bar open open until 2:00. Kitchen closed at 22:00. So onwards for 50 Zlotys to one that was actually serving food. And it was a great one. Right in the party center of Warsaw in a Saturday evening. The view was hot, beautiful, fantastic, revealing....

Back in the hotel at 1:30 and as soon as one get's up at 8:30 the punctual Poles and Spaniards were already getting worried about my absence. 

Like I ever drink too much to be in shape the next morning, well the same one in this case.

Next up, Sunday(nor elation) takes the cake. 

 

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Sunday(no relation), day two of the Polish C&F:

First Google lied again. The Polish Army museum was closed because they helped to open the Polish military museum. So we went to the Stalinist building, met Damian, went into the museum of technology that's inside that building. 

Quite the number of scientists and inventors were featured and ofc stuff, including another TKS, this time with a 20mm. TKS might be the Polish cousin of Goliath because every museum had one so far. 

Onwards to the Polish military museum and more things not going according to plan.

No shade at all at the edges of the parade ground but so many politicians who liked to hear themselves talking and no booths selling say water. Some selling food were found behind the building where the reenactment camp was. With everything from pre medieval to late WW2. Lot's of guns to look at and hold. Sten beats Thompson by a longshot. Feels lighter and the mag release and insertion is way, way smoother. 

As to the inside of the museum...that went wrong too. The line was halfway along the front and around the corner and it did not move. At all!! We were about to leave before we dried up when the boy scouts saved the day by distributing water. Back to the reenactors where they were firing old cannons. It's impressive how much noise even the smallest could make. 

Next up, the old town and a meeting with Hubert who acted as our tour guide and lunch. Well, refreshments, more tour and then lunch(with refreshments). 

Arrived at the hotel after the bar closed(23:00) but the desk offered emergency refreshments. And Matt spotted a bar that was open until 3 am when he was smoking. Though I was weak and called it a night early. Before 1 am. Matt said he'd stay for "one" more. 

Edited by Markus Becker
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Monday, first day with no CFs. 

 

I arrived at the breakfast 15 minutes late at 8:45 and was shocked, shocked that no one else was there ... because we agreed to meet at nine as Jose helpfully reminded me a bit past nine. 

Matt arrived even later having stayed for more than "one" more. Not that I was feeling too well until noon.

We went to the mall. Someone needed water and anti headache pills, I needed shoes. After the pointless 7 km walk in Poznan the sole and the upper part started separating in several places but Poland's biggest shopping mall is conveniently located next to Stalin's palace of culture, so we got everything there and them gave it another try with the Polish military museum. 

And things went ... right! The part of the grounds with shade were accessible, the line was shorter and it moved. 

Inside was "1,000 year of glory of Polish arms". Chronologically from the pre medieval to late WW2. Björn would love this place with all of it's swords, metal armor and the winged Hussar. Though if that is a correct representation of the "winged" part, then artists have taken a lot a license with reality. Or drank a lot of Red Bull.

In the modern section they tried to pass a Berthier for a Lebel and the other way round but TN spotted that instantly. The Goliath too. TN needs to amend to prophesies to TKS being Goliath in Poland. Third museum, third TKS.

Back to the hotel in a Uber that was driven in a very "interesting" way and "refreshments" before we Uber-ed to the Gangsta district Praga and met Hubert again. Once again great tour through the part of town the German barbarians didn't destroy. Then ones high school having been a torture and execution center of the other barbarians....

Anyway for a Gangsta place Praga was calm and orderly. Poland can not into Gangsta! 

Had a nice dinner from preserving jars(with contents so good they should be illegal) before we had more refreshments and me and Jose gave up around 22:00. 

After the longest wait for an Uber we were back before 23:00 and here I am in the lobby doing the daily update(and a refreshment). 

Foreign military personnel is arriving for the big parade tomorrow. 

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26 minutes ago, Markus Becker said:

...In the modern section they tried to pass a Berthier for a Lebel ...

In some of the 1920s literature it was refered as Lebel-Berthier for some reason.

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Monday, first day with no CFs. Part two. 

 

When I was typing part one I was sitting in the hotel lobby and the thirst came back. One and a half hours and two beers later I was wondering where Matt was, considering he announced his return sometime earlier. 

I found him in the bar in the side of the hotel where he actually had just one beer and I had none. It was nevertheless past 2 am before we left the place. 

Sleep is overrated.

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Tuesday, back to the Polish C&F:

We got up at the usual time and then headed into the old town to get close to the closed off streets by car, did the rest by foot.

I was feeling not well. Like a washcloth that had been wrung out very thoroughly. Next to no energy left. The old town was thus hell. Fruity ice, three lemonades and an alcohol free beer did nothing. Well, not quickly.

We got close to the parade road and decided to stay in a wooded part of the bridge embankmet. There was shade and the view was so we could see bit of the road.

Matt was (still) in shape, did a recon run and confirmed that the other places were actually worse. No shade and an even worse view.

At 2 pm the parade didn't start. Instead a Polish Politician started talking for a bloody hour. I feel sorry for the people who could actually understand him. While this was going on and we were standing around I was feeling less and less bad.

At three the parade began with the fly bys. Helicopters, F-15/16, transports, Eurofighter, I swear I saw a Mig-21. Several.

AFV wise it started with jeeps, MRAPs, trucks including HIMARS, eight and six wheeled things, Leos, K2, M1, M2, SPG, Gepard...No TKS. Though few would have been able to see it.

The parading troops included horse cavalry and various allied formations: US, Romanian and Croatian. And within just 40 minutes it was over.

Onwards we went on foot to the National Stadium with the static display. All the 3 km and at thi...

Sorry being distracted by five very stunning young women at the table in front of me.

Where was I aside from deep cut dresses and revealing tops? Yes, stadium, walking.

By this time Matt's feet began to give up. Not used to all the walking and standing.

Followed the herd, go to the display where the vehicles were crawling with people. And you could once again handle guns. Even if you were a kid. In Germany heads would explode.

After a quick walkthrough Matt decided that's all he could take and we headed to the hotel. Said goodbye at the gas station where he got something to drink before driving home.

At this point lady luck was smiling again. Remember the fuckup when parking the car? The machine at the exit of the parking lot had a "phone" button: Checked in the wrong way? Just tell us the reservation number and we let you out. No need to pay twice and then get a refund.

Jose and me got freshened up and went to dinner. The starter alone was enough for a main course, so neither of us could go completely through the main.

And now I'm sitting in the lobby, typing and wondering about the five, no now seven very good looking girls in their early 20s and the four guys they are with. One in his 40s, two around 30 and the last probably not even 20 and very interested in nothing but his phone. Certainly not in the two hot brunettes to his left and right.

Mr. 40 has to have A LOT of money. Never mind the seven hotties, it's past 11 and the bar is still open. They even keep bringing stuff.

I'm not using the opportunity for a third. Drink up and go upstairs.

IMG-20230815-WA0005.jpg

Fashion models! One is slim, the other six are very slim even by the local standard and not one tattoo in sight.





 

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Markus forgot to say that one Uber we called, one of those Toyota C-HR with claustrophobic rear seats, came with two pretty girls onboard, of the aforementioned kind, and I did not notice that the car was not empty when I went for the front seat, but the young ladies could disembark the car without issues.

The thin one was seeing doing some of those stupid things tiktokers use to do to gain subscribers.

Gonnabe models apart, this is has been a most interesting trip. We met two friends of @urbanoid, a TNetter and other that is not, but it should be, and both seemed to me quite smart and knowledgeable. I liked to see many young families with multiple kids, and the high amount of tatoo-free young people.

More later.

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