Vacation in Poland-Part 2

Today we are still in Warsaw.  We are staying at the Bristol Hotel pictured here which was full of flowers both inside the lobby as well as outside in the court yard.  Not far from here was the Chopin Museum which is in the building he last lived in Warsaw.  It's well worth your time to visit if you have any love for his music.  Here pictured you see one of the pianos he played on.  And not a far walk from there is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Poland.  And next the Military Chapel  which is where many veterans are buried in the wall of the church and where any important State funerals  now take place.  Across the street from the Military Chapel is the monument to the Polish Uprising of 1944 when Warsaw citizens tried to retake their city from Nazi occupiers.  Unfortunately they were not successful.  There is a very good museum of all this history in Warsaw and one should not miss it.  Next another example of modern architecture in a sky scraper that is square and round at the same time.  I was sharing all these adventures with my brother Douglas of California and cousin Mary Gordon of Chicago pictured here braving some public transportation, which is a very good system in Warsaw.  The next day we rented a car and drove towards Krackow.  That's about a six hour drive on some very good highways.  I felt like we were traveling an American interstate through central Wisconsin.  On our way we stopped at the town of Czestochowa to visit the shine of the Black Madonna.  This is a very famous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her child Jesus.  The backstory to the painting is that it was done by St Luke the Evangelist on the Blessed Mother's kitchen table top.  Many pilgrims come here as noted by all the flags in the entrance to the Jasna Gora monastery where it is held.  It is hard to get a clear picture of the icon as there is a beaded curtain between the chapel nave and the sanctuary.  I've included a photo of a souvenir image to show the icon more clearly here.  Beside the icon chapel is a main chapel of the monastery which is quite beautiful in itself.  And as you can see, I found the Moldovan flag flying proudly outside as we left for Krackow.