transit day
drove to the old town
breakfast at Warsawski Sznyt a trendy food place
I had a reuben with pickled beef rib. It was great, if sopping with moisture.
did a bit of a tour of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, destroyed more than once through its history and rebuilt, most recently by the Germans in WW2. A wonderful structure.
saw the royal rooms, lovely and full of wonder
much of it spirited away under the nose of the Germans before it was destroyed
saw the rembrandts
“Girl in a Picture Frame” and “A Scholar at his Writing Table”
The works of art which Karolina Lanckorońska gave to the Royal Castle in 1994 was one of the most invaluable gift’s made in the museum’s history. These paintings included some that had come from King Stanisław August’s gallery and two masterpieces by Rembrandt, which Kazimierz Rzewuski bought in 1815. These later passed by inheritance into the Lanckoroński family. For nearly 200 years the paintings were part of the Lanckoroński collection in Vienna, which was considered to be one of the best private collections in Europe.
We didn’t have enough time to reall dig into it, but had a good look through.
drove through warsaw traffic to the airport. dang they’re a bit nutty.
dropped the hire car off and hung around
checked in
UIA to Kyiv
somehow the lower-backed seats on the 737-800-ER were nicer because I could rest my head on the top. I got a bit of rest for once, on the ~hour flight
customs was faster than LHR, but many less bodies.
driver took us to the hotel, was a good guy - drivers are a bit slower but the cars are infinitely more shitty here
checked in
room is HUGE
smells like smoke
“family” room - bedroom bigger than my master bed at home, same with the lounge and the bathroom.
13th floor, room 10
dinner in the hotel restaurant. a little underwhelming but we negotiated a great hrivnya -> USD rate $42USD for dinner
- pike caviar and sour cream
- sausage and potato cakes
- beef strog for RMB
- really shitty pork cutlet with chips and BBQ sauce for me
vodka :D
ferfucksake, they were doing work on the water and it ran out when I went to have a shower
bedtime, have to get up early for Chornobyl in the morning!