Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve experienced one strong and recurring weather pattern in this summer’s travels: hot and humid mornings, then torrential downpours in the afternoons. In just one month, on two separate occasions, the Frankfurt airport was closed for thundershowers on days I was flying through — causing me to miss my connecting flights. He’s a little clip of Warsaw during its 4 p.m. daily shower.

While in Warsaw, I couldn’t help but fixate on the cost of war. I know how lovingly I collect and organize my physical world in my house. But virtually every house in Warsaw was destroyed in 1945…so many cultural and personal treasures simply gone forever. And, now, just two generations later, Germans and Russians stroll through the city on vacation — joking, licking ice cream cones, and snapping photos. Of course, we need to forgive and move on. I’m just amazed at how good Poland is at it. Perhaps some other countries — victims of similar horrors — can learn from the Poles. As Hubert says in this clip, “Hate changes nothing.”

Driving down a boulevard with an ongoing explanation of everything I was seeing, I was inspired to pull out my little camera and make a video clip to share with you the delight of having your own private tour guide. Imagine hiring a guide like Hubert with a car for $160 for 5 hours. This clip finishes as we park at Ghetto Uprising Square to see the memorial about that horrific chapter in Polish history, and a sparkling new museum celebrating Polish Jews. And with Hubert as my guide, I had the best teacher a traveler could want.

During my visit to Poland, Poles were frustrated about the recent trade war that had erupted with Russia. Reacting to international sanctions regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Russia decreed that foods could no longer be imported from the European Union — including Poland. One result: Poland is awash in apples grown for export to Russia. Standing here on Warsaw’s Old Town Square, knowing how in 1945 the Soviet Red Army watched from across the river as the Nazis literally leveled this city building by building before retreating (allowing the Soviets to waltz in with no resistance), it’s particularly poignant to see happy, feisty, and resilient Poles eating apples to piss off Putin.

Travelers see these Changing of the Guard ceremonies all over Europe. Many are so ornate, you lose the sense of the actual change. But here in Warsaw’s Pilsudski Square, it’s crisp and clear.

This pageantry honors not a royal family, but the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — a particularly powerful site in the country that suffered more deaths per capita than any other in World War II.

What’s your favorite Changing of the Guard ceremony, and why?