Our final 24 hours in Poland was back in Warsaw. Just enough time to catch up on a few sights in the old town and for me to “explore” a couple of famous Poles.
Copernicus is a favourite for me. Born in the 15th century he achieved fame as an astronomer who first proposed that the earth revolves around the sun rather than the then prevailing view endorsed by the church that the earth is the centre of the universe and the sun revolves around it.
Last century an electrician working in Gdansk rose to prominence as a trade union activist. He drew the ire of the then ruling USSR. His leadership of the “Solidarity” (Solidarnosc in Polish) trade union was one of the pivotal events leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the USSR. He served with distinction as the first president of the newly liberated Poland.
Marie Curie grew up in Warsaw in the late 19th century. She furthered her studies in Paris and married Pierre Curie. She and her husband won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for developing the theory of radioactivity. Subsequently she won a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry for the discovery of the chemical elements polonium and radium. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two separate fields.
On the final morning before our flight home I was up early to catch up with one of my favourite composers Frederic Chopin. Born in 1810 the master pianist and composer had a Mozart like life. Playing piano at age 4, first composition at age 6 this prodigy was famous throughout Europe in his time. Tragically his flame burnt brightly but he died young at age 39.
The monument is in the Royal Baths park also home to the beautiful Lazienki palace.
