Celebrating Independence in the Museum of the Polish Army

There are many ways to celebrate the independence of a country. Typically, the military services prepare some parades and the politicians give speeches. This year, the Independence Day was a unique occasion to get inside some of the equipment gathered in the Museum of the Polish Army. I have taken you there over a year ago. Today, Mike will let you sneak inside some of the exhibits. 

First it was possible to get closer to the T-55U main battle tank.

This is the main entrance into the tank. Not a big one, you must admit.

The orange whole is the place where missiles are loaded.

Then comes the Antonov An-2 plane.

The sexiest part is of course the yoke and all these buttons.

But I really liked this little shelf just above the windows. Feels like being in a local train, doesn't it?

I really liked this armoured car and I was looking forward to a nice ride. 

Unfortunately, for some reason that they did not want to explain, they were only letting kids on board. It does not really look like a stroller after all.

At least I was able to jump into (or rather onto) this jeep. Not as safe but surely faster.

The "Agata" search and target acquisition radar is so big that it was difficult to make a full picture of it, with all this crowd. So here comes a picture that we have found over the internet.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agata_radiolocation_station_at_the_Muzeum_Polskiej_Techniki_Wojskowej_in_Warsaw_%281%29.JPG

Inside there are some strange devices and I am not really sure how it works.

Last but not least, here comes the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21.  

I am sure that each and every of you who has ever seen the Top Gun movie has dreamed at least once to fly a supersonic jet fighter aircraft.

So let's jump in an enjoy a dream coming true.

Les Invalides

Today I am proud to take you to one of my special places in Paris - l'Hôtel National des Invalides. Those of you who have been reading my blog already for a while know that my family has a long tradition of military service and that I always enjoy visiting military museums and exhibitions.

Les Invalides were built in 17th century upon an order of Louis XIV. Until the early twentieth century it used to be a home and hospital for aged and injured soldiers. In 1905 it was turned into a museum devoted to the French Army. Its courtyard was the witness of many major events in the French history.

The building undergoes now some refurbishement. It is interesting to see the results on the left and the original state on the right.

The man above the porch is, of course, Napoleon. He is burried in the building just behind. Did you notice the nice decorations around the windows? I like them a lot.

In the courtyard you can see lots of cannons. They seem a bit smaller than the ones I saw in Fort Henry last year.

Here I am, here I am!

Further, you can see a small tank.

Finally, here comes the church in which Napoleon waits for eternity. I could not enter inside this time so definitely we need to make up for it on some other day.

Let's stroll now in the direction of the Latin District. First, we will pass next to the lower chamber of the French Parliament, located in Palais Bourbon.

Then we come to the Musee d'Orsay, housed in the former Gare d'Orsay. It exhibits mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, housing the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world.

To see it in full we need to jump just for a moment back to the Tuileries.

This was quite a long walk. Let's then take some rest in a nice French-style cafe.

A good cup of tea. This was exactly what I needed ...

Museum of the Polish Army

As you recall, I mentioned more than once that my family is proud of its military tradition. I have myself a particular interest in the military technology. In September I took you to MSPO fairs. Today I will show you a bit of the history of the Polish military equipment.

In the Museum you can see lots of interesting things. First of all let's have a look at the artillery. You can see there mortars ...

... and guns.

That one was surely not a small one, especially if you compare it to the size of a horse!

Then comes the Multiple Launch Rocket System ...

... and a self-propelled gun (here you see the SU-76).

Now admit it, you were sure that the next one will be a tank. And not, tanks are not artillery, they are armored cavallery. So a bit like horses. Just armored. Of course in the Museum you can see lots of tanks (the first one is the T-34).

Then come the infantry and their armored personal carriers. I climbed on a Russian made BTR-60 (believe it or not, it is still in use!).



As I moved on I noticed some strange structures. Coming closer I realised they are radars. They can be tall like this one ...

... or large like this one.

Radars are of course used to detect aircrafts. I detected lots of them. On the right the Russian-made Su aircrafts and on the left the Polish-made Lim aircrafts).

Once the artillery spots an aircraft they bring the anti-aircraft missiles. So we'd better run home. And fast!

Elbląg

It is still freezing in Warsaw. Actually not only in Warsaw. To warm myself up a bit, I decided to visit another friend from Postcrossing, Adam. He took me on a trip around Elbląg. Elbląg is a city in Northern Poland. It was founded by the Teutonic knights in the 13th century.

Elbląg was part of the Hanseatic League so it was primarily a city of merchants. In the old days, you could acess the city through the Market Gate.

It used to be a part of the city walls, now it is a stand alone building.

Next to the Market Gate you can meet a young baker who was a hero of the defence od the city in 1521.

After rubbing the young baker's nose (it is supposed to bring luck and good fortune) I moved on to the Old Town.

The best known building in Elbląg is the St. Nicholas Cathedral.

The cathedral is one of the highest churches in Poland (it has 97 meters) so it is quite difficult to catch it in full on one picture.

Outside the Old Town you can also see some interesting things. Like a rainbow coloured tank.

You can even climb on it!

Unfortunately the snow made it difficult for me to see more of the city. Believe me, when the snow is up to your knees it is not easy to move.

Luckily the major of Elbląg decided to put on the streets braziers. What a great idea! But be careful, they are really hot.

If the braziers do not convince you to go to Elbląg now, you can wait for spring. Or simply have a virtual tour from your couch.

Studzianki Pancerne

Studzianki Pancerne is a small village in the Central Poland. It is best known for the battle of tanks that took place in August 1944.Today, you may see there a monument dedicated to those who perished in that battle.

You may also see there one of the tanks.

The best thing is that you can touch it and even walk on it! As you recall, my family has a long military tradition so I simply had to profit from this chance.

This seems to be the entry.

Afterwards, I made a little tour in the neighbouring forests and fields. You can see that summer time is past and gone with the wind.



The leaves become brown ...

... and red.