First mishap on my Warsaw Pass Day was catching my friend Lena in Norway and talking to my unofficial Godson August until 1am the night before, so I wasn’t ready to start until noon. This automatically deleted the Royal Lazienki museum because of both routing and the vast amount to see there, so giving myself a little grace it was on to the viewing terrace.
Both the palace and the Warsaw senate buildings are in the peak of restoration so Google Maps struggled to get me to the entrance no matter how many times I refreshed my phone. After stopping every Pole under 30 nearby (most likely to speak English) I landed on the entrance to the building, tucked in the very last corner of the complex.
The lift to the 30th floor was surprisingly fast and I managed to cut in front of 40 million middle schoolers (thanks Warsaw Pass) and was ready to shoot pictures before the pimply hordes ascended.
I don’t remember this feature at the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building viewing terraces, but this terrace had four large wall posters that gave extensive information about the buildings you could see from above and cultural insights of Warsaw.
I also noticed locks at every step up, similar to what you see in the canals in Amsterdam, which I thought gave it a whimsical touch.
You could also see the edges of Old Town, which I will save for a post later.
The rest of the complex is devoted to the arts and there seemed to be some guest actors queued up for a little later in the month in the theater next door.
It’s easy to see that this complex was built in the 1950’s, 1952 in fact, because the sculptures that line it are chunky concrete and not the finely carved limestone and other materials found in other countries in Europe.
The next attraction on my CityPass list was the Copernicus Science center and Planetarium. According to Google maps, it was a short walk away. According to Warsaw public transit schedules 2025, it was 25 minutes by transport in the opposite direction of the Vodka Museum. I also learned, after I bought the pass, that the Planetarium would not reopen from repairs until April 15, so given the bulk of the science exhibits were in Polish, with only Polish guides, and it was pushing 3pm, I crossed it off my list and headed for the Vodka Museum.