The call of Poland was strong after my 2013 visit to the Nazi Death Camps that was the reason for that first visit.

Any visit to Poland however can not exclude the death of Jews, Rommany and many others at the hands of the Germans. Even today you will not find that history taught to the students in schools. So Germany wake up and accept the past!

The other aspect of Poland as a whole that was very evident in Warsaw the Capital of Poland is the Soviet influence on architecture.

The ride down into Poland showed a clear emphasis on agriculture with well tendered fields, and modern farm buildings in the whole. The Northern part of Poland again dominated by Wheat,Barley,Rye, Rape and Corn.

The border crossing was a non event as one lone Police car with numerous officers using field glasses awaited an unknown but obiviously expecting a non welcome traveller.

With so many countries to travel to the kilometers rack up very quickly and alread an additional 7000kms since the last service had elapsed so I was booked in to Triumph Warsaw who did a oil & filter change and a quick check over all for about what I would normally pay for oil and parts in Australia.

Then after a heavy traffic run into almost the centre of warsaw in peak hours had me arriving at my hotel The Hampton by Hilton. An unusual event that i rarely encounter is a lift that takes all vehicles down at least 3 underground levels to the car park. Normally a guest is not permitted into the carpark but they do not ride motorcycles so we accompanied them down and secured them before riding back up in the vehicle elevator.

Now the heading states The Rolling Stones or Christopher why? Well over dinner at The hard Rock cafe Warsaw a short walk from the hotel,guests sitting opposite asked if the reason for the visit was to attend the Rolling Stones concert on saturday night. Well no to be honest didnt even know it was at the National Stadium with virtually all the 70000+ tickets sold out.

Warsaw is Polands largest city but still only contains less then 2 million n the city and some 3million in the outer Metro area.

many will also know the name Warszawa which is the Polish word for the Capital Like Krakow it has the Vistula River which is crossed by numerous bridges and provides a series of well attended beaches in the Summer.

Warsaw has many of the features of Western European cities such as paris and before the almost total destruction of the city at the personal direction of Hitler contained many similiar features.

Occupied later by the Soviets they tried to reconstruct a "beautiful city"by such large scale buildings as Congress Hall modeled after the Empire State Building in the US but extensively changed?

The Grand theatre infact is the largest theatre in Europe and boasts the biggest stage in the world. I guess with Chopin coming from Warsaw culturally they have to keep up.

Modern Warsaw is many areas was literally built on top of the rumble left after WW2 when over 85% of the city disappeared. hence slopes up to city blocks are common.

No visit to warsaw would be complete without a visit to the Jewish Museum and homage to the infamous Ghetto.

Unfortunately I was unable to visit the Warsaw Multimedia Fountain Park beside the Vistula River where a stunning display of lights,waer fountains and sound is performed. During the day the fountains especially in Summer provide a welcome play area for children and a cooling off spot for adults.

Modern Warsaw as my photo's depict is dominated by Skyscrapers and a skyline of construction cranes. These large building feature unique shapes and openings in stark constrast to the Soviet Era buildings that belie their relatively modern construction eg 1950's.

The old city contrasts with great attention to building detail and colourful pastal colours as opposed to the reds & browns of post Soviet constructions.