Warsaw Tour Guide, Ela Rudniak

It magically stopped raining just before the Maria Skłodowska-Curie walk. A small miracle in Warsaw this week (Dziękuję Mario 🙏). And here we are two hours later: a lovely little group of visitors from Canada, France (bien sûr), the Philippines, and Poland. Maria is clearly still an inspirational figure for the young.

Just outside Warsaw, there is a place where nature, history and peace&quiet meet.

The Stawy Raszyńskie Nature Reserve was created in 1978 to protect one of the most important bird habitats in the region. Today, around 100 bird species nest here regularly, while many more appear during migration seasons. Herons, marsh birds, dragonflies, beavers and even otters can be spotted among the ponds, reeds and wetlands. I spotted wild geese today (brown-grey geese, not the white ones).

But this landscape also carries history. Near the reserve stands a memorial connected with the 1809 Battle of Raszyn, where Polish troops led by Józef Poniatowski (the king’s nephew) resisted the Austrian army. Another monument commemorates civilians and prisoners murdered here during World War II.

What I love about places like this is that beyond the Old Town and royal routes, there are hidden spaces where nature and memory quietly coexist.

Sights like this one remind us that sometimes to come across an interesting story, one needs to go slightly off the main tourist trail.