Sightseeing in Lublin, Poland - Part IV: Swinging by Ogród Saski and a freestyle walkabout (April 2026)

Finished with my Castle / Museum visit, the next thing I wanted to see was Ogród Saski, which would be about a 25-30 minute walk, passing through Old Town and then the main drag of Krakowskie Przedmieście, which extends beyond the multimedia fountain into the more modern part of town.

First, you follow this fairytale-esque road toward Brama Grodzka.

Whenever you pass through a gate like this into an old town it's mandatory that you take pictures from both sides, so I obliged.

This facade caught my attention.

Unclear if it is a museum? Store? Just an installation done by Andzrej Kot? Or in honor of him? Regardless, eye catching and pretty cool.

Not far away you see that some of the structures are still in renovation mode. I would say that compared to what I saw in Łodz, Lublin had fewer project buildings being worked on like this.

Another obligatory shot, this one of Plac Po Farze.

Came across another billy goat. And noted an interesting looking restaurant through this little tunnel.

(That's Małe Indie, and it seems like they have two locations. One at Rynek 5, the other at Rybna 2, right around the corner from each other. Well-reviewed.)

Kept heading west, toward Brama Krakowska. Saw another billy goat and a spectacular poster. Wish I saw a smaller version of that design for sale.

The IBB Grand Hotel perhaps marks the transition from the more touristic part of downtown to the more 'local' part.

That mural over in the background is apparently titled 'Dead Ambitions'.

Passed Ukrainoczka and looking at some of the pictures posted to its google maps listing, I'm wishing I ducked in to check out the snack selection.

Next slice that caught my attention was this little mixed residential / commercial sidestreet near ParZona. Reminded me of similar scenes from Paris, or Bucharest, or even the Vomero section of Naples (which is a previous trip I need to get captured here).

Finally made it to Ogród Saski. Watched this couple walk holding hands, thought of the future version of me and Judy, hopefully still traveling.

I did not have time to leisurely stroll through the rest of the park. Looked quite nice. Those folks in the apartment buildings nearby are fortunate to have it in their backyard.

Having seen the park for myself, which is always a good idea as not all 'parks' that you see in google maps are created equal, I started to make my way back to the apartment via a secondary street running parallel to the main drag.

I didn't map out the route like this in real time. That is more to illustrate the wandering I did according to the pictures I took. First pitstop was deliberate, though, to see Hotel Wieniawski, which is one of the partners we work with in Lublin.

(Pics looking in either direction from the front of Hotel Wieniawski. Solid option for those who prefer to stay in parts of town that feel more 'local'.)

Kept walking and snapping some general vibe shots.

(Can't help myself. Still something about reading 'Alkohole' over Polish liquor stores makes me chuckle. This one, Vegas 24, has decent reviews fwiw.)

Some strong billboards for the local hometown brewery. I did not have a chance to try the 9.1%(!) version. Next time maybe.

More vibe shots. Loved the second one even before I noticed that I captured what is apparently a top cinnamon roll bakery joint.

(Thought I was just taking a bus stop scene in front of a generic facade. But that's Zawijane Cinnamon Rolls Bakery, and if you click the foto for a higher res version you can see that the young women on the bench apparently just secured a box of the good stuff for themselves.)

One more stylish shop caught my eye. Kind of place I imagine the wife would have wanted to check out.

(NARUTOWICZA21 - Sistu Concept Store)

Made my way up to that stretch of Krakowskie Przedmieśie that I had walked the night before. Certainly more activity here early afternoon. And very easy to see how it would be terrific to enjoy during some warmer, sunnier days.

(This Pelier Bistro has a 4.8 rating on 3386 reviews. Seems good.)

Got a daytime pic of the Browar Perla building that I passed the night before.

Also captured a shot of "Mural "Polska na tak - 11.11.2025", which was right up the street from my apartment.

Already feeling nostalgic for my time here in Lublin I took a pic of the building I was staying in, with my blue Renault Clio rental out front.

I noticed behind me an open parking entrance and decided to take a look, see what I was missing by not being able to access mine.

Net - I wasn't missing much.

Last shots of the day were taken when, while catching up on some work stuff, I heard the telltale sounds of a tow truck out in the street. Suddenly unsure of my ability to pull a properly valid 'parking ticket', I leapt to the window.

Renault was all good. At least, mine was. They were taking that black one.

Sightseeing in Lublin, Poland - Part III: Lublin Castle / National Museum of Lublin (April 2026)

Moving into the afternoon of my April Wednesday in Lublin, after visiting the Lublin Village Open Air Museum and Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva Synagogue, I went back to the apartment, parked the car, most likely ate something quick from Zabka, and started walking up to Lublin Castle. It takes about 20 minutes to walk up there, heading north on Zamojska to Wyszyńskiego, then I took the east curving loop, skirting around old town.

It was a quiet, peaceful walk.

(Love this shot)

Got my first glimpse of the tower.

Not sure exactly what we are looking at here, but I love me some symmetrical European facades, so I took the picture.

And then we turn around and see the facade of the Castle complex itself.

Now, if you check the Castle's Wikipedia entry you will see a lot of history and maybe learn a thing or two. Something relevant has been on this site for 900 years. I learned what a 'keep' is (fortified tower within medieval castles, kind of their version of a safe room or nuclear bunker). Some of the history is proud and impressive, like the signing of the Union of Lublin in 1569. A good chunk of the history is sad. Between 1828 and the 1950s it served as a prison / torture compound for various regimes. You get some of this on the explanatory signage outside the compound, too.

Since 1957 it has served primarily as the home for the National Museum When you pop inside you get a little bit of Castle history. But not before you go through a hall of featured paintings.

I was under the impression that the entrance I purchased had a fixed time slot on it, so I raced through the gallery rooms and made my way over to the 'keep', which has an open observation area at the top, where I snagged a video and a couple of pics.

(Beautiful, no?)

The climb up was pretty interesting. A spiral staircase of stone steps with some uneven heights and different styles between levels. And it was kind of cramped. Anyone particularly tall or large may not enjoy the climb very much. I snapped shots on the way down. Note, these are only some of the levels, I didn't capture every level.

I made my way all the way down to the lower level where you find this memorial to those who died during the Nazi and Soviet occupations around WWII.

Satisfied that I covered the tower / keep within my allocated time slot, I made my way through the various museum exhibits. And wow, what a variety of things they have. If you are a museum person and have the time to engage with all the exhibits, there is a lot. I could have benefited from a guide for sure. But then, I simply didn't have time for a longer visit. What follows are just the things that caught my eye in chronological order.

First was this guy. Very arresting when you encounter him in the space. He may or may not have been of the culture that was using the clay vessels on display in the following foto.

Then, more warriors, plus examples of what I guess they used to kill you if you tried to harass their womenfolk or otherwise disturb the peace.

Next, some fancy 19th century furnishings. Lovely wooden whatever that thing is.

Then there was the special exhibition on Tamara Łempicka, who I had never heard of.

Her Wikipedia entry is a great read. And I was surprised to hear of the Mexico connection, as she lived her final years in Cuernavaca. Who knew? The gallery had vibes for sure.

And check out these self-portrait shots.

I think that's what they'd call 'aura' today. Maybe? Not sure if I have that lingo right.

Finished with my museum / castle visit, I popped outside and took some broader setting shots before leaving.

And how beautiful is this view as you head into the heart of Stare Miasto?