Warsaw

My 10 day excursion finally ended in Warsaw, where unfair to the city I was exhausted and coming off a natural high from Krakow. Unlike Krakow, Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during WWII. Therefore, the city has a newness to it. When the train pulled into the central station, it did so underground. When you come up from above, you feel like you've arrived in another country, it seemed that much different.

There is a definite hustle and bustle to Warsaw. It's a pretty big city, and it's where the big jobs seem to be. The architecture is very interesting. After the war, the city was under socialist rule for 50 years. Therefore, the Soviets rebuilt much of the city, and many of the buildings have a square grey communist appearance. I believe the proper architectural term is social realism. I would call it depressing architecture built after a depressing period in time. Juxtaposed next to those buildings though are large glass sky scrapers that mark the movement into capitalism. There is one structure the Soviets seemed to get right, the Palace of Culture and Science which is pictured.

Even though it was almost completely destroyed, the "old town" was rebuilt after the war to resemble its old form. That is where I spent most of my time, basically sitting, relaxing, and eating. My budget fully enjoyed the cheaper prices in Poland. The old town contained more of the cultural sites of Warsaw, including the reconstructed palace that was rebuilt after the war. Many of the artifacts inside were hidden from the Nazis during occupation. I tried to visit the palace, but 10 minutes into my tour I encountered a frustrating communication problem with one of the employees inside. I could tell by her tone of voice I was in the wrong place and that she wanted me to leave. I think I entered through the exit and she assumed I already went through the museum and was trying to go through again. Oh well, I just left. I quickly realized it was more tapestries and chairs where old royals once sat.

I had one full day, and then two half days to see the city which proved to be enough. My one full day I spent walking around looking at war time sights. A couple of my favorites included the Umschlagplatz, a large monument commemorating the point at which Jews in the Warsaw ghetto were rounded up and sent to the death camp in Treblinka. I also got to the see the remnants of the old ghetto wall, which was a lot higher then I thought it would be.

The city is very proud of the Warsaw uprising, during which the Polish underground launched an attack on their Nazi occupants towards the end of the war. There are various monuments throughout the city which portray the role citizens, particularly children, played in the event. After experiencing Warsaw, and seeing some of its most famous sites, you really get a feel for and understand the movie "The Pianist". I'm looking forward to watching it again when I return home.

In 2004, they constructed a museum dedicated to the uprising, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting the city. It shows the struggle of the people during the war, the planning and execution of the uprising, and the subsequent "reward" of socialism which came out of it. The feeling I got out of it was that they got the short end of the stick in the end, and had to endure a tougher rebuilding period.

For the most part though, I was lazy and kind of loafed around. I spent a good chunk of time eating and reading my book. I wanted to taste what Poland had to offer, although I didn't dare try the pig's knuckle which every place seemed to serve. I do recommend the dumplings though. Very good! I had the sour kraut and mushroom dumplings, although I'm sure the meat ones were good as well.

In all, my 10 day trip was educational and rewarding. Nice weather followed me everywhere I went, and my cheeks and neck got plenty of sun. It looks like my head was literally removed from one body and put on another body. The tan line is comical. Poland is a beautiful country, and exceeded my expectations. Hungary also is great and was a nice little addition to the itinerary.