Warszawa

I spent only a short time in Warsaw, and unfortunately the damage inflicted upon it first by WWII and latterly by communism have detracted enormously from its appeal to me.

The high-rise buildings distinguish it from many of the Central and Eastern European capitals, but the city does not have the same sense of energy and purpose as Prague, Budapest, Bratislava or Bucharest.

OK, we did go there when it was raining non stop, so I have to admit I’m probably influenced by the weather. There are some nice things to see in Warsaw (the Jewish graveyard is gorgeous) and the place has a fascinating if somewhat dreadful history. But as a city… It’s hollow. It was blown to smithereens in WWII and then rebuilt. It’s a business city now. But it has no heart. Barely any Poles live in the rebuilt old center, which is only a nice facade for tourist. It reminded me a lot of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Rotterdam was bombed in WWII and was completely rebuilt as well. Though it is now a very interesting place with museums and good nightlife, it also lacks that old city feel.

If you want to go to Warsaw, visit the fantastic Bistro 44. Saved us from quite a few rainclouds.

Grandparents came from Poland when they were children.

Visited museum with old Soviet tanks, very cool. Also went to huge outdoor flea market, bought old WWII and Soviet medals. Probably fakes, but it was fun. Wish I could have toured more and seen the ghetto museum (I’m just assuming there are some?).

Check out the beautiful parks and eat pierogies. Watch out for scams in restaurants (review your bill carefully).

Poland is lovee<3

Your perception of Warsaw will depend very much upon the season ou go in. Winter can be very harsh and I would reccomend spring as the ideal time- in summer it can be much too hot and stuffy.

There’s an admirable seriousnesss about Warsaw. There are pretty Baroque and Nineteenth century quarters, and some hefty Stalinist archtiecture.

In fact I would like to work there. This is connected with my goal at 43things: http://www.43things.com/entries/view/1343116.

Actually I’m going to Warsaw tomorrow. Going for a week. All my Polish friends in Paisley (all from Krakow) want me to visit their town as they say Warsaw is dreary, but I am going to make the most of it as the day after I arrive is my birthday, and I already have 3 friends who live here. I can’t wait!

I lived for 8 years in a city called Lodz which is in the centre of Poland about 150kms away from Warsaw. Whilst Lodz is a drab, grey industrial city, Warsaw has the true feel and look of an old European city steeped in history.

More importantly for me it is here that the true love of my life resides, Marta. We met on a tram. We fell in love and now I am in Dubai.

So sad. Just passing ships in the night of an eternal ocean.

Warsaw is for me the City of Love