The Lithuanian postcards were actually printed in Moscow in 1990, before the collapse of Soviet Union. Poland has never been a part of Soviet Union but suffered a long term isolation from the West until 1989. Following first democratic elections, Poland became free from the Communist regime. I was 8 years back then. The life went on. It was not easy as prices went up despite increasing job insecurity and relatively low wages. I left Poland in 2003, one year before the EU enlargement.
Now, each time I am back to Poland, I am reminded about the recent Polish history. In Gdańsk, newly opened European Solidarity Centre, in Warsaw, the Warsaw Raising Museum, in Kraków, Oscar Schindler's Factory.
In this travel blog, I will be describing places visited by my partner Ignacio and I while on a 2 week tour around Poland in August 2014. I will be also making frequent references to transport including mini-buses, trains, trams, planes, ferries and bicycles...
Now, each time I am back to Poland, I am reminded about the recent Polish history. In Gdańsk, newly opened European Solidarity Centre, in Warsaw, the Warsaw Raising Museum, in Kraków, Oscar Schindler's Factory.
In this travel blog, I will be describing places visited by my partner Ignacio and I while on a 2 week tour around Poland in August 2014. I will be also making frequent references to transport including mini-buses, trains, trams, planes, ferries and bicycles...
KAZIMIERZ DOLNY
We flew into Warsaw at 11 in the morning. We headed to Plac Defilad (Parade Square) located at the bottom of Warsaw's famous Pałac Kultury i Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science). This square serves today as station for mini-buses. Our next destination - Kazimierz Dolny nad Wisłą (on the Vistula river).
Last time I visited Kazimierz Dolny when I was on a school trip some 15 years ago. I think of Kazimierz as a typical destination for school children and Warsaw residents who choose to escape to the countryside. The town indeed attracts many Polish tourists who admire Kazimierz for its Renaissance architecture and unique charm. Kazimierz Dolny is also famous for its old market square where is not uncommon to meet local artist painting its unique landscape.
So what should it say at the back of my first postcard ? Bank of Vistula river - the longest river in Poland.
While walking along the river we reached trekking path leading up to Korzeniowy Dół (Roots George), a type of holloway where tree roots and shrubs resemble live sculptures formed as a result of water erosion of loess rock
Kazimierz proved to be a peace making place for two of us arriving from restless city of London. With no much hassle, we found a room in one of private houses on Ulica Nadrzeczna (Riverside Street). It is common in Poland to rent a room while passing by houses with a board displayed on the window: Wolne Pokoje (Vacant rooms).
Once a year Kazimierz Dolny becomes known for its film festival when makers, journalist and enthusiasts of Polish cinema gather together. The festival is known as Dwa Brzegi (Two Riversides). Although, we have narrowly missed the festival, I was told that one of the highlights of the festival, was Polish film Ida, also widely shown in London cinemas. Ida is a black and white film, which brilliantly shows a life of individuals in communist Poland including Ida whose complicated story is followed in this film. I will say no more but just agree with my Spanish friend Carlos who said about Ida: every shot is a masterpiece...
So what should it say at the back of my first postcard ? Bank of Vistula river - the longest river in Poland.
While walking along the river we reached trekking path leading up to Korzeniowy Dół (Roots George), a type of holloway where tree roots and shrubs resemble live sculptures formed as a result of water erosion of loess rock
Kazimierz proved to be a peace making place for two of us arriving from restless city of London. With no much hassle, we found a room in one of private houses on Ulica Nadrzeczna (Riverside Street). It is common in Poland to rent a room while passing by houses with a board displayed on the window: Wolne Pokoje (Vacant rooms).
Once a year Kazimierz Dolny becomes known for its film festival when makers, journalist and enthusiasts of Polish cinema gather together. The festival is known as Dwa Brzegi (Two Riversides). Although, we have narrowly missed the festival, I was told that one of the highlights of the festival, was Polish film Ida, also widely shown in London cinemas. Ida is a black and white film, which brilliantly shows a life of individuals in communist Poland including Ida whose complicated story is followed in this film. I will say no more but just agree with my Spanish friend Carlos who said about Ida: every shot is a masterpiece...
KRAKÓW
To cross 300km distance to Kraków, I chose to travel in a mini-bus. The mini-bus network in Poland has been thriving. Road transport became less regulated attracting small enterprises to offer mini-bus services. These mini-buses usually take up to 15 passengers. Most of collective road transport schedules and stops are accessible through a journey planner called Podróżnik (The Traveller). Along Poland's dense railway network, mini-bus services provide a great option for travelling between smaller towns where railway connections are limited and public bus services not very well developed.
We had to get to Kraków early. We had a meeting at Museum of Mineralogy at the Uniwersytet Jagieloński. The purpose of our meeting was to take photos of mineralogical collection of Ignacy Domeyko, Polish scientist who emigrated to Chile in 1834. Some of his mineral collection travelled with him back to Poland in late XIX century. It was his mineral collection we were following during our journey in Poland as part of our artistic project Mapping Domeyko.
There are two locations of Ignacy Domeyko's mineral collection in Kraków. One at Uniwersytet Jagieloński and the other one at Polish Academy of Science where we headed next to take photos of a couple very heavy meteorites brought by Domeyko in 1884 from Chile during his first return trip to Poland. Geological museums have very interesting spaces. Visiting these spaces in old parts of Kraków felt like following some mission from Da Vinci Code or TV series from my childhood Tajna Misja (Mission Top Secret) where every episode was settled in a different city of Europe including mysterious Kraków.
Once our mission was done we were ready to fully relish other great things about Kraków - food.
There are now many new restaurants in Kraków which I have not known from my previous visits in the city. Natalia and Carlos, a pair of Amsterdammers, who used to live in Kraków and London are now experts on eating out in Kraków. Natalia is a good friend I met in London while Carlos used to be my Spanish teacher. I developed my vocabulary and improved my conversational Spanish a lot thanks to Carlos. His style and interests in culture and design are well reflected in his Spanish Tuition website.
Natalia and Carlos were great hosts. They took us to several very good modern eateries which attract the locals fond of socialising as well as constantly increasing number of foreign visitors.
Let's start with sushi. Youmiko...a small but very friendly place with perfectly made sushi. Youmiko's uramakis and sashimis had glorious taste...There was a lot of fun at Youmiko until a neighbour came down from her flat above to silence us. It was 12am though.
Next day, we had a lunch at Bistro Magnes where beautifully designed and highly tasty dishes are served. We were told the chief is trained by some best chiefs in Poland. The restaurant is conveniently located next to Kościół Mariacki (St. Mary's Basilica) in the heart of Kraków.
Twój Kucharz (Your Chief) is a restaurant open in Summer 2014 in outskirts of Kraków by a young chief who spent several years in London working in restaurants. The restaurant has rather impressive open kitchen where food is prepared in front of its customers. However, the food was not that impressive. I have also learnt that beer Ciechan which we were served in Twój Kucharz comes from a brewery whose owner have been making several homophobic public. No more Ciechan in my menu please!
On the other hand, I can strongly recommend Nova, querkie venue decorated in 1960s brown-yellow colour scheme, which serves delicious breakfast. I had boiled eggs served with healthy style Polish rye bread. They also have a variety of cocktail fruit juices.
On a night out, Kiełbaska z niebieskiej Nyski (Sausage from a blue Nysa-van) is must. It is served from 8pm to 3am near Hala Targowa (Market Hall) on a way from the Old Town to famous Jewish neighbourhood of Kraków, Kazimierz. This is not the same Kazimierz from the first postcard though!
We had to get to Kraków early. We had a meeting at Museum of Mineralogy at the Uniwersytet Jagieloński. The purpose of our meeting was to take photos of mineralogical collection of Ignacy Domeyko, Polish scientist who emigrated to Chile in 1834. Some of his mineral collection travelled with him back to Poland in late XIX century. It was his mineral collection we were following during our journey in Poland as part of our artistic project Mapping Domeyko.
There are two locations of Ignacy Domeyko's mineral collection in Kraków. One at Uniwersytet Jagieloński and the other one at Polish Academy of Science where we headed next to take photos of a couple very heavy meteorites brought by Domeyko in 1884 from Chile during his first return trip to Poland. Geological museums have very interesting spaces. Visiting these spaces in old parts of Kraków felt like following some mission from Da Vinci Code or TV series from my childhood Tajna Misja (Mission Top Secret) where every episode was settled in a different city of Europe including mysterious Kraków.
Once our mission was done we were ready to fully relish other great things about Kraków - food.
There are now many new restaurants in Kraków which I have not known from my previous visits in the city. Natalia and Carlos, a pair of Amsterdammers, who used to live in Kraków and London are now experts on eating out in Kraków. Natalia is a good friend I met in London while Carlos used to be my Spanish teacher. I developed my vocabulary and improved my conversational Spanish a lot thanks to Carlos. His style and interests in culture and design are well reflected in his Spanish Tuition website.
Natalia and Carlos were great hosts. They took us to several very good modern eateries which attract the locals fond of socialising as well as constantly increasing number of foreign visitors.
Let's start with sushi. Youmiko...a small but very friendly place with perfectly made sushi. Youmiko's uramakis and sashimis had glorious taste...There was a lot of fun at Youmiko until a neighbour came down from her flat above to silence us. It was 12am though.
Next day, we had a lunch at Bistro Magnes where beautifully designed and highly tasty dishes are served. We were told the chief is trained by some best chiefs in Poland. The restaurant is conveniently located next to Kościół Mariacki (St. Mary's Basilica) in the heart of Kraków.
Twój Kucharz (Your Chief) is a restaurant open in Summer 2014 in outskirts of Kraków by a young chief who spent several years in London working in restaurants. The restaurant has rather impressive open kitchen where food is prepared in front of its customers. However, the food was not that impressive. I have also learnt that beer Ciechan which we were served in Twój Kucharz comes from a brewery whose owner have been making several homophobic public. No more Ciechan in my menu please!
On the other hand, I can strongly recommend Nova, querkie venue decorated in 1960s brown-yellow colour scheme, which serves delicious breakfast. I had boiled eggs served with healthy style Polish rye bread. They also have a variety of cocktail fruit juices.
On a night out, Kiełbaska z niebieskiej Nyski (Sausage from a blue Nysa-van) is must. It is served from 8pm to 3am near Hala Targowa (Market Hall) on a way from the Old Town to famous Jewish neighbourhood of Kraków, Kazimierz. This is not the same Kazimierz from the first postcard though!
There is no better way riding a bicycle in Kraków in the rain than the one shown in my second postcard. Bicycles might not be as popular as in Amsterdam but this type of transport in on a rise in Kraków and other parts of Poland. Kraków was the first city in Poland to implement a public bike scheme.
CZĘSTOCHOWA
We arrived to Częstochowa, my home town, the city actually (230 thousands citizens) by Tanie Linie Kolejowe (Cheap Rail Lines) operated by PKP Intercity. Trains in Poland are getting improved and more comfortable. Refurbished carriages, more numerous brand new sets of regional trains and brighten up train stations would appeal to any passengers. A new high speed train Pendolino has been launched as I am writing this blog. However, frequently one is still lucky to travel in an old fashion compartments with manual large windows.
It is a blast looking out the window in such a carriage when it's warm. But do not overreach your hand. Polish railway are electrified in 90% and rail routes are accompanied by overheads mounted on poles along the tracks and can be dangerous when trains run at a high speed.
At Kraków Główny (Kraków Main Station) there are English speaking ticket counters. However, tickets can also be bought on line through PKP website. For timetables use the same website or you can contact me
It is a blast looking out the window in such a carriage when it's warm. But do not overreach your hand. Polish railway are electrified in 90% and rail routes are accompanied by overheads mounted on poles along the tracks and can be dangerous when trains run at a high speed.
At Kraków Główny (Kraków Main Station) there are English speaking ticket counters. However, tickets can also be bought on line through PKP website. For timetables use the same website or you can contact me
The postcard from Częstochowa shows a train running to Koluszki via Piotrków Trybunalski. This is not a Pendolino. This a refurbished Elektryczny Zespół Trakcyjny (Electric Multiple Unit) which has been serving Polish passengers for many years.
This picture was taken near my High School I attended nearly 15 years ago. This is also my dad's shortcut on my a way from the fruit and vegetable market known as Ryneczek (Little Central Market).
Częstochowa is a pilgrimage destination. Every August many people walk for days to reach Częstochowa from across Poland. In my childhood I used to watch groups of people marching along Aleja Najświętsza Marii Panny (Avenue of the Blessed Virgin Mary), the last section of their pilgrimage before landing up at Jasna Góra (Luminous Mount), the most famous Polish monastery. Jasna Góra is a home to Black Madonna icon, known as a miracle icon because it survived many battles since its creation in I century. Black Madonna icon can be recognised by a double face scar as a result of being badly damaged by Hussite raiders in 1430.
This picture was taken near my High School I attended nearly 15 years ago. This is also my dad's shortcut on my a way from the fruit and vegetable market known as Ryneczek (Little Central Market).
Częstochowa is a pilgrimage destination. Every August many people walk for days to reach Częstochowa from across Poland. In my childhood I used to watch groups of people marching along Aleja Najświętsza Marii Panny (Avenue of the Blessed Virgin Mary), the last section of their pilgrimage before landing up at Jasna Góra (Luminous Mount), the most famous Polish monastery. Jasna Góra is a home to Black Madonna icon, known as a miracle icon because it survived many battles since its creation in I century. Black Madonna icon can be recognised by a double face scar as a result of being badly damaged by Hussite raiders in 1430.
GDAŃSK
We were invited to stay in artist residence of Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art. This was linked to our project about Ignacy Domeyko. From Gdańsk Główny (Gdańsk Main Station) we took tram to get to our destination in Nowy Port (New Port) where Łaźnia 2 is situated. This is next to the actual seaport of Gdańsk where we witnessed arrival of a big ferry, M/F Scandinavia from Stockholm. It was fascinating watching for over half an hour this impressive boat steadily docking in Gdańsk's port. The title of my third postcard is Gdańsk New Port - arrival of the ferry.
Staying next to the seaport added another dimension to our nights. I enjoyed hearing new to my ears noise coming our from the port i.e. chimneys of ships and moving cranes, on a clear summer night. It was a regular noise, repeating throughout the whole night, which I had not been familiar with before.
Staying next to the seaport added another dimension to our nights. I enjoyed hearing new to my ears noise coming our from the port i.e. chimneys of ships and moving cranes, on a clear summer night. It was a regular noise, repeating throughout the whole night, which I had not been familiar with before.
Gdańsk known also as Danzig has a very interesting history. It formed in 997 by Kingdom of Poland, then belonged to Teutonic Knights, became a part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, fell under Prussia and later German Empire. After the World War I, Gdańsk was converted into the Free City, an independent city with its own constitution, anthem and currency. It was mainly home to Germans and Poles, until 1939 when the World War II begun. Since the end of the Wolrd War II, Gdańsk returned to Poland.
One of the most famous events at the start of the war is the defence of the Polish Post Office in Gdańsk. For 15 hours Post Office clerks managed to fight back German soldiers, forcing them to ceasefire. However, after sending for more reinforcements German army put the Post Office on fire and kill most defenders. Remaining Post Office clerks were sent to death penalty and executed by firing squad a month later. Today, the building of the Post Office in Gdańsk is still functioning as a post office. A small museum is held inside the building to memorise the bravery of the Gdańsk's Post Office workers. It also symbolises importance of the post office as a institution in general. The events of the defence were described in Günter Grass' book The Tim Drum which was adapted into an Oscar winning film under the same title.
Gdańsk also became a symbol of collapse of Communist regime. In 1980 workers of the huge Gdańsk Shipyard went on strike in light of growing economic problems and strengthened censorship in Poland at the time. These events led to the formation of the independent trade union known as Solidarity. The organisation formed by workers from Gdańsk Shipyard played a tremendous role in resistance to Communist dictatorship in Eastern Europe which finally fell in 1989. Poland was the first country to break free of Soviet subjection.
The famous shipyard can be easily seen from the tram stop outside Gdańsk Główny (Main station). Next to the shipyard, a huge construction was risen in 2014 to celebrate Solidarity movement and European integration. Ignacio and I have seen the construction from outside several times. It was perfectly visible from our tram journeys to Nowy Port. The building, which resembles a rusty boat is home to a newly opened European Solidarity Centre. Although, we have had no opportunity to visit it because the opening of the venue happened two days after we left Gdańsk, I have learnt about this new centre from my mum's favourite TV channel, TVP Kultura while enjoying my hometime in Częstochowa.
Instead, we spent a lot of time in Łaźnia (Bathhouse) which consists of two sites at different ends of the city known as Łaźnia 1 and Łaźnia 2. They are located in rusty parts of Gdańsk where regeneration projects are taking part. Both buildings had been serving as bathhouses indeed. Now they house a contemporary art centre.
Gdańsk is a perfect starting point to fashionable Polish seaside towns such as Chałupy (Cottages), Dębki (Little Oaks) or Hel (literally nothing to do with hell). The latter is situated on the tip of a 33km long, very thin peninsula (scroll up to see the map). It is a final destination for 1953 Polish film Pociąg (Train but published in English as Night Train) about mysterious murder on a train service to the seaside.
There is also Sopot, where we decided to go one morning. Sopot is a posh version of seaside town of Poland. It can be reached by SKM - Szybka Kolej Miejska (Fast Urban Railway) in less tan 20min. Sopot is famous for well established Polish music festival which used to attract a lot of artists from Soviet block countries in the Communist past. Sopot has the longest wooden pier in Europe, first open in 1827. Molo (Pier) is now fitted with ticket gates similar to those seen at underground stations. We chose to avoid the pier and turned left to walk along the beach. After a half an hour walk we reached to a bar right on the beach where we had beer and very nice Polish fish and chips indeed.
One of the most famous events at the start of the war is the defence of the Polish Post Office in Gdańsk. For 15 hours Post Office clerks managed to fight back German soldiers, forcing them to ceasefire. However, after sending for more reinforcements German army put the Post Office on fire and kill most defenders. Remaining Post Office clerks were sent to death penalty and executed by firing squad a month later. Today, the building of the Post Office in Gdańsk is still functioning as a post office. A small museum is held inside the building to memorise the bravery of the Gdańsk's Post Office workers. It also symbolises importance of the post office as a institution in general. The events of the defence were described in Günter Grass' book The Tim Drum which was adapted into an Oscar winning film under the same title.
Gdańsk also became a symbol of collapse of Communist regime. In 1980 workers of the huge Gdańsk Shipyard went on strike in light of growing economic problems and strengthened censorship in Poland at the time. These events led to the formation of the independent trade union known as Solidarity. The organisation formed by workers from Gdańsk Shipyard played a tremendous role in resistance to Communist dictatorship in Eastern Europe which finally fell in 1989. Poland was the first country to break free of Soviet subjection.
The famous shipyard can be easily seen from the tram stop outside Gdańsk Główny (Main station). Next to the shipyard, a huge construction was risen in 2014 to celebrate Solidarity movement and European integration. Ignacio and I have seen the construction from outside several times. It was perfectly visible from our tram journeys to Nowy Port. The building, which resembles a rusty boat is home to a newly opened European Solidarity Centre. Although, we have had no opportunity to visit it because the opening of the venue happened two days after we left Gdańsk, I have learnt about this new centre from my mum's favourite TV channel, TVP Kultura while enjoying my hometime in Częstochowa.
Instead, we spent a lot of time in Łaźnia (Bathhouse) which consists of two sites at different ends of the city known as Łaźnia 1 and Łaźnia 2. They are located in rusty parts of Gdańsk where regeneration projects are taking part. Both buildings had been serving as bathhouses indeed. Now they house a contemporary art centre.
Gdańsk is a perfect starting point to fashionable Polish seaside towns such as Chałupy (Cottages), Dębki (Little Oaks) or Hel (literally nothing to do with hell). The latter is situated on the tip of a 33km long, very thin peninsula (scroll up to see the map). It is a final destination for 1953 Polish film Pociąg (Train but published in English as Night Train) about mysterious murder on a train service to the seaside.
There is also Sopot, where we decided to go one morning. Sopot is a posh version of seaside town of Poland. It can be reached by SKM - Szybka Kolej Miejska (Fast Urban Railway) in less tan 20min. Sopot is famous for well established Polish music festival which used to attract a lot of artists from Soviet block countries in the Communist past. Sopot has the longest wooden pier in Europe, first open in 1827. Molo (Pier) is now fitted with ticket gates similar to those seen at underground stations. We chose to avoid the pier and turned left to walk along the beach. After a half an hour walk we reached to a bar right on the beach where we had beer and very nice Polish fish and chips indeed.
WARSZAWA
The adventurous journey from Gdańsk to Warsaw was provided by Polish Cheap Rail Lines, which now requires their passengers to make seat reservation before travel. This new strategy was inforced by the train company in order to manage overcrowding on Polish long distance railways. Somewhat it works, as we could not reserve the train we wanted even in one day in advance. All seats were sold out. We had a choice between hopping on that train without the reservation or catching another train that was departing one hour later.
We decided to take a chance and travel on the earlier train without seat reservation. I strategically positioned ourselves at the front of the platform. Somehow I had a feeling by doing that, we were going to get more chances to find some seating. It reminded me of when as a little boy my mum and I used to wait for fast train Panorama at Opole train station en route to Częstochowa on our return home from seeing my grandmother. Back then, we had always walked along the platform to the front of the platform where large locomotive puling its heavy and long carriages comes to stop.
We were lucky as we ended up in a bicycle compartment. Despite hard floor only, it was a comfortable option particularly on such a nice day with fully open windows on both side of the train compartment.
We decided to take a chance and travel on the earlier train without seat reservation. I strategically positioned ourselves at the front of the platform. Somehow I had a feeling by doing that, we were going to get more chances to find some seating. It reminded me of when as a little boy my mum and I used to wait for fast train Panorama at Opole train station en route to Częstochowa on our return home from seeing my grandmother. Back then, we had always walked along the platform to the front of the platform where large locomotive puling its heavy and long carriages comes to stop.
We were lucky as we ended up in a bicycle compartment. Despite hard floor only, it was a comfortable option particularly on such a nice day with fully open windows on both side of the train compartment.
We arrived at the most impressive rail station in Europe, in my opinion. Warszawa Centralna (Warsaw Central Station) is not a terminus like most stations in Paris, London or Moscow. Instead, Warszawa Centralna is an underground rail hub where South meets North, East meets West. Here, you can spot trains going to Moscow, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam and Berlin as well as many long distant Polish cities and towns.
At the top of the escalator connecting our platform and the main building of the Warsaw station, with a bicycle, Trzcina was waiting for us. Trzcina is a friend from London who recently returned to Poland to continue his career as a radio DJ. Together with his brother he formed Buenos Bros, a music band, which played with some best Poland's stars.
Trzcina showed us the best of Warsaw 2014. The final postcard of our journey presents Aleje Jerozolimskie (Jerusalem Avenues), Warsaw's principal street which cuts through the whole city. I took this photo on our night walks around the city in this hot summer. I got interested in the dark art deco building, which in the past used to function as toys' department store Smyk (The Kid). I was told the store moved to another location while the ghost building standing alone in Aleje Jerozolimskie is awaiting its new development.
The key location for going out in Warsaw is Plac Zbawiciela (Savior Square) where a number of pubs and restaurants is located with Plan B being the most visited. We were standing outside on this hot August night, drinking cold Perła (Pearl), local beer watching Poland's most discussed outdoor artistic installation, an impressive 9-metre high Tęcza (Rainbow) which is meant to be a symbol of equality and peace. Due to its association to gay activism and gender ideology, Tęcza has experienced a lot of vandalism. In 2013, it was reconstructed after it had been put on fire. To prevent further arson, a special installation of sprinkler was installed, which activates when one comes towards the Rainbow too close.
We left Plan B for Cud and Wisłą (Miracle on Vistula) which is a big outdoor party on the bank of Vistula River. The name of this summer venue is taken from 1920 important Battle of Warsaw, known as a Miracle on Vistula because of a brave defence by Polish Army against much better armed Russians. Polish victory in this battle as described by many European historians put end to a Soviet and social outbrake in Western Europe.
Warsaw is now a capital of best alternative music party in Eastern Europe. With its erotic image of two bananas, Coxy is one of the best parties in Warsaw attracting a lot of gay and straight crowd. The party occurs once a month, each time hosted in a different location. We narrowly missed the party because of not arriving on the right weekend. We will need to choose to arrive into Warsaw on one of these Saturdays when Coxy happens.
I am going to change the topic now... A visit to Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego (Warsaw Rising Museum) was important part of our journey. The museum pays tribute to all of those who took part in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 when citizens of Warsaw came together to fight against German occupations. This happened five years after the start of the war when Germans and Russians had already been in a state of war between themselves. Varsovians were hoping for Russians to enter their city and help with the revolution they started. Instaed, Red Army tactically waited until the city was put into pieces by Germans. Soviets finally set foot in Warsaw, claiming even victory over Germans. In short, this was one of the reasons why Poland was pulled into Communism and left by the West to be severely influenced by the USSR.
Museum Powstania Warszawskiego is one of the most modern museums in Poland. There are a lot of gadgets and interactive materials so everyone including children and tourists can learn about the uprising. The most interesting part of the museum is a temporary exhibition of objects that belonged to one of the participants of the uprising and story made around these objects e.g. a small doll made by one young female soldier, which she made after being captured by Germans in a hospital prison.
Koło Market taking its name from a small neighbourhood in Western part of Warsaw Koło (Wheel). This was one of the highlights of our trip. This big Sunday market specialises in antics, war items or any other second hand objects. There were valuable and less valuable things. We found a lampshade made in 1970s, similar to one my parents have for 50zł (10GBP). The Market starts in early hours of every Sunday. Arriving at Koło between 8 and 9am is probably enough to catch some interesting things that are sold there. To get there from the centre of Warsaw, tram #20 which runs from the Warsaw's Old Town.
At the top of the escalator connecting our platform and the main building of the Warsaw station, with a bicycle, Trzcina was waiting for us. Trzcina is a friend from London who recently returned to Poland to continue his career as a radio DJ. Together with his brother he formed Buenos Bros, a music band, which played with some best Poland's stars.
Trzcina showed us the best of Warsaw 2014. The final postcard of our journey presents Aleje Jerozolimskie (Jerusalem Avenues), Warsaw's principal street which cuts through the whole city. I took this photo on our night walks around the city in this hot summer. I got interested in the dark art deco building, which in the past used to function as toys' department store Smyk (The Kid). I was told the store moved to another location while the ghost building standing alone in Aleje Jerozolimskie is awaiting its new development.
The key location for going out in Warsaw is Plac Zbawiciela (Savior Square) where a number of pubs and restaurants is located with Plan B being the most visited. We were standing outside on this hot August night, drinking cold Perła (Pearl), local beer watching Poland's most discussed outdoor artistic installation, an impressive 9-metre high Tęcza (Rainbow) which is meant to be a symbol of equality and peace. Due to its association to gay activism and gender ideology, Tęcza has experienced a lot of vandalism. In 2013, it was reconstructed after it had been put on fire. To prevent further arson, a special installation of sprinkler was installed, which activates when one comes towards the Rainbow too close.
We left Plan B for Cud and Wisłą (Miracle on Vistula) which is a big outdoor party on the bank of Vistula River. The name of this summer venue is taken from 1920 important Battle of Warsaw, known as a Miracle on Vistula because of a brave defence by Polish Army against much better armed Russians. Polish victory in this battle as described by many European historians put end to a Soviet and social outbrake in Western Europe.
Warsaw is now a capital of best alternative music party in Eastern Europe. With its erotic image of two bananas, Coxy is one of the best parties in Warsaw attracting a lot of gay and straight crowd. The party occurs once a month, each time hosted in a different location. We narrowly missed the party because of not arriving on the right weekend. We will need to choose to arrive into Warsaw on one of these Saturdays when Coxy happens.
I am going to change the topic now... A visit to Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego (Warsaw Rising Museum) was important part of our journey. The museum pays tribute to all of those who took part in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 when citizens of Warsaw came together to fight against German occupations. This happened five years after the start of the war when Germans and Russians had already been in a state of war between themselves. Varsovians were hoping for Russians to enter their city and help with the revolution they started. Instaed, Red Army tactically waited until the city was put into pieces by Germans. Soviets finally set foot in Warsaw, claiming even victory over Germans. In short, this was one of the reasons why Poland was pulled into Communism and left by the West to be severely influenced by the USSR.
Museum Powstania Warszawskiego is one of the most modern museums in Poland. There are a lot of gadgets and interactive materials so everyone including children and tourists can learn about the uprising. The most interesting part of the museum is a temporary exhibition of objects that belonged to one of the participants of the uprising and story made around these objects e.g. a small doll made by one young female soldier, which she made after being captured by Germans in a hospital prison.
Koło Market taking its name from a small neighbourhood in Western part of Warsaw Koło (Wheel). This was one of the highlights of our trip. This big Sunday market specialises in antics, war items or any other second hand objects. There were valuable and less valuable things. We found a lampshade made in 1970s, similar to one my parents have for 50zł (10GBP). The Market starts in early hours of every Sunday. Arriving at Koło between 8 and 9am is probably enough to catch some interesting things that are sold there. To get there from the centre of Warsaw, tram #20 which runs from the Warsaw's Old Town.
THE POSTCARDS
I bought these 18 postcards of Vilnius when in Koło Market. The postcards came in a photographic packet and were of a very good condition and never used. I was inspired by these postcards and the fruit of this inspiration is the second entry of my blog.
To be continued soon ...