Warsaw, Poland - September 27-29, 1999

Twenty-seven of us arrived in Warsaw around noon local time on September 27. We'd been flying all night on the flight from New York and had had to run through the Helsinki airport to catch the connecting flight to Warsaw. International flights, for those who haven't had the pleasure, are a different experience then the regular flights we take here in the states. For one thing, the booze is free. Free! And freely dispensed. Several people on the flight from New York to Helsinki were feeling no pain. They probably weren't feeling much of anything at all.

The two movies were also free. (This is in direct contract to the flight to San Juan, where they made you pay the $5 for one flight - it's not like there's anything else you can do on a 5-hour flight! But I digress.)The food was pretty good as well. I had a window seat, next to a man from Finland who was very nice and friendly; he would speak to me every once in a while - his English was pretty good - and, as he was one of the partakers of the free drinks, he ended up spilling some of it all over himself. There were also a lot of young people from Russia on the flight and they kept standing in the aisles talking, making it hard to sleep or watch the movies.

The flight from New York took about 8-9 hours, I think. The flight from Helsinki to Warsaw took another 1 ½. I had a whole row to myself on the second flight but the seats in front of me were so close that my knees were wedged up against the seatbacks. I was not comfortable! The food was okay - some sort of roast beef sandwich, I think. Customs went pretty quickly, considering the number of people (there had to be about 200-300 people in the 6 lines) and I finally got the second stamp in my passport. All the way back on page 21 (it took me a while to find it).

Warsaw actually doesn't look all that different from any other major world city. There are a lot of cars, a lot of buses, trolleys which go down the middle of most major streets, but a lot of people out there walking around. People just everywhere. And street stands selling everything pretty everywhere as well. Kind of reminded me of a swap meet just being held out on the street. Our hotel was pretty much in the middle of the city, the Hotel Forum, across the street from the Ministry of Arts and Culture, or something like that. That's the building over there on the right. I took this picture from a window at the hotel.

According to our tour guide, Bettina (who will stay with us the entire trip), the Polish people really hate- HATE - this building. The former Soviet Union "gave" this building to the Polish people and it was the main television headquarters (and still may be). But the Polish people hate it. You can go up to the building's 30th floor (which I did) and the Polish people recommend that you do as you will get the best views of the city from there - this building won't be in them! (It really is quite hideous in real life.)

If you have traveled anywhere that you might be affected by jet lag, the best thing you can do is not go to sleep right away. Try to get your body on local time - it will make the succeeding days easier. This is really true. So, to that end, our group of 28 (the 27 travelers and Bettina) walked the two miles or so to the Warsaw Old Town. A bit of history here for those who just want to know...

Warsaw as pretty much (high 90 percentile) destroyed by the Germans towards the end of World War II. The Germans were very upset that the Poles had decided to have an Uprising in 1944 (the largest uprising against the Germans during the war from an occupied country). The Poles held out for about a month with little to no support - the Soviets sat across the Vistula and watched while the western allies dropped supplies but didn't do much else - before being defeated. In the course of the Uprising, the city was pretty much destroyed. After it was over, Hitler ordered whatever was left to be destroyed. The only parts of the city left standing after the war were those in which the Germans lived.

Prior to the Uprising, the Warsaw Ghetto had already been destroyed. The Ghetto was where the Jews were imprisioned in the middle of the city prior to being shipped off to the death camps, mainly Treblinka. I did not know this before, but there were actually two Ghettos in Warsaw, connected by a little wooden bridge. The Jews used this bridge to pass between the two. They were not allowed on the street between the Ghettos. In Spring, 1943, the few Jews remaining had their own uprising and they also lasted about a month. I find this astonishing in that they had absolutely no help from the Poles living outside the Ghetto walls. Absolutely may be harsh, as there were some good-hearted individuals who certainly did assist the Jews as much as they would or could. Most, however, were anti-semitic and would either denounce any Jews who had managed to escape and were recognized outside the Ghetto or blackmail them severly. Some Jews did escape the Ghetto and survive the war. After the Uprising was quashed or suppressed or put down (you can supply your own adverb here), the Germans razed whatever buildings were left in the former Ghetto area.

Enough history. I could (and do) go on about stuff like this. In fact, after my trip, I bought a few (okay, six) books on Polish history during World War II. A very sad history it is. The Germans, after all, regarded the Poles as only one step up on the ladder from Jews, and they were also killed in large numbers. Approximately 25% of the entire Polish population died during World War II. And the Germans destroyed Warsaw. After the war, it just lay in ruin. Stone and bricks everywhere (I have pictures). So the Poles rebuilt it. Using city plans and pictures, they rebuilt it to look exactly like it did before the war.

Surrounding the Old Town is a wall and a Barbikan (that's how it's spelled in Warsaw, and that's the picture on your lower left). This is the real stuff, not rebuilt. I think they were in enough of a ruined state that the Germans decided there was nothing left to destroy any further. As you can see, it was very sunny in Warsaw - was very and sunny for both days we were there in fact. Beautiful weather.

So, back to the story. We walked over there down Nowy Swiat (pronounced Novy Sviat - there are no "v's" in the Polish alphabet - they use the "w" instead and pronounce it like a "v"). Nowy Swiat translates into New Street, and it is the main shopping street in Warsaw. I didn't see any of the stores we know and love here in the states but there were some rather expensive stores here. I vaguely remember a Clinique store. That's all they sold.

Bettina told us prior to our little walk to beware of the pickpockets. Yes, Warsaw has them. I had read about them prior to my trip. Crime is on the rise in Poland as a whole. Not violent crime, but robbery and vandalism. Crimes to which tourists are likely to be the victims. I actually was apprehensive about Poland - everything I'd read made the country sound very desperate. But, at least where we were, the people were very friendly (the English wasn't all that good but, then again, neither is my Polish), and all of what we saw was very attractive and well-maintained. One man on my tour did have his wallet lifted and some other attempts were unsuccessful, but I was not affected. If you are careful and leave your valuables in the hotel safe (as we were told to do and as I did), you will be fine.

We spent about an hour in the Old Town before catching the bus back to the hotel (another favorite hangout of the pickpockets). We were supposed to have a welcome dinner and I would have attended but I broke my rule and fell asleep. I didn't mean to - it just kind of happened. So I missed the hotel dinner and settled for KFC. Yes, Virginia, KFC is alive and well in Warsaw and very close to the Hotel Forum. I took the underground passageway over (past my ATM - if you travel overseas use the ATM as the rates are better and most will take any card) and had a nice filling dinner for about 16 zlotys (about $4). Drinks are normally not included in the combos at KFC in Warsaw and must be ordered separately. KFC is a very popular place, at least this one was. It was combined with a Pizza Hut and both sides had long lines.

And that concludes my first day in Poland and Warsaw.

The next day, we had our city tour. Each city had a different local guide. Warsaw had Maria, who told us that every other woman in Poland was named Maria (Poland is a religious country and Maria is a religious name). We took our coach around Warsaw - to Lazienki Park (that Washienki to you and me) to see the Chopin monument and summer palace, down embassy row, through the Jewish ghetto area that I wrote about above, and, finally, back to the Old Town, where the tour ended.

Depending on how you approach the Old Town (we came from the Nowy Swiat both times), you see different things. On our approach we saw this very tall column with a statue of Sigismund III at the top, kind of like he was guarding the Old Town. He and his column actually sit outside the Castle Square (yes, Warsaw has a CASTLE!), which was also rebuilt after the war. The Polish people managed to hide away the castle valuables and parts of the castle walls during the war from the Germans and now all of the items and the bits of stucco are displayed in the "new" castle.

I toured the royal suites of the castle after the tour - for about $3 I think. Not very impressive as royal furnishings go but still, I was in awe considering all that the items had gone through. Warsaw was actually named the capital of Poland sometime in the Middle Ages. Krakow is the ancient capital of Poland, but when Lithuania was part of Poland, the Polish kings needed a more centralized capital. Enter Warsaw. I say this all because Krakow has an outstanding castle, which we will talk about on that page. I do like the outside of Warsaw's capital and the eastern influence in the form of the onion domes.

I also went up to the 30th floor of the Ministry of Arts and Culture. It was a major task to find the entrance way to the elevator. I (and two of the men on the tour) thought it was at the front of the building. I mean, it seems logical to me. But no, the front entrance leads to a mall on the first floor. We asked and were directed around the side and eventually found the entrance about half way down the block. Another 7.5 zlotys (a little less than $2) and we were pointed in the direction of the elevator. This elevator had a female elevator operator, who sat in a little chair and pushed the buttons. I remember all of this because it took forever for the elevator to get to us.

I suppose the view from the 30th floor was pretty good. I find it rather hard to see anything that well from that high up. I couldn't really distinguish anything. The hotel was easy enough as it was just across the street. I located the Old Town, where I'd spent most of my time while in Warsaw, but not much else. I have some nice pictures of buildings and houses and whatnot, but it all looks alike to me. But the Ministry of Arts and Culture was not in my pictures so I assume that the people in Warsaw would say they came out well.

I opted again for KFC - hey, it was close, cheap, and I knew I would eat it. I spent the rest of the night packing (we were to leave for Krakow in the morning) and watching television. Let me say a few words about Polish television, at least what I saw in Warsaw. There were only two English channels - CNN and the cartoon channel. I think the cartoon channel turned into TNT at night. You could also order movies, at about $5 a movie, and I think some of them were in English. You could also see x-rated movies. You had to pay for these as well. Yes, I watched. I couldn't believe what I was seeing on television. This went way beyond what sex is described as. Definitely a different culture.

Home | My Cats | My Travels | My Family | My Potpourri | My Guestbook | Contact Me