A city with a modern history like no other. (Warsaw)

Member Name: lm09

Product:	Warsaw
Date:	11/03/09 (199 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great place to feel a million miles from home. Outside the Euro zone and with so much to see.

Disadvantages: Cost of good hotels and direct flights still fairly expensive

I arrived in Warsaw, the 2nd of my former Eastern block cities, having taken the first train from Krakow. The journey lasting 4 hours passes through the green flat central region of Poland. Costing about 30zl (exchange rate at time of travelling £1 = £4.8zk) the train left and arrived bang on time. The trains final destination was Moscow. Travelling alone I made a very conscious decision not to fall asleep as turning up in Moscow without a visa could have caused me issues.

Arriving at Warsaw central station I immediately knew I was in for a different perspective of Poland. Krakow is a small city with a real tourist heart and feel. Warsaw is an entirely different city. This is a working city, a city of energy, motion and constant evolution. Immediately the beautiful people of Krakow are replaced by more weathered, more stressed looking people. Warsaw moves to a much quicker pace than Krakow.

The central station itself leaches a polluted dirty atmosphere. The station all built in an underground terminal is a magnet for beggars and bumsters. It has a reek of smoke and body odour and lacking sunlight has an oppressive atmosphere. It does however have a useful and safe left luggage office costing only 8zl for 24hrs. It also has an internet cafe that is quick and reliable. On first arrival however I felt a slight culture shock and wanted to get back above ground as soon as possible.

I exited the station and immediately tried to find a central point to get my baring. Handily just across the road from the station is the Palace of Culture and Science. At 230 meters this is this tallest building in Poland and can be seen from just about anywhere in the city. Completed in 1955 it is a gift from the Stalin to Warsaw and as such is one that disliked by most Varsavians. The viewing terrace of the Palace (30zl) gives amazing views and photographs of the city.

Those of you who have read my Krakow review will have read that my Polish knowledge prior to my trip was very lacking. Well my time in Krakow, Auschwitz and the train trips had given me time to read up. I really would recommend that before you visit Poland you should try and get up to speed with its history and here's my help with that.

Poland through bad luck sits between two massive and destructive empires. To the west Germany and to the east the Soviet Union. Most recently at the time of my visit Russia was warning Warsaw in the hardest possible terms that any signing up to the US defence shield would be met with aggression. How's that for modern history! In 1939 with the 2nd World War Poland and Warsaw was about to suffer more than any other country. In a briefing to his Commanders Hilter said

"Destruction of Poland is our primary task. Our goal must be to obliterate the enemy forces rather than to reach any defined demarcation line"

Poland fell quickly to the German advances however fierce resistance in Warsaw held out in Warsaw for well over a month. The city also had notable and famous uprisings in April 1943 and August 1944. After the first uprising Hilter commented that he wanted Warsaw wiped of the map and his troops and bombers managed to destroy 75% of Warsaw.

Standing at the top of the Palace of Culture and Science and looking out at the massive sprawling city today tells allot of the strength of character and pride Poles have. In the 75 years since the war they have built an amazing city from the rubble. Having lost 800,000 Varsavians in to the war, more than the whole United States and Britain combined. That stat again...more people died in Warsaw than died from Britain and America combined. An amazing figure. Warsaw's population now stands on 1.7 million. Even assuming it was at this level in the war to lose 1 in 3 of its people and still have the heart and will to rebuild. Even the scale of the re-build is amazing to view from the top of the palace. Never again should Polish builders be bemoaned!

So having seen the size and sprawl of the city I needed a game plan. I love walking and find that the best way to see and experience a city is to walk as much as possible. I set off from the Palace of Science and Culture aiming to walk to the Saxon Gardens to the Old Town and on to the New town. A walk with slight detours of about 3 miles. Travelling in September I was amazing lucky with the weather with perfect blue skies and warm sunshine.

My first detour on route was to the Church of the Holy Cross just down slightly from the grand Warsaw University building. The church itself is ornate and pretty enough but the reason for my visit is that it is in this church the Frederic Chopin's heart lies. Chopin the most important Polish musician said he didn't mind where he ended up but wanted his heart to remain forever in Warsaw. In the middle of the nave built into on the marble pillars is the urn that contains his heart. Back outside and into the sunshine across the road from the church is a grand statue to another of Poland's great and good, Nicolaus Copernicus.

So back to the walk, past the University again I arrived at the Saxon gardens just in time. At the main entrance to the gardens is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier guarded by two soldiers. The changing of the guard, a brief and dull exchange in truth, takes places every hour on the hour. Behind the tomb are the beautiful Saxon Gardens with baroque statues and water fountains. A really pleasant place to sit and have lunch.

From the Saxon Gardens it is a short walk to the Old Town. Called the Old town this part of Warsaw is a whole 40 years old. The old 'Old Town' was completely levelled by the Germans. The new 'Old Town' is a brick by brick reconstruction. Most of the work was done at a cost to locals and Poles from across the country who wanted to see this iconic part of Warsaw back to its former glory. Much of the work had to be completed with reference to paintings of Bernardo Bellotto such was the destruction of the old town.

The best place for a view of the Old Town is from the top of St Anne's church (4zl). From here you get great views over the castle and castle square. The reconstruction looks amazing and authentic much like say Bruges's medieval centre. Looking over the Vistula to the east you also get great views to the Praga district.

This is the only part of Warsaw that feels touristy. In fact it is probably the only place in Warsaw that I heard cockney twang. The square contains the Royal Castle (20zl) but having seen Krakow castle I gave this a miss saving time for some of the more unique sites of Warsaw. Just around the corner in St. John's Cathedral, again a Gothic reconstruction that is worthy of a quick look round.

Following from the Cathedral the next site is the Old Town Square which is a beautiful square with the reconstructed building here looking amazing. Number 34 and 36 are originals all the rest are new dating to around the early 1950's. In the centre of the square is the statue Syrena (the mermaid) which is the symbol of Warsaw. Surrounding the Old Town is a defensive barbican wall which runs around the whole area (again largely reconstructed). This separates the Old Town from the New Town. The only real building of great note in the new town is the House of Marie Curie which houses a nice little museum to her work (8zl).

Ok really important tip for you here. All the above is really nice a pleasant but having been to Auschwitz to the south of Poland I wanted to explore more of the darker side of Warsaw's modern history. Al l of the above I complete on my first day. As I was in this part of town I thought I might as well walk the extra mile north and visit the Citadel and infamous Muzeum Pawilon X. Really important tip!! As it says clearly in Lonely Planet Poland and I am sure all other good guidebooks the museum only opens Weds - Saturday. Not Tuesday! So before you think about walking the two 2 mile round trip please check what day of the week you are on. I sadly didn't have this great tip prior to my long walk.

So the next day then. Actually no my hotel first. The Athos and Aramis hotels about 5 kilometres south of the Old Town are perfect. Perfect that is if you are going for a complete Communist immersion weekend. Some descriptions of say Travel Lodges describe that as big blocks of flats. Well the Athos and Aramis hotel are exactly that. Perfect for my budget though and on a busy bus route to the centre I shouldn't complain. I will confess though that of every hotel I have ever staying in the World (I tend to be in budget places), this is the only place where on my first night I felt the natural instinct to prop a heavy chair against the door. This though to be fair was done purely on the appearance of the place rather than an experience or dodgy characters.

I usually get up really early to go and photograph the sites with no one about so normal miss the hotel breakfast experience. On my last day in Warsaw though I had pleasingly ticked of most things I had planned so had a relative lie in for me and made it down to breakfast. Sadly for me I made it down at the same time as a group of around 50 disabled children with learning difficulties and their carers. I can say without any prejudice towards anyone with disability that breakfast in this hotel wasn't worth the hassle I and didn't eat a thing.

Back to day two and Wednesday. As I said above I wanted to delve into the darker days of the war and subsequent and pre-war Soviet control. Warsaw has in my opinion two of the finest museums anywhere in the world these being the Warsaw Rising Museum and the Pawiak Prison Museum. In addition my plan for the day also included the Citadel and Pawilon X I had visited unsuccessfully yesterday and also the former Jewish Ghetto and cemetery.

I took the bus from my outside my hotel and got of by Castle square to take more photographs and then retraced my route through the old town to the river and along to the Citadel. At 8am in the morning the sun was already warm and I found a beautiful spot on the banks of the Vistula for my Polish breakfast of a bread type donut things with poppy seeds. The Vistula here much wider and quicker than in Krakow. Like the city it has a more purposeful rhythm and a more industrial sheen than in Krakow.

Turning away from the Vistula above me on top of a small mound is the Citadel. Built by the Russian Tsar in the 1830's this massive walled complex was built to install fear in the Polish people. It was used as political prison and holding point for intellectual Poles and political opponents of the Soviet system. Overlooking the Vistula is Brama Stracen (Execution Gate). Here the stone crosses and eternal flame mark with spot where hundreds of political prisoners saw the Vistula for the last time before being shot and often dumped in the river.

Walking back through Brama Stracen back up the execution walk I arrive at (now open) the Muzeum Pawilon X (free). Of the three prisons in hindsight this is the one of the three to drop if you are short of time. The highlight for me is the massive painting of the Gulag that dominates the museum.

From here I headed back towards the Palace of Culture and Science stopping to visit the Polish Army Field Cathedral and opposite the Monument to the Warsaw Rising. This with a blue sky and the Cathedral behind makes for a great photograph.

From here it is a short wall to one of the less grand but for me one of the most touching places of Warsaw. The Umschlagplatz monument made of marble with names of thousands etched to it, marks the train stop for the trains leaving the Jewish Ghettos to the concentration camp of Treblinka and on occasion Auschwitz. Having stood in Auschwitz and the end of the line looking back at Death Gate to be in Warsaw at Umschlagplatz was completion. Umschlagplatz literal translation simply 'the Going Away Place'.

Just around the corner from this are two other notable monuments. The bigger and grander of the two the Ghetto Heroes monument marks the courage and bravery of the Ghetto uprising of 1943. Across this square in the Willy Brandt monument which marks the spot where the German Chancellor fell to his knees as if the weight of Germanys past dealings in Warsaw were to much for his legs to stand.

Two block away is one of Warsaw's must see sights. The Pawiak Prison museum (free) is an amazing and tragic place. Built in 1833 Pawiak's original use was for political prisoners of the Russian Tsars. It took an even darker turn when during the German occupation it became the Gestapo's prison. Of the 100,000 prisoners to be held here 40,000 were killed on the site. The rest after brutal torture at Mauzoleum Walki I Meczenstwa either died during torture or in the gas chamber or Treblinka.

The prison cells remain pretty much in tact in part of the museum and the other part of the museum has an amazing collection of newspaper documents, pictures and artefacts of the German usage of the building. This really is a grim place.

From this grim place then onwards and upwards to the Jewish cemetery. This is the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe and has some very special tombstones. Two things got me about the cemetery. Both I managed to capture in photographs. The first is a photograph is d tokens of love left at the bottom of a tomb. This has the usual piles of stones but in amongst this are black and white photos of the departed. Really moving to see the human faces of the suffering. The other photograph I took really captures Warsaw for me. It is of a tomb stone that is fairly run down and overgrown. Behind it is the cemetery wall and behind this again in the business district of Warsaw with its large modern office buildings. This perfectly symbolises Warsaw. The tragic and destructive past is always there round every corner and is never forgotten but Warsaw keeps on moving.

The next stop for me was the Warsaw Rising Museum (6zl). This is of all the museums I have been too the best by along way. It has so many great interactive things to get you involved. The film that is shown on loop shows actually footage of what life was like during the siege and German control of the city. The time lag shots to are excellent showing the cities skyline before and after the massive bombing campaigns. The museum set of 3 levels has suspended from the ceiling a massive Liberator Bombed similar is size to a modern day small jet aeroplane. It also has sanitised sewers to negotiate. The museum plays in sound of bombs, gunfire, songs on the radio and the sound of marching men to give it a great atmosphere. This is a much better museum that I can write it. Around the outside of the museum is a wall of remembrance etched with the names of the 10,000 brave souls involved in the uprising. Most either died in battle or rather than heroes treatment after the war were exile to the gulags as potential difficult peoples for the Soviets to control.

The final and possible most macabre site to visit is the Mauzoleum Walki I Meczenstwa. Translated as the Mausoleum of Struggle and Martyrdom. This is a really difficult place to find. The Mausoleum is not sign posted anywhere. It is actually now part of the Ministry of Education! Another strange twist sees the former Communist Party Headquarter now houses the Polish Stock Exchange. Anyway head for the Ministry of Tourist and go into the courtyard of this very official looking building and your there. This place was the torture centre for the Nazi's. Political prisoners and the captured from the Warsaw Rising front would spend there nights in Pawiak prison and by day be trucked across town to be tortured here. His really is a grim place. On cell the execution cell has a hole big enough for a gun site only. Another cell ha a small raised platform about the size of a dinner plate. Around the raised platform ice water would be pumped in. The prison would have to stand on the plate all night with no sleep or fall into the freezing water. Like Pawiak this place contains some brilliant documents and pictures or Warsaw during the hard times.

See some of the old people going about their lives in the city it is impossible not to look at them and wonder what they have seen and maybe experienced or even more chillingly done in their lives.

There are two more places you need to know about for any visit to Warsaw. The first in the Praga district east of the river. This was described as rough and ready and more edgy that the west bank. I took the tram across the river and whilst prepared for rough and ready I was not prepared for the two massive brown bears opposite the bus stop. The city zoo is to the north of the Praga area and these two bears in a not great enclosure truth be told are exposed to the none zoo paying public. The only other site of note in this district is the Orthodox church which is built in the Russian style.

A bus ride away from the Old Town to the south is another great site. Lazienki Park acts like Hyde park does to London. A beautiful expanse of green. More overgrown and wild than Hyde park though this offers a great opportunity to wander and spot red squirrels and bird life. Towards the centre of the park is the most stunning building in Warsaw, the Lazienki Palace or the Palace on the Water. Built over a swan covered lake this building has survived intact since 1794 then a former Royal residence. The setting over water and surrounded by woodland is stunning and make for amazing photographs. Peacocks wander amongst the red squirrels. This is a beautiful spot to slow down from the movement and energy of the city.

To the south of the park is one of the reasons you should visit Warsaw sooner rather than later. Behind the park is the football stadium of Legia Warsaw one of Poland best teams. The stadium is shocking by British standards and that's the thing. In 2012 Poland and the Ukraine will be hosting the European Championship so all the football stadium will be updated as will the infrastructure. I love Warsaw as it is. Go now before some of its rough edges get polished and sanitised.

That said another reason I love Warsaw is because it is my city. No-one I know has been and experienced these things from my group of friends. Everyone has been to Paris, Barcelona, Rome or New York. I like this about Warsaw. It is a working city not a tourist attraction. It is gritty in places and unwelcoming and takes some effort to love. That's what makes it so special.

Why don't people go to Warsaw? Well a couple of reasons maybe. Firstly the weather in winter and early spring can be freezing and sun is not stitched on for the summer either. Also direct flight from the UK to Warsaw are high, certainly higher than to Krakow.

However the real reason I believe is because of its history. Sounds odd but places like Paris, Rome, Prague, Florence all have history but an entirely different history. The blue plaques saying "used to live hear" or "was born here" are replaced in Warsaw. 100 people were shot here. Flamethrowers were used to burn the Jews out of the sewers here. No quiet so romantic!

So for me then my Poland trip was over. All that lay ahead now was an 10 hour train journey through the north of Poland and my marathon in Vilnius. Well not quiet.

Returning full circle to where I started my review back at Warsaw central station. My train for Vilnius didn't leave until 11pm. Being back in the centre seeing the Palace of Culture and Science lit up one last time was beautiful. The shopping centre next door the station, Zlote Tarasy is a stunning feat of architecture. It is simply stunning and as a tourist I believe I was well within my rights to take photographs of a shopping centre. The kind of thing I laugh at Americans and Japanese for in London. Oh well Inside it is open until 10pm so handy for me and has Westernised shops to browse as well as the different Polish shops.

But back to central station. Having arrived a found this a sleazy oppressive atmosphere being back late at night the station takes on a different slant. Less oppressive but full on drunks and hobo's. In Britain this is the kind off place I would avoid. Had I arrived late at night I would have probably hated it. However I had been hardened by Warsaw and as a veteran I enjoyed the comedy people watching. At one point sat waiting I was joined by three heavy smoking heavy drinking Poles who sat within feet of me all completely wrecked and arguing together. Other than the effects of smoke inhalation they left me too it and carried on their own personal arguments. Maybe this is what I loved about Warsaw. Feeling so foreign and at times treading water.

I love travel and cannot understand people who go to the same place every year. I have never been anywhere twice as the world is such a big place but with Warsaw I can see myself going back for sure.


Books to buy in preparation for your trip

Lonely Planet Poland
A Country in the Moon by Michael Moran
In Europe by Meert Gek

Summary: A city that will leave a mark on you forever. Incredible modern history and people