Warszawa - Warsaw
In 1992, not long after the End of the Cold War, I visited Poland with a bunch of student friends, simply because we could. A free trip, five dudes on their way to an Eastern European capital we had never seen before with the prospect of scoring cheap beer and maybe some girls in the bargain? Sure! Let's do it! Warsaw back then was still suffering from the hangover of the Soviet years although, truth be told, it wasn't a bad looking city then by any means. Even with the unrest of 1992 and an undecided populace over the direction their country would take, Warsaw was still an inherently charming European city with its Gothic cathedrals, its neoclassical architecture, green spaces, and distinctive residents.
Fast forward 22 years later, and Warsaw is now a booming modern European capital that can hold its own against anyone. One of the reasons I was so glad to return to Poland was that a good percentage of my readers are from Poland, so now I got to visit Warsaw first hand after the cards were reshuffled and Warsaw was given the same opportunities as its western counterparts. In 1992, Warsaw was still picking up the pieces.
Driving from the airport, I can detect some changes almost immediately. There are still some of the old school Communist block houses: those old unimaginative blocks of concrete created for maximum residential usage while the architectural purists swear these are the types of buildings begging for demolition day. All of a sudden, there are intervals of more modern, spacious high rises covered with glass, buildings with curves and loops to offset the purely functional straight lines and corners of its ugly cousins from the Soviet era. Certainly, a lot of them are banks and hotels, but as long as they don't look like Disneyland spires in the middle of your town, I wonder who really cares who builds them? The proof is in the pudding.
The huge Lazienki Park is still there, blooming and with a few positive alterations. I watch dozens of joggers and their frozen breath on their itineraries during a cold November afternoon.
The Polish taxi driver is friendly, but not too friendly. This is what I've always liked about Poles. Informative, intelligent, and yet alert people...that's how I remember and still know most most of them. A good combination that also reveals a lot of Polish culture and character.
Some things haven't changed. Besides the park, there is still the old bell tower (more on that later), the trams, old and new, and the old central train station. But with the new buildings and an improved economy, there is more magic in the air in this Warsaw of 2014, more lights to neutralize both the grey November days and old grey and gloomy buildings tucked away in downtown Warsaw, although still prominent to the naked eye. The architecture aside, people don't realize how green Warsaw is. There must be dozens of parks in the city, and I am told they cover at least a quarter of Warsaw. Impressive. Dobre, Warszawa!
And what should each modern European city have to increase comfort and reduce stress brought upon by traffic jams? Right, a subway, a metro that was added in the mid 90's. Well done, Warsaw. You will have your share of bottlenecks in Warsaw, but for the most part traffic flows freely.
Of course, the Vistula river still flows proudly through the city, enhancing its modern skyline with its more contemporary architecture.
But these are only be the first impressions of a city I hadn't seen for decades. The highlight is yet to come.
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