airport
You can tell a lot about a country by its main airports. Airports greet travelers with everything a nation has to offer: organization, hospitality and luxury. If an airport doesn't have that, simply stepping out of the plane will give one a foreshadowing of the woes ahead. Poland doesn't give tourists that impression anymore.In the past, a poor building frozen in time since the '60s, soldiers, and vindictive customs officers looking to make a quick buck at the expense of nebulous laws greeted travelers. Such was the case in all of Eastern Europe.
Today, Warsaw Airport is comparable to any in Western Europe, with beautiful checkout clerks, modern construction, nice waiting halls, clean floors, fancy stores, etc. One thing Polish people still have not eliminated, though, are crooked cab drivers.
People arriving in Warsaw are hustled by an organized cab-driving mob. They give you one price at the airport, and then jack it to twice the amount promised once at the destination -- they don't use fare counters. The simplest way to avoid them -- if you want to take a taxi -- is to go to the "Arrivals" section, one floor above. Go outside where people are dropped off, and jump into one of the vacant "official" cabs preparing to leave.
how to get around
Only use taxis with a siren-holding-a-word emblem on them. Those cabs are legally syndicated by the city and offer fair prices (and a counter). If you don't, you might get an ex-KGB agent driving you around, and then anything goes...Warsaw has a vast transportation system: buses, tramways and subway. Each person punches tickets out of good faith once inside. Security guards or "canaries" (so named because of the yellow uniforms they used to wear) occasionally patrol to see if people punched their tickets. I have heard some wild stories of tag-team ticket swapping in other ex-communist countries, but not in Poland.
the people, city and history
Warsaw's reputation has been tainted by its grim and sad history. Before World War II, one third of Warsaw's population was Jewish. Today, everywhere you go there are monuments and plaques on building walls, where people were executed during Nazi occupation.Warsaw is divided in two parts by a river. On one side of the river, you have a newly restored city, which was rebuilt after the Nazis leveled it during WWII. On the other side you have the old district (Praga), which was spared from Nazi wrath thanks to the river and Soviet occupation. Praga has an old look, while the rest of the city has an refurbished antique appearance.
This harsh past has forged a strong bond among the people of Poland. Most visible are the people's openness, solidarity and entrepreneurship. It comes as no surprise that Poland has one of the most rapidly expanding economies in Eastern Europe.
Poles are gregarious by nature and it shows in their love of business, American capitalism and flashy ads -- a bit too many for my taste. When I was there, they actually had a giant-sized tea ad on the Royal Palace. This strange phenomenon might be attributed to everybody wanting to make a few bucks by renting out building walls to ad companies, or because the city still doesn't have good advertising laws.
People are not afraid to talk to complete strangers. Being a North American, I am used to women almost forcibly avoiding eye contact with men. Not so in Poland... one quickly notices how women look men in the eyes without the slightest bit of embarrassment. This might also be due to the fact that I look like a foreigner.
And in case you're wondering, the women are mostly beautiful blondes and they practically grow on trees there. No wonder Napoleon had a Polish mistress.
Poland is the Mecca of meat products. So many different types of cold cuts and sausages, you would never be able to say you weren't getting enough protein while visiting! First time I've ever seen an entirely smoked chicken...
places to visit
So what is there to see?Like any other major city, Poland has its share of clubs and bars. There are too many bars to mention; Poles are known for their love of alcohol. One particular Polish specialty is beer served hot and ale made out of honey.
The best way to begin your sojourn is in Staruwka (Old Town). Imagine a medieval town straight from a fantasy world of kings, knights and damsels. The old city has it all, even a moat (dry now) separating the old city walls from the outside world. The palace is open to the public.
The buildings in Old Town have been converted into restaurants, cafes and amber boutiques. Many restaurants boast pictures of all the famous people that have frequented the establishments, from Bill Clinton to Nelson Mandela.
Downtown's most prestigious street is called Krakowskie Przedmiescie. As you go down the unpronounceable street, it changes to Nowy Swiat (New World). There you will find universities, fancy boutiques, the president's house (White House), cafes, pastry stores, and a hotel I've been told is owned by none other than the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
Warsaw's centerpiece is the Culture Palace -- the largest brick building in Europe. Built by Stalin, this gothic monster sits in the old Jewish district.
how bazaar
But the largest brick building isn't the only big "thing" in Warsaw. The "Stadium" -- the biggest bazaar in Europe -- is a safe-haven for foreigners (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians), selling everything but the kitchen sink (actually, I think I saw some of those too). You can buy authentic Russian General uniforms, AK47s, war medals, kitsch, imitation brand-name products -- you name it.The more austere tourists can visit the former Jewish Ghetto. Not much is left of it, but a small part has been turned into a monument. Mila 18 commemorates a Jewish rebellion on April 19, 1943, which was recently turned into the NBC miniseries, Uprising . Only one synagogue survived the war: Nozyk Synagogue, which has been restored.
But one of the strangest spectacles isn't a site or building; it's what happens at dusk. Hundreds of thousands of birds leave the city for the forest (Warsaw lies next to one of the largest natural reserves in Europe).
The spectacle is straight out of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. As the sky turned black from the migrating swarm, all I could think about was not getting hit by bird droppings... hey, could you blame me?
How odd that of all the monuments and structures, nature is what gave this tourist the strongest impression.
Resources:
Poland Travel Guide
0 comments:
Publicar un comentario