Posted on 03/08/2006 8:50:13 AM PST by lizol
Warsaw looks back, ahead
Polish city proves vibrant, affordable
By Beth D'Addono, Globe Correspondent | March 8, 2006
WARSAW -- When Danuta Mieloch wants an upscale, energetic getaway from her busy Rescue Rittenhouse spa business in Philadelphia, she doesn't jet off to London or Paris. She heads to Warsaw, the capital of her native Poland. ''It's the most happening place in Eastern Europe, and Americans don't really know about it," said Mieloch, who came to America 15 years ago. ''The bars and restaurants are fabulous, the shopping is great, and the city is very young and vibrant. And best of all, for Americans, it's still very affordable."
At first glance, there's nothing particularly picturesque about Warsaw, a city of 1.6 million residents located near the center of Poland. But the fact that Warsaw is growing and changing quickly, as evidenced by a gaggle of cranes dominating the downtown skyline, is evidence of the indomitable Polish spirit. The country's most modern city bears a tragic past. The city's darkest days came during the World War II Nazi occupation, when its Jewish and Polish citizens were slaughtered, an estimated 800,000 residents in all, almost two out of every three Varsovians. The final indignity was the city's razing by the Germans and the Russians, leaving it virtually uninhabitable, as depicted in the chilling final scene of the movie ''The Pianist." Put another way, 70 years ago, Warsaw was a thriving European capital. Sixty years ago, it was a pile of rubble. What stands today, and what the city promises to become, is worth seeing.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Thanks for the ping.
Beautiful pictures of Warsaw.
It looks like Uncle Joe gave Warsaw "the bird".
Yeah... I live in Wroclaw and the breath of the extreme, violent past strikes me each time I visit Warsaw on business. The whole left-bank city actually, are rebuilt 'old' fakes. But again somehow it's Warsaw not Cracow that stole my heart (Wroclaw is out of contest of course ;). I think it's Warsaw Uprisings that really move me.
Yep, that's a great song by Niemen.
I must admit his songs always make me sleep :-)))
Actually my favourite song about Warsaw is the one by T.Love called simply 'Warszawa'. It comes from their Stones'y - Pogues'y period I liked the most. It goes like that (translated):
Behind the window a wintry day starts
I start another day of my life
I look out the window, sleep is still on my eyes
And Grochow's hangover wakes up
The alcohol that I'd drunk hits my veins
A bus wallows in snow
Behind the I watch the capital of concrete
I am at its other bank now
When I look in these eyes so tired as mine
I love the city as tired as I
Where Hitler and Stalin did what they did
Where Spring breaths fumes
Krakowskie Przedmiecie is flooded with sun
You spin like a cloud coming out of a gate
And I am so hungry so very hungry
My love - you'll feed me with dreams
Green Zoliborz, f**** Zoliborz
Blooms on trees and bushes
It's totally drunk on sewage
I wanna scream, shout and sing
When I look in these eyes so tired as mine
I love the city as tired as I
Where Hitler and Stalin did what they did
Where Spring breaths fumes
In Autumn always the school starts
And drinking starts in pubs
It's crowdy and smoky, the waiter sidesteps us
We'll finish at dawn anywhow
In autumn I always think about the times as old as these tenements
In Autumn I go out with you to take a walk
through streets full of chestnuts
Sure - looks much like Plac Dominikanski.
Marvelous photos! BTW, I had to go to the library to open up this thread, it had too much content for my home net access.
Take a tour of Warsaw without leaving home!
Thoroughly enjoyed the panorama (link in post #5).
And that is the famous "W-Z road".
Beautiful photos!
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