Warszawa: she sells sanctuary

10 July, 2006. 6.10pm. Trnava, Slovakia.

The Warsaw Mermaid.

The Cult!

Kristen and Julia in the Old Town Square.

Rooftops in the Old Town.

Last Thursday night I boarded an overnight train from Trnava to Warsaw, Poland. A few days earlier my old friend Kristen, from Peterborough, emailed me to say she’d be in the Polish capital for a few days and since Poland was on my list of places to see, I didn’t hesitate to book my ticket. I arrived in Warsaw at about 9am and purchased a Pascal Pocket Guidebook which describes Warsaw as “like a woman…always in a hurry, nervous, slightly absent-minded, but at the same time full of warmth, passionate, and somehow a little disquieting. She might not be a stunning beauty, but you cannot stay indifferent to what she has to offer” (it was the cheapest and most compact travel guide I could find, honest…plus it made me laugh…). Because I did not expect Kristen and her friend to arrive until the early evening, I spent the day wandering around the city, mainly sticking to the historical Stare Miasto (Old Town) and Nowe Miasto (New Town). Although I have to admit that Krakow was on my list ahead of Warsaw, I was happy to be exploring a new city and country. The Polish language is rather similar to Slovak, so in terms of language I was no worse-off than if I’d stayed in Trnava. But Warsaw is a unique city, very unlike anywhere else I’ve visited in Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, or Czech Republic. Of course, this is mainly due to the fact that this city was more than 85% destroyed during World War II. The historic Old and New Towns are, in fact, complete reconstructions. One simply has to admire the persistence and strength of the Polish people to rebuild this city. After a visit to the Warsaw Uprising Museum, I appreciated this fact even more.

Before Kristen’s arrival I visited the Museum of Caricature, which featured an interesting exhibit on international political cartoons relating to U.S. politics since 1980. I also took an elevator to the 30^th floor of the Palace of Culture and Science. This building (the largest and tallest in all of Poland) was built in the 1950s as a gift from Stalin and the Russian people. From the top of the Palace I got a real sense of the city, and the reconstructed Old and New Towns stand-out for their unique historical character. The rest of the city has a very modern, if even North American look, because of its relative newness.

Kristen arrived with her Belarusian classmate, Julia, at around 8pm, and we wasted little time in taking an evening stroll through the Old Town. On Saturday we did the same, also visiting the out-of-the-way (but well worth the walk) Warsaw Uprising Museum. One could spend almost a full day at this brand new museum and interpretive centre. If it has any fault, it is that there is simply too much information. But I found the several personal histories and accounts to be very effective and memorable. Saturday evening was a good time for me to sample several Polish beers. Over a period of several hours I tasted Krolewski, Zywiec, Warka, and Tyskie. I enjoyed them all, but if I had to choose one, it would be Warka….

Kristen had to return to Norway (where she’s been studying for the last two years) early on Sunday, so I once again had the city to myself. Again I wandered around the Old and New Towns, taking several pictures. I never felt as though Warsaw was “like a woman,” and in fact this analogy confuses me a little. The reconstructed historic centres are definitely the charm of Warsaw and they have been rebuilt so meticulously that it’s hard to believe that these buildings are only sixty years old. Later in the afternoon I once again met Julia as we both had later departure times (Julia was travelling through Poland for reasons of convenience, on her way home from Norway to Belarus—she needs visas for the vast majority of Europe so travelling for her is always a big frustration). As we entered the Old Town (with Julia’s cross-country skis in tow), it began to rain very heavily, so we quickly took shelter at the first outdoor patio with a sufficient umbrella. We sat next to a group of six guys who were very obviously American rock musicians. I did my best to visually identify them, but fell short, and after listening off and on to parts of their conversation and learning that they were headlining a series of festival shows through Europe, my curiosity finally got the best of me. Just before they got up to leave I asked the dude nearest to me which group(s) they played with. Turns out they were members (and a few roadies) from the Cult (minus, sadly, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy)!! How funny! I’d earlier noticed their posters around the city advertising their show in Warsaw so it was really interesting to coincidentally meet them. I was disappointed that fellow-Canadian Ian Astbury (he lived in Hamilton as a boy, although he was born in England) was not at the table (I definitely would have recognized him!) but learned that these guys were relatively new members to the band (although one had joined as early as 1993). Sadly we were leaving Warsaw that evening because they offered Julia and I tickets to their show. When I explained we were leaving they asked if we’d be in Spain or Portugal, but sadly….

On the overnight train back to Slovakia I bunked with a talkative and intelligent Polish-Hungarian-Canadian artist from Ottawa. We had a long and rather in-depth conversation about Canadian/American/European politics, pharmaceutical company evils, and travelling in central Europe in general. It’s a small and crazy world….