I have been such a busy bee, between the work, the sight-seeing, and a visit from my Moscow friend, Nastya! Don’t get me wrong, I like what I’m doing at work and I enjoyed spending every moment of my free time with an old friend, but it felt like I barely had time to sleep, not to mention writing in my blog. So today I want to share some pictures from the first days of Nastya’s visit—our time together in Warsaw. I met her at the Warsaw Chopin Airport (I did not have enough time there to provide a thorough review :P) and we spent two days in the capital of Poland.
The balcony of our two-day home. We did take full advantage of the cozy little tables to eat dinner outside and talk-talk into the night.
The main square of the old town. The building on the right is the reconstructed Royal Palace, and the tall column honors Sigismund, the king who moved the capital from Krakow to Warsaw.
The light bounces off the Barbican, the old fortification walls surrounding the historical old town.
The Mermaid of Warsaw, the city’s defender and official symbol. (also can we just talk about the buildings behind her, aren’t they the cutest and most European thing ever)
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. On the right it depicts the fighting soldiers, and on the left—civilians attempting to escape through the sewers.
More cute, narrow streets.
Riding in a fancy tram!
Moving away from the old town, we see some strange architecture: a Soviet-era high-rise building surrounded by modern skyscrapers. The Soviet building is now “The Palace of Culture and Science,” its massive base housing a number of museums and theaters (!).
More modernity. This waterfall of glass spills between two buildings, connecting two sides of a shopping mall.
Hanging out with Sienkiewicz…
…and with Chopin. I know the monument is rather small in this picture, but you can see how it’s surrounded by white flowers and benches—for outdoors concerts, of course.
Travel buddies, life buddies. Thank you, Nastya, for coming to visit me in Poland and for all of our adventures. <3
These pictures, of course, cannot capture even a fraction of what Warsaw is like. But maybe they do show how different the city can be. There’s the old town, which was completely rebuilt after World War II—the youngest old town in Europe. There is grey, geometrical Soviet architecture next to modern skyscrapers, blue with the reflected sky. There are crowds of loud tourists and quiet, peaceful parks. There are memorials honoring those who fell during the darkest parts of Polish history, from the horrors of WWII and Nazism to the oppressive Communist regime. A staggering 85% of the city was destroyed in 1945, and in many ways it feels like Warsaw is still trying to recover. But it’s also looking into the future, with its busy streets, construction work, and new buildings soaring up into the sky. I hope as it continues to grow into a modern capital, Warsaw will continue to wear its scars with the same quiet dignity and reverence as it does now.
Going into this trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Plenty Krakowians told me that there’s nothing to see in Warsaw and I shouldn’t bother traveling there at all (there’s a long-standing rivalry between the two cities). But after a weekend there, I can say: Warsaw has so much to offer! I would have loved to stay longer to keep exploring this city. But it was time to get back to my homebase, Krakow, which I was already starting to miss.
