For The Love of Travel

A beautiful day for a walk through Warsaw’s Old Town, the heart of which is the town market place, rich in restaurants, cafés and shops. Surrounding

streets feature medieval architecture.  The Old Town was established in the 13th century, growing up around the Royal castle. Until 1817 the most notable feature was the Town Hall built before 1429.  

In the early 1910’s the Old Town was a slum, with poor families in crowded subdivided tenements which had once been aristocrat’s palaces. Parts of it were bohemian, with painters and artists having their studios, while some streets were a red light district housing brothels.  During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the German Luftwaffe targeted the residential area and historic landmarks in a campaign of terror bombing.  After the Warsaw uprising in 1944, what had been left standing was systematically blown up by the German army. After the war, it was meticulously rebuilt, using as many as possible of the original bricks.

Arrived at my breezy studio apartment, went to pick up my Warsaw Pass (tourist discount card to all the attractions around) at the Palace of Culture and Science.  The skyscraper was apparently erected by Stalin  in the 1950’s as “a present to the people of Poland”.

Poland’s tallest building has 44 floors. On the 30th floor, at the height of 114 m, there is a delightful viewing terrace, with gratings installed between the parapet and roof. Poking your camera through the grate allows you to take clear images. Not so great (ha!), is the reason behind why the grate was installed –  the rate of suicide jumps. A beautiful 24 degrees, warm sunny day, clear blue skies – so lovely images around the urban area of Warsaw. Particularly the building called “the sail”, designed by Polish architect, Daniel Libeskind.

Leaving the palace, on a nearby building,  I first noticed an imposing statue but then the banner advertising Samuel Beckett’s play, “Szczesliwe Dni” – “Happy Days” (a monologue by a woman who is gradually being buried alive). I remember being fascinated for a short period of time as a Uni student, in the philosophy of existentialism (the absence of free will, the duty to face the fact that our lives are devoid of any purpose in a totally absurd and indifferent Universe). Read lots of Beckett, Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir. Very left bank Paris cafe scene.. and black turtlenecks! Had half an hour to kill before boarding a bus, so sat in nearby gardens and looked for my phone in my bag. Which was the time I noticed my purse was not in my bag. I couldn’t remember taking my purse out after paying at the counter. OMG! I walked back to the Palace, talked with guards, they phoned around to see if anyone had handed in a purse….after some very sweaty 10 mins on my part, one of the guards said “I may have some news for you”.  Was introduced to a grandmother with grand daughter in tow, who had found it on the 30th floor. Many thanks later, and handing over 20 polish zloty to the kid for an ice-cream or two, I was able to breathe properly again.

Much relieved, I just made the last “hop on, hop off bus tour” to soak up some sights. Some random images of a tribute to ballet, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier entrance to the beautiful Saski garden, a poster advertising an exhibit of WW2 Polish heroes. Exhausted, going home now!