Day 4, and I’m in Warsaw. Heading on to Russia this afternoon.
I arrived here yesterday off the overnight coach feeling a little bit groggy. I had slept quite a lot but it was quite poor quality sleep so I didn’t feel enormously refreshed. Arriving as I did pre 7-am to a tacky and slightly run down coach station manned by people who would evidently rather not be working there, and who either weren’t used to or didn’t care about confused tourists, my first impression of Warsaw was: Grey.
Luckily, the sun soon came out and by the time I had found my hostel, dropped my bags off, had a little rest in a lovely park with some lovely fountains, and wondered around the city for a bit, my impressions of the place had improved considerably. Despite being thoroughly flattened during the war, nearly all of the historical churches, palaces, streets and squares have been lovingly and painstakingly reconstructed, and the old town really does feel, well, old.
Another great thing in Warsaw’s favour is how cheap everything is. Unfortunately I hadn’t fully twigged that I wouldn’t be able to use my Euro cash once out of Germany (Poland uses the Zloty, despite being in the EU) but as it turns out the up side of this for brits is that everything is really cheap. eg. 3pounds 13p for an unlimited day pass for travel within the city.
In the afternoon I visited Warsaw Uprising museum, which tells the story of Warsaw during and immediately after the war. It was a really well presented and engaging museum which really brings to life the story. Unfortunately the story itself evidently did not end well for Warsaw or its inhabitants, despite a heroic struggle, and numerous examples of amazing human feats and self sacrifice. One thing that continually strikes me as I learn more about history in general are the extremes of the human condition that are show themselves in extreme situations. On the one hand, much of history seems to be a history of people being utterly dickish and inhumane to each other, but in amongst it all there are always flashes of hope of people pulling together in amazing ways to help each other. Having already listened to histories of Russia, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc. where I will be heading as I journey on, I don’t get the impression that my opinion on this is going to be massively changed…
Walking back to my hostel in the evening I saw more sides to the modern Warsaw, and really began to enjoy the feel of the ‘Phoenix City’. Amongst other things, i met a very cute and talkative cat with a handmade collar from material offcuts, found some cool street art, watched skaters and people on scooters whizz around a monument square as the sun set behind them, and watched a man ‘fire-breathing’ to entertain tourists. I also tagged onto a free spanish-language walking tour of the old town that stumbled on by chance – unintended benefits of speaking other languages!
This morning I’m off to do a little more exploring before I go to get my train to leave the EU, on which I have to use a visa for the first time. Wish me luck!
Dancing in the Dawn 