This morning, I was able to finish off my leftover food and do a little work in the hostel. I then got an Uber and headed through the sunny and mountainous countryside to the airport. One of the things I realized is that the inside of my hands got sunburned on my little island hopping cruise. I discovered this when handling my luggage was just like that of hot coals.
Anyway, the Split airport was a lot smaller and a lot more crowded than I imagined. I got through security with no problems, found an open seat way away from my gate, and finished up some reading. My flight was delayed, but that was OK. When we started to board, I realized that I had priority seating, which meant I could budge in front of a lot of people. It was great. I always get nervous when I board the plane later because I have a rather bulky backpack filled with sensitive things that may or may not fit under my seat. However, that was no longer a worry on this flight. I sat down, met my row mate Paulo from Mexico, and tried to sleep for the duration of the flight. It did not work.
I landed in Warsaw, got my bag and tried to hail an Uber. This was incredibly difficult given the language barrier as well as the limited free Airport internet. I finally figured out that I needed to go to the departure section on the top floor to get my ride. My driver did not speak English and I did not speak Polish, but I still got to where I needed to go thanks to the wonders of technology. I was dropped off at a nondescript apartment building that housed my hostel. I thanked my driver and headed up.
It was already in the evening, and apparently, it was movie night. On an accompanying screen in the lounge area was the fantastically underrated “movie” entitled The Room. I checked in and was shown to my room. It was an 8-topper and had the windows open allowing a cool breeze to come through from the courtyard. I set down my things and tried to access the internet. Given the thick brick walls of the hostel, this would prove to be a challenge with the best signal coming from the en suite bathroom. Also, powering my depleted electronic devices would prove to be another challenge as all the outlets were facing down without enough friction causing my chargers to slip out unless I held them. I went out to a convenience store, got something to eat and to drink, then came back, finished up watching The Room and went to bed around midnight.
The next day I got up and ate the leftover snacks from my trip as breakfast. I contacted Magda, the young lady I Ubered around New Orleans, and let her know I made it to her hometown. We also made soft plans for when I got to Amsterdam. After breakfast, I made the first stop on her suggested itinerary, the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
During World War II, after five years of occupation, the Polish underground resistance launched the largest European offensive by any partisan group during the war. Starting on August 1, 1944, these brave men, women, and children fought to finally kick the Germans out of Warsaw. They fought for over 63 days with minimal support to take back their capital city. The idea was to kick out the Nazis and regain sovereignty over their country which was to be recognized internationally. However, on the Red Army’s advance West, they billeted just across the river and allowed the Polska Walcząca (PW) or Fighting Poland to deplete resources as well as personel and allowed the Germans to level Warsaw as they were leaving. The Soviets simply came across the river and just like that, took control of Poland.
I arrived early, got an audio guide and walked around the crowded museum. It was very good and timeless. It was pretty heavy on tangibles (information papers, etc) and multi-media. The center “obelisk” was a 3 story rectangular stone with a “heartbeat” and where there were bullet holes, tiny speakers were inserted. Another interesting part of the museum was that in the floor at the foyer; there were protected screens underfoot showing people running. This was to convey the idea that a lot of the partisans used the sewers of Warsaw as a transport network. Although, I do not think they showed the high stakes enough, like mass executions if partisans were caught or their initial formation and recruitment. Another complaint was that the flow of the museum was put together poorly. Lots of backtracking and in a loose chronological order. The thing I learned there was the memory of these brave fighters was all but erased when the Soviets came in after hanging back and watching the Nazis destroy the city. The AK, their unofficial army on the ground of the government in exile that was created during the Nazi occupation, were treated as criminals by their new Soviet masters. Another thing I learned was that kids were also used as couriers. One, at 12, won a high honor for bravery, and yet, was killed later by the Nazis. It really made me stop and think about the last time America truly suffered. Sure, 9/11 and Katrina were bad and every death was a tragedy. However, Warsaw was razed to the ground. Tens of thousands died in this city with millions more in concentration, POW, and extermination camps situated in Poland. How much blood has been filtered through this soil?
After a trip through Hell, I headed to Heaven; the Chopin Museum. Being my favorite composer and this being his hometown, of course I needed to stop by and pay homage. I stopped for lunch and to mail a postcard to my nephews first, though. I arrived at the museum and by my good luck, it was free on Wednesdays. They gave me a little card that let me interact with the exhibits. I learned there that Chopin was born in 1810 and made his first Polonaise at 8. I learned also that the polonaise is a type of Polish music, which makes sense. I learned too that the funeral song with the adopted lyrics, “Pray for the dead and the dead will pray for you,” was his work. It was not well received at the time, but as the exhibit mentioned, became the dirge of Western culture.
While I had looked into making plans, unfortunately, I am unable to go to the Treblinka concentration camp as there are no tours worth the expense. I’ve been to my fair share of concentration camps in Poland and Germany on previous trips, so it is not a total loss. I came back to the hostel and took a nap, then went and made myself dinner of salad, bread, and wine. So, I’m doing all right. The next day was the 4th of July!
This July 4th took on a whole new meaning for me given everything I had seen thus far on my journey. I got up very early for some reason and could not go back to bed. I got up, made some coffee and headed to my walking tour in Old Town. 41 minutes later, I arrived. I passed what I imagine was their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as there was an eternal flame and a guard. I arrived at the designated meeting point and the tour began.
Apparently, Warsaw was owned by some Czeck dude named Wars, then some kings bought it and turned it into Warsawa. We walked into the Royal Palace that no longer houses royalty. Greater Poland at one point had three capitals: Warsaw, Krackow, and Vilnius. Anyway, the Nazis wanted to erase Polish heritage, so the royal palace was bombed in 1939. The clock tower stopped at 11:15. So, every day a lone trumpeter plays Warsaw’s anthem three times.
We then went to the Cathedral of Warsaw which had many Warsaw Uprising signs. Then in a small alcove, we went to a luck bell, where good luck would happen to anyone that held on to the bell and walked around it three times. Of course, I did it. We then went to the market of Old Town passing the former house of the baddest female scientist ever, Marie Currie. We then went to another Uprising monument, then the tour ended.
I would be taking two tours that day, so I walked over to where the Communist tour started after buying some lunch. I think the tour guide had Aspergers. Apparently, the Commies were pretty liberal in that Poles were allowed to go to church, which was a pretty big no-no in other parts of the Soviet Bloc. Walking around the city, he showed us a lot of Soviet kitch, including the gargantuan Palace of Culture and Science.
When Warsaw was being rebuilt by the Soviets, they wanted grand thoroughfares that not only served strategic importance like being able to get tanks and missles at the ready in short notice, but they wanted to change the footprint of the city to give it a more Soviet flare. At the center of this was a huge building that was a “gift” from Stalin, in the Brutalist architecture design. Modeled after many Soviet buildings in Moscow, most notably, Moscow State University, the Palace of Culture and Science was the nexus of several canceled roadways, sitting like a leviathan in the center of the city.
We were then shown another vestigial part of Soviet Poland, a Milk Bar. Basically, a milk bar is like a diner, in that it offers cheap food at a cheap price. They are still in use as there are many working-class people that live in Warsaw.
Another surreal part about trekking around Warsaw was that this was the thirtieth anniversary of the Solidarity Movement. Solidarity was the first opposition movement to hold free elections in Poland since the 1940s. The Solidarity Movement was founded in the 1980s and was the first trade union in a Soviet Bloc country. This was a very big deal considering the fact that Soviet-style Communism was supposed to hold workers in the highest regard, the fact there was a union to protect them was indicative of not only they the system was not living up to their ideals but also that an organization was created that showed the apparatchiks were losing power. Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, on August 24th, 1989, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a long-time Solidarity member was freely elected to become the first non-Communist leader of Poland. The rest of the year would see similar earthquakes along the Soviet Bloc fault lines and would ripple up to the eventual dissolution of the USSR a few years later.
After the tour was over, I headed back to the hostel looking for a place to eat. Near my place was a restaurant that had a gigantic American flag out front, so I stopped in and asked if I could eat. Anya, the hostess said the 4th of July Barbeque Party was starting at 6. It was 4:30. I said I’d return. To kill some time, I bought 2 beers and headed back to the hostel. Checked FB, made a 4th of July post, then did some work, all while listening to the Hamilton soundtrack. I also realized I had some wine, so I drank that. I then went back at the “American” restaurant. They were offering imported Budwiser beer, some North Carolina barbecued pulled pork sandwiches, and watermelon for dessert. I must say, it felt like being back home for a bit.
The next morning, I got up, had breakfast on the road and headed for the tram to head to the Praga district. I could not figure it out, so I rode for free! Magda told me I needed to check it out. It is Warsaw’s Brooklyn (as it was in the 70’s.) Across the Vistula river, it was the spot where the Russians hung out while they were waiting for the Germans to take out the Uprising and level the rest of the city. Therefore, it was one of the neighborhoods that survived the war, at least with respect to what happened to the rest of Warsaw. It is a rough area and was the center of Jewry in Warsaw that was quickly liquidated by the Germans when they took over. Now, very poor people live there. In the 1960s, it was decided that the criminals would not be put in jail, but allowed to move to this neighborhood. We were warned many times to be on the lookout, even though it would be unlikely anything would happen. Our tour guide, Patricia (a cute late 20-something blond) told us on the street she dubbed “The Hollywood Ghetto” as this street is where movies were filmed wanting to show old Warsaw. 
We stopped in front of a building as she gave us her personal history and said this is the building where her grandparents lived. While people were enamored with the area, she said that this was not a place to go at night. She said you would, in the worst-case scenario, get punched in the face. I chuckled a little as that is the best-case scenario in New Orleans on a night gone wrong. We walked through an old black market, she showed us some bars with the advice that the stranger the name, the better the drinks, and even a building wrapped in aluminum foil. It was very hip, with lots of street art. Unfortunately, there is not much future for people living there. It is gentrifying and pushing out poorer people. As we were walking, like I always do, I ask the hard-hitting questions. I asked Patricia what drug issues there were here. She honestly said that there was a lot of pre-teen alcoholism, as well as kids huffing, and vaping things other than tobacco products. She appreciated my interest and I appreciated her candor. Another interesting aspect of the tour we saw was the courtyard churches that apparently were all around Warsaw. Since there was a Nazi imposed curfew people could not go out to mass, so they celebrated in their homes or courtyards.
I said goodbye to Patricia and headed to the Museum of Polish Vodka which was right where the tour ended. It was incredibly interesting, in that they showed a film with the people that actually worked in the still functioning factory. The interesting thing about the film was that it had a juxtaposition of having a Soviet product that they wanted to sell in the international open market. The difference in the packaging of the products they made for domestic use were sterile and lacking, while the ones for the international market were bright and cheery. None of the marketing department had any experience with doing anything like this before, yet the woman that was in charge was able to sell out almost every order. The rest of the tour went through the history of Vodka, its production, and finally a museum of all the different bottles the company made and sold through the years. After the tour, we had a tasting and I bought some little bottles: one for me, one for Magda, and one for my brother-in-law to add to his growing collection.
I then tried to hop an Uber to the Museum of Polish Jews, but the girl never showed. I ended up hoofing it back across the river. My map said it would take 58 minutes, I did it in 30.
The museum was very interesting and put together very well for this generation. Apparently, a lot of the Jewish diaspora chose Poland as a place to come due to its tolerant nature. Given the fact that there were pograms in Russia and less equitable living in the West, this was a great spot.
After the museum, I started walking back to the hostel. There was a light rain that started, but that was fine. I got back, sent a report to Uber about how I was charged for that woman never showing up, had a beer, and decided I was going to go try the Milk Bar. Unfortunately, it was closed, so I headed back towards the hostel, stopped in a bar/restaurant and had the greatest pork knuckle of my life. After some more beer and a full stomach, I headed back home, finishing my final night in Warsaw.
