Warsaw, 2023

May 8-10 and 13-14

Polish resilience has led to a general Polish personality – made fun of by our Guru walk guide, Jacek (he asked that we not take photos of him). Jacek joked that when you ask an American “Hi, how’re you doing?” – it doesn’t matter if we were just diagnosed with inoperable cancer, our answer will be “fine”, if you ask a Pole the same question, it wouldn’t matter if they’d just won the lottery, they would say “terrible” and follow with a list of woes. 

Our 6-hour train ride from Berlin to Warsaw was in an older Deutchbahn train with a 6-person compartment that was full most of the trip and without wifi.  Once we crossed into Poland, they provided free bottled water (choice of still or sparkling!), so that helped. I almost finished “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King on the ride (highly recommended, even if not a horror fan). 

There also wasn’t any wifi in the Gdansk train station, which is a problem if you need directions and/or need to call an Uber. The station had a couple of small sandwich shops (without wifi) and no café’s or bars were observable from walking around the station. We got some zloties (Polish currency – $1 = app. 4.2 zloties) from the ATM at the train station then John asked for directions toward Old Town. We found the Ibis hotel about 5 blocks away from the station, where there was a café we could sit, have a cappuccino and get on the wifi to get an uber/Bolt to the air BNB in the Old Town about 1 ½ miles away (16zl). The driver had to drop us off about 2 blocks from the residence because only permitted cars are allowed to drive in Old Town over the cobbles and narrow streets. 

Even before our walking tour the next day, I knew the Old Town had been completely restored post WWII due to the heavy bombing the city received by the Germans at the start of WWII (and especially later in the war during the Warsaw Uprising – covered in the history section below) and the Russians at the end of the war when Poland was liberated from the Nazis. 

Our AirBNB was in an apartment along a cobbled street three blocks from the palace. This one had a washing machine (but no dryer). A large load of laundry in Berlin had cost about €10, so we made sure to get a load done here. Our first night, we decided to have some Polish food – and found one of the many restaurants along the Royal Route selling pirogues – which come in savory or sweet, boiled or fried. I had some with potatoes boiled, John with potatoes and spinach fried. I liked John’s better. They are bland, but sauces are available. 8 pirogues were 28zt so with beer our dinner was about 100zt (about $25). Like in Germany, tipping is about 5-10% and appreciated, but not mandatory.

What I didn’t know before the tour, was the WWII destruction was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the resilience of the city over the centuries. Jacek pointed out the buildings that had (mostly) survived the war – one cathedral had remained almost completely intact and the other about 70%. After the war the Polish government, although Communist, was still Polish and proud of their city, determined to rebuild to prior glory. Venetian painter Bernardo Bellotto (aka “Canaletto”) created 24 paintings of Warsaw on commission from the King of Poland in 1768. Using a camera obscura technique, he created pencil drawings that were transferred to canvas. Amazingly, through many wars (not just WWI and II) all 24 paintings survived and provided the template for the reconstruction (they are on display in the Canaletto Room in the Palace –- tickets 45zt/pp).  The Varsovians worked through the rubble, inhaling the dust and debris as they rebuilt (one source commented that each person inhaled about four bricks per year during the first three years of reconstruction). Their painstaking attention to detail awarded the Old Town of Warsaw a UNESCO Heritage sight designation. 

In the area that had been the Jewish Ghetto (completely demolished), you will find trendy shops and hipster bars surrounding the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The downtown area of Warsaw is a vibrant, modern city. The parks include skateparks and weekends have festivals. The schoolchildren march through the Old Town, learning history, but life goes on in the city, where the Varsovians live, work and go about their lives, proud of those that went before and restored it, and ready take on whatever life throws at them next (but no matter what that is, they won’t admit to being happy about it). 

Getting around: The metro and buses are available, but not the easiest system to navigate, we often found walking to be more efficient, especially if staying in Old Town. The Warsaw public transit has a handy website that explains the system – wtp.waw.pl. A 1-day ticket for 1 zone is 15zt. Bolt (like Uber) is available, fares will run you about 10zt the first kilometer and another 5 or so thereafter. 

Warsaw (and some of Poland’s history) in a nutshell. 

Geographically, Warsaw sits in the Eastern central portion of modern Poland, and has been an important city in many geo-political struggles. The first fortified part of the city was established around 1300, with the first Cathedral (St. John’s) in 1390, showing a rapid rise in the importance of the area which became the capital of the Duchy of Masovia in 1413. Incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland in 1526 with the death of Janusz III (who may have been poisoned by the Queen of Poland – she liked Warsaw), the city continued to thrive. During the 16^th century, Warsaw flourished as Italian architects designed and renovated the Royal Castle and several buildings through the Old Town. A Barbican Gate was placed to allow in only those approved by the guards, and a New Town developed outside the gates, populated by many wealthy Jewish merchants and tradesmen, drawn by the Warsaw Confederation that allowed for religious freedom throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1573.

The central location between the Polish-Lithuanian borders, its climbing status and population, made it the ideal city to become the capital of the commonwealth, and was so designated in 1596.

The 17^th and early 18^th centuries were not nearly as kind, as the city fell victim to Swedish armies, damaging and destroying much of what had been built in the prior century. By the 1720’s, stability returned with the reigns of Augustus II and III. The 18^th century growth and development run by leaders who saw their city as a place of arts and enlightenment led to the designation “Paris of the North”. In 1795, it was annexed by Prussia and became the capital of Southern Prussia.

Again, peace was broken by wars, as Napoleon grabbed the city in 1806, only to lose control again by 1815. After a series of governments, things calmed down after the 1863/4 January Uprising, and the later part of the 19^th century brought central water and sewer systems, city trams and street lights. 

After occupation by Germany in WWI, Warsaw became the capital of the Second Polish Republic – marking the first time Poland had been a single country since 1795, although fighting was not over. Poland continued to be at war with the Soviet Union until 1921, preventing the spread of the Bolsheviks. The years between the wars was one of great prosperity – the city grew to over 1 million in population. And now the part most of us know about Warsaw. 

Sept. 1, 1939 the Nazis bombarded Warsaw. The people dug in and fought, but could not withstand the Third Reich’s juggernaut, falling Sept. 27. University Professors were brought to the school to be told what the new curriculum would be, only to be rounded up and taken to concentration camps. The Jewish Community, close to 30% of the population of Warsaw, were moved into the Ghetto. For over two years, the ghetto was subjected to ever worsening restrictions – less and less rations, more unpaid work requirements, and in July of 1942, mass deportations to the concentration camps (mainly Treblinka). When Hitler announced his “final solution” to the ‘Jewish Problem” in April, 1943, the Jewish men and women fought back, holding out for almost a month. Those that surrendered were massacred, few escaped. By July, 1944, the Russians were coming, having advanced well into Eastern Poland. The Polish Government in exile gave the order to rise up against the Nazis, and the Warsaw Uprising began on August 1, 1944.

The armed civilians and members of the Home Army fought for 63 days, losing between 150,000-200,000 people, but could not hold out any longer. The entire Polish population of the city was expelled or sent to camps. In a fit of rage, Hitler ordered the city to be obliterated. The libraries and museums emptied of all their valuable belongings. Old Town, the Palace and most of the historic structures were blown up or burned. 85% of Warsaw was gone overnight. On January 17, 1945, the First Polish Army and The Red Army entered the remains of the great city.

Unfortunately, as the Nazis stepped out, the Soviets stepped in.

Although Poland was never part of the Soviet Union, the Soviet’s grip on the Polish government was absolute. Until a Polish Cardinal named Karol Józef Wojtyła, who had studied to become a priest in Krakow in secret during the horrors of WWII, was elected Pope. Pope John Paul II brought hope – and hope is a dangerous foe to an autocratic leader. In 1979, at a mass in Victory Square, Warsaw, the new Pope ended his sermon with a call to “renew the face of Poland”. The Solidarity Movement took wing. 

Next stop – Krakow!