Łazienki Park

After hearing from every Pole I know that Łazienki Park is the most beautiful place in all of Warsaw, I finally ventured down to the park and palace, which used to be the summer home of Poland's royalty.

After a treacherous journey (we are talking about Warsaw, afterall) which involved a long walk, a metro ride, a couple dark, abandoned, graffiti-sprayed underground tunnels, unfinished sidewalks, and a slippery cobblestone road, I entered the gates of the park.

I wasn't exactly in the best of moods, but my annoyance dissolved instantly. Stunning. Beautifully manicured lawns, lush flowerbeds, clear lakes and romantic buildings with paths crisscrossing throughout, I can see why Łazienki Park is such a big deal here.

Inexplicably, one can find peacocks wandering around the park. They make for excellent entertainment--and I don't just mean the inevitable question, "Why are there peacocks in Poland?" to which the only response I've heard is "I have no idea." During my visit, several peacocks had gathered in a small plaza. I unfortunately only had my cell phone, so my ability to transmit the experience is sub-par and a bit washed out.

No, I can't explain why there are peacocks in Warsaw

We visitors were witness to the miracle of life - a single peahen wandered among the various peacocks, acting unimpressed.

This peacock did have marginal success with her , but I'll spare you the pornographic details

One word of caution: peacocks can be aggressive, screeching creatures. Especially towards unassuming Americans who venture too close trying to take a photo. Yes, that's right--this peacock yelled at me (in Polish? hard to say). I'm sure he was quite satisfied when I emitted shriek and ran away.

My assailant

Peacock terror aside, the park is truly lovely and provides a nice contrast to the rest of the city.

Eastern Europe Bath Houses Faceoff

I'm hardly the authority on public bathing, but I do make an effort to visit spas or bath houses wherever I travel. In most Western European cities, spas are prohibitively expensive, but in Eastern Europe you can get quite a deal - an hour's massage for $30 or a day in thermal pools for $15. Quality varies widely between different locales and cities, however.

Turkish Baths are quite well-known, and have inspired a number of homages in NYC, most notably the Russian & Turkish Baths on E 10th St, which upon entering you feel you've time traveled to medieval times. The various dry and wet heat rooms are rustic, packed with sweaty bodies, and often garnished with a shirtless Turk whipping someone in the corner. Highly recommended, if you're into back-in-time-while-scantily-clad experiences.


In Istanbul, however, the "authentic" Turkish baths feel much less...well...authentic. The most famous and highly recommended bath house Cagaloglu Hamami (included in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, it proudly proclaims) is beautiful, as is most of Istanbul. The actual bath experience is a bit underwhelming - you lie on a large round stone slab while an attendant gives you a 15 minute scrub with soap and a loofah. It's a nice piece of history - and it's always heartening to visit a place where cleanliness really is next to Godliness - but as a sheer bathing ritual, it's not particularly spectacular. I would never, ever, in the slightest way discourage someone from visiting Turkey--it truly was one of the most arresting places I've ever been--but perhaps take a peek at the bath house and keep walking.

The place to indulge in a full-out bathing experience is the Szechnyi Bath & Spa in Budapest.

Pure Awesome

A bathing complex housed in a beautiful 19th Century building. It holds 12 thermal baths of different temperatures, some inside and some outside, plus several saunas/steam rooms as well as massages. The best part is the sense that tons of Hungarians frequent this place as part of their regular lives (the place offers weekly and monthly passes). The cafeteria doesn't serve wheat grass shots, but rather beer and sausage. I had one of the best massages of my life there. And the whole thing was very reasonably priced.

The large outdoor pool (below) is reminiscent of Iceland's much-touted Blue Lagoon, but Budapest wins hands down. It's cheaper, more low-key, offers more variety, and the large outdoor pool doesn't give you the chills (though arguably I did visit the Blue Lagoon during a mild hurricane).

Budapest: Szechnyi Baths

Iceland: Blue Lagoon

I realize it's blasphemy to live in Poland and not visit a Polish spa, but I haven't yet. I'm remedying the situation next weekend with a trip to the city of Szczecin (on the German border), about which I know very little other than that there are reasonably priced hotels and spa services. Sweet! I'll let you know how it compares to gilded Budapest.

Warsaw Gives Up Seats

One thing which immediately impressed me aboutWarsaw was the rapidity with which younger Varsovians lept from their seats when an elderly person stepped onto a tram or metro car. Given the large population of elderly people in Poland, this isn't a rare occurrence.

Looks like NYC is having a problem with people hogging their seats (though I have to say that in my personal experience, people have been quite courteous). They've even started legislating this courtesy. It can't hurt - it certainly was nice when NYC passed laws saying people couldn't use seats to hold their bags or put up their feet when the train is full. One would hope people would use common sense, but I suppose we can't all be Polish!

Swine Flu & Coffee

Utopia of Warsaw Coffee Shops

I'm spending the morning at my favorite coffee shop, Wayne's Coffee, which is conveniently located right across the street from my apartment. It provides the perfect combination of factors which make an ideal coffeeshop: free internet, minimal smoke, lots of outlets, and employees who generally leave you alone. Today is a bit of an exception when it comes to the last factor, but I don't mind.

The guy at the counter and I had a mini-drama about honey for my tea...they didn't have any out on the counter, so he went to look for more in the back. He reported that the bulk package of honey was frozen. He put it in hot water to thaw. The prognosis wasn't looking good. This information trickled in as updates in 5-minute intervals which he'd trot over to my table to provide.

Finally, we had success with the honey, and he came over to me with a large jar and a spoon, from which I scooped just enough for my tea. Hooray!

Then we started talking. Turns out he's from Mexico, and has been here for over a year working on his thesis for school (I had noticed a strange accent, but didn't think much of it). He said it's great to meet another North American.

We commiserated about the situation in our homeland, and about how Poles are wary of us. I told him that our clients don't want us coming into the office directly after arriving from the US after our periodic trips home. They've asked us to self-quarantine for 1-2 days before coming into the office. Fair enough, I suppose.

He told me that customers here often ask where he's from, and these days jump back a little when he says he's from Mexico. Once he assures them he hasn't been to Mexico in 4 months, they relax.

Who knew that in coming to Warsaw, the most discrimination I'd feel stems from my being from New York? And that swine flu would be something over which an American and a Mexican could bond, all the way out in Warsaw?

Slate on Starbucks

I wasn't the only American to comment on the arrival of Starbucks in Warsaw.

A Slate writer provides some interesting observations:

The arrival of McDonald's in Warsaw in the early 1990s signified for many the arrival of capitalism in Poland. The arrival of Starbucks in Warsaw, as in Prague, Czech Republic (it got there a few months ago), and possibly Budapest, Hungary (where it's been promised for years), signifies the entry of Central Europe not just into the capitalist world but into the world of 21st-century-style prosperity.

Full text here.

Starbucks in Warsaw - Believe It!

Nowy Świat 62

Hot off the presses: Starbucks opened its first store in Poland this morning. The inaugural store, in Warsaw at Nowy Świat 62, has been in the works for 2 years.

I made haste in getting myself over there for my first Polish Starbucks latte. It was pretty crowded, with TV crews and a crowd of customers (both Polish and International). The employees were practically giddy - the clearly understand what a Big Deal this is.

Opening Team Poland: A surely coveted job

The line, serviced by circulating trays of muffin and cookie samples

It's quite the challenge, I imagine, to find the perfect balance between staying true to the Starbucks brand and appealing to local taste. Another American and I bemoaned the lack of scones (particularly the crack-laced Maple Oat Nut Scone), but we also understood that scones aren't really eaten in Poland. So should Starbucks take it upon itself to bring the wonders of the scone to Poland, or should it just sell them what they want? I pondered a similar quandry in an earlier entry.

From an American's perspective, I think Starbucks succeeded. Entering the store felt like coming home (I know, I know...but you see I have intense love for Starbucks). We'll see how it is received by the locals. The Suits from Seattle are surely keeping a close watch on this high growth-potential market.

A Suit keeping an eye on things

A Variation

This was the first real week of Spring weather in Warsaw, and to celebrate, some friends and I went on a long bicycle around the city.

At one point we reached a park with a bit of a hill. I'll blame being in the wrong gear, rather than my poorly toned muscles, but I nearly fell off my bike halfway up the hill. Naturally, there was a group of about 10 Polish guys standing right there drinking beer. They found my plight hilarious, and they enjoyed making fun of me in Polish until I was far out of sight. I didn't care - the bike ride was splendid!

Ogrodowa Cafe

Some friends, Ola and Bruno, just opened a restaurant in central Warsaw, Ogrodowa Cafe. Their aim is to deliver fresh, interesting food to the neighborhood at reasonable prices. I can't get enough of the place...I eat there at least twice a week and am finding my dependency growing. Luckily, Ola and Bruno are warm and welcoming enablers.

Ola and Bruno, owners

What's interesting is Varwovians aren't quite so enamored--yet. Ola (born in Poland, raised in the US) and Bruno (born and raised in Portugal) tell me that people often come in and exclaim that the menu is "weird." They don't see the usual Warsaw staples: fried meat, potatoes, pasta. But with a little prodding, these skeptics often try the food and find they love it.

Even though Warsaw is a developed European city, a certain level of sophistication hasn't quite taken hold. As Bruno joked last night, wealthy women come in with Gucci purses and don't know what risotto is. Ola and I were trying to figure out why this is: why does Warsaw lack the iconic sidewalk cafes which seem to define so many European cities? Do the people not want to eat interesting food? Or have they simply not been exposed to it enough to demand it?

There is the historical angle to consider. Warsaw has certainly been through a lot of regime and population change in the past several decades, making cultural evolution a bit...disjointed. With the major inflow of capital in recent years, development has happened rapidly, but it is oriented towards wealthy foreigners. Many of the best restaurants in Warsaw have a strong international clientele, and are quite expensive. Not exactly the best way to expose the local population to new flavors.

I love what Ogrodowa Cafe is trying to do. It fills a niche Warsaw didn't know it had, but I hope that people catch on soon and learn to embrace the novelty of it. One of my favorite experiences is eating there with my Polish friend, who has lived in Poland her whole life. Every time she comes to OC, she invariably eats something she's never had before, from peanut butter to split pea soup, to potato chips served alongside a sandwich (not a Polish practice, evidently). And she has loved each and every thing. While traditional Polish food is fine, what's the harm of trying something new every now and then, especially when it is so affordable?

Bruno, creating the delicious

Pałac Kultury i Nauki

The Warsaw Palace of Culture & Science (seen here at dusk--so like 3pm) was a gift from Russia, and was originally named after Joseph Stalin. I've noticed many Poles have a generally antagonistic relationship with the building, calling it an eyesore and worse. I always found it rather beautiful myself.

Still the tallest building in Poland, it was erected during 1952-5, requiring 3500 workers (16 of whom died during the construction).

Here it is as a work in progress (with structural engineers poring over their calculations in the foreground):


The Russian Palaces of Culture were erected all over the Eastern Bloc, aimed at hosting various recreational activities valued by the socialists. The buildings contain cinemas, dance halls, sport facilities, lecture halls, and the like.

Today, the Palace is still in use--there is a cinema as well as a cafe/bar which I visit frequently.

The Soviets' encouragement of culture and science seems almost admirable, until you consider what "culture" would be like in the Soviet imagination. To give you an idea of the lengths Stalin went to to impose his views of acceptable and unacceptable leisure activities, consider the fate of The Temple (Cathedral) of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

Polish writer Ryszard Kapuściński provides an account, which you can find in Imperium, his account of the collapse of the Soviet Union during the 1930s-1990s.

The Temple of Christ was a magnificent structure erected by Nicholas I (and successors) between 1839 and 1881 to commemorate Russia's defeat of Napoleon in the Napoleonic wars. As Kapuściński reports, "Not only Moscow, not only Russia, but also the entire world watched the construction with astonishment and speechless admiration." Upon its consecration, those entering the interior "utter a cry of rapture and admiration." The Temple was 30 stories tall, its walls covered with marble and granite, and the cupola crowning the Temple was covered with bronze. The Temple could hold 10,000 worshippers. It was a magnificant structure and a prize of Russia.

Until 1931, when Stalin razed it in order to build his Palace of the Soviets upon the exact site. Kapuściński explains why this temple was selected for destruction when alternative sites were available:

Only he who maintains (and has somehow proven) that his authority has a human an divine nature can rule here, can lead the people and count on their obedience and devotion...The hand of God is in the case the sole legitimation of power. The Bolsheviks attempt to fit into this tradition, to draw from its proven life-giving springs. To achieve this status [of God Himself], one must demolish the Houses of the former God (demolish them or strip them of their holiness, converting them into fuel dumps or furniture warehouses), and on their foundations raise new temples, new objects of admiraiton and worship--Houses of the Party, Palaces of the Soviets, Committees. In this transformation--or, more precisely, in this revolution--one effects a simple but radical exchange of symbols.

This exchange of symbols turned this:

into this:


And, since Stalin was too busy murdering people (he killed 10 million people by starvation in the Ukraine in the 1930s, then set about annexing Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, followed of course by the Second World War, the aftermath of which required mass deportation of various populations to Siberia and Kazakhstan--he was a busy man), his grand plans for the Palace of the Soviets never were completed. The site fell into disrepair, and Khruschev later converted it to a large public swimming pool:


This woeful tale ends somewhat happily, as the Temple was reconstructed in the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union:


Ultimately, I must concede that while I enjoy a good mulled wine at the Warsaw Palace of Culture's Cafe Kulturalna, I understand Poles' mixed feelings about the structure--a clear symbol of Soviet power and all that comes along with it.

Warsaw Landing

No matter where my flight originates--no matter how pleasant, how sunny, how warm--my plane invariably breaks through the Warsaw clouds and lands in a scene like this.

Home sweet home!