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The fact that I could afford and pay myself for a 5-star hotel in Warsaw in January, 2006 is for me a symbol of unbelievable changes for better for me and generally for my country during the last 16 years (since 1990).
Le Royal Meridien Hotel in Warsaw reminds me Carlton Hotel (open my next picture) along upclass La Croisette boulevard in Cannes, France I saw in 1994 and can't forget. To stay at such hotel seemed absolutely impossible for me in 1994, that tume, later and ever. In Monte Carlo we saw luxury limousines picking up "rich and famous" to the Grand Casino and costumed boys opening doors for them. We thought that time that it's much better world which would never come to us or something like this. And in Warsaw 12 years later the boys opened doors for me haha. Unbelievable!
Keep in mind that by 1990 average Pole earned some 50 (fifty, not five!) times less than, average citizen of, say France or Germany. Thus buying even a small bottle of Coca-Cola in the West was a financial problem as it cost one day work in Poland. So, we traveled to the West to work (illegally) not for pleasure, mostly by funny, small, old-fashioned Eastern European cars full of... food and drinks onboard. The money earned hard (in my case in Greece and Italy) was spent for my next, much better (Japanese) car and first travels to the West for leisure. But anyway, with a short budget we didn't spend money for any hotels in 1994, we slept on a beach or in a car, we even liked it and enjoyed the trip a lot haha. But we surely dreamed about travelling in more "civilized" way, similar to our western friends... sleeping in cheap hostels, eating in cheap restaurants etc. etc. Very soon later those dreams came true.
Well, the last 10-15 years really totally changed my life and my country for better. It's still difficult to believe. But now it is more and more difficult to believe that we could travel and live in such uncomfortable conditions in not so old past. Leave a Comment
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 MONUMENT TO THE VICTOMS
OF SOVIET GENOCIDE by matcrazy1,
2 more photos
Most foreign visitors don't know how many touching and sad stories are hidden behind this memorial. There is no explanation at place in English (why?).
Let me translate the inscroptions:
"To memory of the officers of Polish Army who were killed by communist, Soviet totalitarizm all over the whole area of the Empire of Evil after September, 17, 1939." Signed: Katyn Committee, Colonel Kuklinski, Polonia from Chicago. Warsaw, May, 1998. And below: "stone from the fields of our fathers."
Katyn Committee is a common name of organisations founded all over the world by Polish families of the Katyn victims.
Colonel Kuklinski (1930 - 2004), a hero for many Poles now, was top Warsaw Pact spy for CIA in 1970 - 1981 when Poland was de facto under Soviet occupation. His museum (Kanonia St. in the Old Town) opens on May, 3, 2006. Visitors will walk on the former Soviet Union flags put on the floor which is controversial for some folks.
Chicago, Illinois, USA has the largest Polish community out of Poland.
On 17 September, 1939 Soviet troops invided Poland. The two great friends that time: Stalin and Hitler divided Poland.
Read more about Katyn massacre, please. Stalin's Killing Field in Katyn forest will be my first destination to visit in Russia, I am sure.
I saw this monument for the first time during some tensions between Poland and Russia. Russia closed half a way investigation on the Katyn crime without charging anyone and refused to treat it as a genocide crime. That made many Poles outraged. Poland decided to start own investigation run by Polish governmental Institute of National Remembrance. The crimes of genocide never come under the statue of limitation in Polish law. This decision was criticized by Russian officials. Russia finally promised Poland to hand over all files of Russian investigation including 22,500 personal files of the crime victims but didn't do that until now (2006). Many Poles believe they will as Russia of 2000' isn't for sure the past Soviet Union, right?
Well, one of my foundest memories of Warsaw refers to that monument. I saw a couple with two teen-age boys standing and staring at this monument with flowers in hands. They had tears in eyes and desperately wanted to put their flowers. Well, it isn't a monument to put flowers under as you see in my picture. They asked me for help suprisingly... in English language. They were both from Chicago, USA, born in the USA. The woman had both parents born in Warsaw. They survived Warsaw Uprising as kids and luckily escaped to the USA soon after; quite common story. I got to know that someone from that woman family was killed by the Soviets during WWII and that her old parents were very unhappy not to be able to come to Warsaw and asked her to pay tribute to their ancestors among other places just by this, quite new that time monument.
Well, I found 5 people of my (not very popular) surname on the Katyn massacre victim list but as I know no-one of them is my family. There are more popular Polish surnames on the list: 64 Nowak and 42 Kowalski. Leave a Comment
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Some 10 days before the meeting I decided to make a reservation for max. 20 people in Kompania Piwna restaurant for 7.00 pm on Friday, January 20.
Why just there? I was looking for a place in convenient location, preferrably in the old town (easy available by public transportation at night) and followed suggestions of a few people from Warsaw VT-gang and checked opinions on that place in the net (in Polish language: here). Having not much time I booked it immediatelly getting 10% discount for everything we would eat and drink. Well, I had to explain who we were, Virtual Tourist, I mean and warn the manager that we would write tips about the restaurant - bad or good ones (lol!). Thus he decided to get us the discount although it's not costumary in this restaurant, as I know.
As more and more people signed up and were going to attend the meeting I called a few times to the manager of the restaurant trying to enlarge the space for us. Well, the first answers were that it would be impossible as the restaurant had been already heavily booked. The final reply was that maximum 28 people may squeeze by 2 tables and additional 6 by 3 small tables in other parts of the restaurant. Hmm... that time 40 people had already signed up on the meeting page. I had to use some special skills to convince the manager to do something about it but his reply was that he would try to do something. That's why I wanted to be the first (before 7 pm) at place to check it... Surprisingly he did it perfectly (thanks a million). He welcomed us at the entrance to the restaurant and told me that he totally changed the seats for various groups (350 people) in the restaurant to make more space for us (3 tables, instead of 2). Thanks a lot! Leave a Comment
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Before going to Warsaw to a VT-meeting in January, 2006 I, as usual, checked what's on in Zacheta National Gallery of Art. I recommend to do it before each trip to Warsaw. I got to know that there was an exhibition titled "Boznanska Unknown." I am not familiar with art, so I asked Urszula who is a dedicated fan of art what's that and she shortly replied something like "WOW, fantastic, I MUST go to see it."
So we went to see that Boznanska on our last day in Warsaw. A day before, when my taxi driver passed by the building of the gallery at night, I asked him about the exhibition and he replied that he had seen long lines to the gallery the previous day. So, we went there pretty early on Sunday and we were not forced to wait in a line but some 2 hours later visitors were waiting as limited number of people was let in at one time. Keep in mind that many Warsaw loacals love to visit 3 places on Sunday, in chronological order: a church, a gallery or museum (option: park, ZOO) and a shopping mall/supermarket :-).
I bought a ticket (10 zl, on each Thursday free!) and followed the crowds and went upstairs. In the first large room I saw a lot of paintings by Boznanska and after taking 2 pictures certainly with no flash I was asked by a lady - museum guard not to take any pictures :-(.
A young and very nice pregnant lady with huge abdomen (she is a happy mother now for sure) suddenly presented herself as a student of art, dedicated fan of Boznanska and welcomed all to hear her stories on life and art of Boznanska. She was talking with great passion. So, I easily got to know a lot of fascinating facts on the artist's life and paintings which was for me very interesting.
Boznanska (1865-1940) was taught painting and drawing by her mother. At age of 21 she moved to Munich, Germany to study art which caused conflict with her father. It was not costumary for a woman to be an artist that time. Soon she opened own studio in Munich, became famous and exhibited her works in many galleries in Europe and the USA. She was included among top 12 woman's painters in Europe by prestigeous Berlin's art journal. In 1898 she moved to Paris but often visited Poland. She never got married, she said that her husband was art. She painted over 1,200 paintings now mostly stored in private collections but also in Muzeum Orsay, Paris; Art Gallery in Lviv, Ukraine and National Museums in Cracow and Warsaw. She painted still life and landscapes but first of all numerous portraits. Now she is often classified as postimpressionist but in fact she developed own style. After WWI she closed in her studio and painted, painted. She was honored with the French Legion of Honor in 1912 and the Order of Polonia Restitutta in 1938.
I was surprised that many Boznanska's paintings were not well lighted, thus somewhat dark and sad. The lady-guide explained that strange and extravagant Boznanska used to paint not on canvas but on cardboards. The collectors from all over the world who hired her 110 works for the exhibition (all were never presented to the public) ordered specific weak lighting and usage of some filters not to damage the paintings. Leave a Comment
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 CHEERS, PAUL! (BodX FROM
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA) by matcrazy1,
4 more photos
A few days before I made a reservation for the folks and us in Le Meridien Bristol hotel getting a large discount but check in was at 2 pm. So, we decided to wait and walk to the nearby hotel on time. At the hotel we met Ali (sachara) who had just come from Emmen, the Netherlands. Brad picked up Agnieszka (Aggie_K) from the Central Railway Station and despite unbelievable cold weather as for Warsaw (some - 20 C) we all together took a longer walk to Domowy Okruszek.
Well, this place offered some probably very good home-made Polish food but was too small for us all (a few micro tables) and they didn't offer any beer haha. So, we decided to look for something better for us close by. Someone discovered Turkish bar/restaurant at Bracka Street but we wanted a Polish one. Some of us used its toilet/restroom only (for free :-). We followed the suggestion of young woman (more expensive food but not bad) we met while walking and ended up in Batida restaurant right around the corner. We had some good and bad meals there and surely beer :-). But first of all we had next both amusing and interesting talks.
Urszula, my wife, who started to learn English in October, could speak slowly and practice her English with Ali (sachara). Wow, she was very happy to be able to communicate in English :-) and thankful to Ali for her patience haha. Well, we both, were lucky to meet Ali before, during the first official European VT-meeting in Valeggio sul Mincio, Italy in May 2005 and we liked her a lot. Leave a Comment
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Krzysztof Wodiczko is internationally renowned for his over 40 as for now (2006) large-scale slide and video projections on architectural facades and monuments all over the world. Whenever he choose your or closeby city for the presentation do not hesitate to go for it.
He was born in Warsaw in 1943, immigrated to Canada at age 34 and now he is Professor of Visual Arts, Department of Architecture, and Director of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. I didn't see but remember from TV news his video/slide projection on the wall of the Town Hall Tower at Krakow's Market Square (topic: AIDS).
His exhibition in Zacheta National Gallery titled Monument Therapy (Pomnikoterapia) consisted of the three parts: video presentations of his monumental projections on TV screens, presentations (movies) on large, full size movie screens, and presentations of his artistic strange, industrial designs. Unfortunatelly taking any pictures of the exhibition was strictly forbidden :-(.
I liked most the second part which was like a virtual night travel around famous buildings of the world combined with hearing moving stories of single people of various cultures, who experienced something very traumatic, tragic and couldn't deal with it alone, people who for example survived Hiroshima bomb explosion but lost family or lost a son in car crash or suffer poverty etc. The very private stories of those people showed to the large public during the projections on large buildings or monuments worked for them like a kind of psychotherapy, that is what Wodiczko calls Monument Therapy. Each Wodiczko's projection is about to move spectators about the leading topic and public problem like victims of car accidents, AIDS, poverty etc Look here.
I've watched interview with Wodiczko and his students on Polish TV and he seems to be a very nice and open person, beloved by his students at MIT. I would like to see his next projections in Poland, in Auschwitz for example (topic: Holocaust and Nazism), in Warsaw (Palace of Culture and Science; topic: Communism), and in Gdansk (Gdansk shipyard, topic: struggle for freedom). Should I e-mail a letter of invitation (or suggestion) to him? Join me, e-mail here :-). Leave a Comment
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I've visited the exhibition of pictures taken during numerous pilgrimages of John Paul II to various countries all over the world. The very interesting pictures show emotions of both the pope, various church hierarchies and people welcoming the pope. The photographs displayed around rotunda of the protestant church of the Holy Trinity are neither well lighted nor properly marked... it's a pity. The pictures were taken by Italian Arturo Mari - private photographer of a few popes and by Polish Jan Gruszynski.
We, Urszula and I, were very, very lucky to meet personally Jan Gruszynski, living in both Warsaw and Paris, who told us a lot of fascinating stories on life of pope and his pilgrimages. He is a very friendly and open guy, dedicated passionate of photography, travels, other people and personality of John Paul II which influenced him a lot.
I regret Toyin wasn't with us, as saying about Nigeria Mr Gruszynski told us that one Black Nigerian church hierarchy in the picture with the pope, told to the pope that he had some Polish roots and could speak a bit Polish and indeed he told something in Polish. The pope smiled and replied that although he had been living in Vatican for years he probably knew Polish language a bit better :-). I didn't know that there were any Nigerians with Polish roots.
Shortly, after maybe half an hour of fascinating conversation we exchanged addresses and phone numbers with fascinating on VT Mr Gruszynski (he didn't know it), and... we do hope to meet him again... maybe even to welcome him to the next Warsaw VT-meeting, bad idea?
Jan Gruszynski was an independent reporter of 70 pilgrimages of pope John Paul II, philosophy and theology graduate of Wyszynski University in Warsaw, sociology graduate of Warsaw University and a Doctor of Sociology and lecturer at Sorbona University in Paris, a specialist on Polish immigration. He is also a dedicated traveller interested especially in Poles living in Siberia and the Far East of Russia where he traveled and made reasearches six times. He published a few hundreds reportages both in Poland and abroad and articles on ecumenical aspects of the pilgrimages of John Paul II. Leave a Comment
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After swimming naked in Finland, drinking vodka in Estonia and meeting sweet girls in Latvia and Lithuania, the VT caravan - on their way to giant London VT-meeting - arrived to Warsaw on Thursday, the 19th of January, 2006. This group consisted of 6 people of whom I knew Brad and Claus from the first European VT-meeting in Vallegio sul Mincio, Italy in May, 2005:
1. BodX - Paul from Sydney, Australia
2. bradbrown - Bradley Brown from Wichita, Kansas, USA
3. cachaseiro - Claus Andersen from Denmark
4. poons - June from Stafford, United Kingdom
5. Razmatac - Rasmus from Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Rusket - Rusket from Stavanger, Norway.
They had not been let in Belarus due to lack of transit visas and being kicked off the train to Minsk at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border they had to come back to Vilnius, Lithuania. They couldn't get visas to Belarus in Vilnius (embassy was closed that day), so they got a bus to Warsaw and surprisigly came to Warsaw a day before. They stayed in Okidoki hostel. Brad called me, or better to say Urszula :-). Later, at night, while I was busy packing, the folks had a party with Brazilians at the hostel. Brad (well known as Robocop :-) didn't sleep a lot, I guess but he was waiting for us at the Warsaw Central Station in the morning of 20th January. Thanks, Brad; after picking up Agnieszka (Aggie_K) and Tasia you know this station better than me, I guess :-). Well, there were first Brad's hugs to Urszula and me :-) and we got a taxi to Okidoki hostel where we met the rest of the group. Leave a Comment
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 PIOTR (ZiOOlek) AND I
(WASN'T THAT SAD IN REAL
:-) by matcrazy1,
4 more photos
One by one next, Polish VT-ers came to meet. All were invited by the others, as usual among VT-ers with great welcome, hugs and hospitality. Finally there were 24 people, so there was some empty space left by one table. 13 Polish VT-ers who had signed up to attend the meeting didn't come maybe because of the extremely cold weather that night (below -20C) or for some other reasons. Never mind, those who came had a great time, I guess and can't regret that they came to the meeting, I hope. And I do hope to meet those who didn't come the next time, OK? :-)
Let me only say, what I experienced during the 3 days in Warsaw (my top 10):
1. tons of good laugh
2. great and very friendly atmosphere
3. good Polish food, beer and some stronger drinks as well :-)
4. a lot of great, both serious and amusing talks
5. not enough time to talk to some VT-ers I met
6. some great sightseeing (Warsaw Uprising Museum, Royal Castle, Unknown Boznanska exhibition)
7. ubelievable cold weather (below -20C) haha
8. meeting journalist and private photographer of pope John Paul II + painter from Siberia
9. sadness at the end...
10. 770 pictures to see, tenths e-mails to reply and read now :-) Leave a Comment
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One of the most fascinating things I experienced during a few larger VT-meetings I attended to as for now, is that sometimes quite large age difference among VT-ers who met used to easily dissaper after a few minutes. Well, 3 or even 4 generations are among VT-ers, right?
In Warsaw I was very lucky to meet personally 16-year old Tomasz or Tom (koala_bearPL) and his friend Krzysztof (not a VT-member, yet?). Despite the age difference and that we naturally used to laugh at different things, I guess, we had some both interesting and amusing talks. At least passion to travel and curiosity about other cultures, people and countries join all VT-ers, never mind their age.
I have to admit that at Tom's age I personally might have been too ashamed to attend "adult's meeting" of completely unknown to me people and I would had probably no money to order anything but soft drinks in any restaurant. But that's me in the old past :-). Good for you that you had come, Tom and Krzysztof. You guys paid attention of many VT-ers and it was great to look at you relaxed and talking with Brad, Toyin, Claus and others. We both, Urszula and I, liked you a lot. Thank you. May I see Krzysztof among VT-ers someday? Leave a Comment
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