The Warsaw That I Saw Was Not An Eyesore.: The bedroom at night

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The bedroom at night

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Sorry, for those of you looking for salacious stories it isn't going to be what you thought from the title. But, you might as well keep on reading.

What happens when Warsaw's "bedroom" sleeps?

The area where I live in Warsaw is known as the "Bedroom of Warsaw". This is because there are lots of young office workers living here, and as Poland workers average the second most hours in the developed world behind only South Korea, some of these people here basically sleep, wash and maybe eat before they leave again every day. Combine this with the fact that many people now living in Warsaw are from all over Poland then you can see why the place can be quiet on weekends. The line up of people to head home for weekends is evident on a Friday afternoon from 1400 onwards, if you go anywhere near an arterial route out of the city it resembles what Poles would love to call "masakra". The traffic will be banked up, lots of sad faces, hooting and tooting horns and there will be people getting highly frustrated at anything and everything. The other thing you notice in this neighbourhood other than the quite evident lack of the older generation, in the numbers you would find them in other districts, is that there are lots and lots of prams. Nearly everywhere you turn, there are young mothers strolling talking on mobiles or even having a sneaky cigarette while walking bubs. Sometimes you will see them walking dogs as well, or at rare times there will be dogs, bubs, and grannies all together, the classic trifecta.

Ursynow, in the last 2.5 years has changed a lot in my eyes. People only knew it for banks, wine shops and dentists, I am guessing three things that the young professional can't do without. In fact it is amazing how much young Poles care about their dental activities and it is not uncommon to see males or females in their 30's in braces. As for wine, the consumption of it now has gone above that of vodka and is second only to beer. However, since I have lived here there has been many cafes, bars and restaurants open up. In fact just within 100m or so of our house you can now find 2 fusion restaurants, a cafe/bar, an indian/pizza/kebab eatery, a Georgian restaurant, a sushi restaurant, an italian restaurant, another cafe, a bakery, a Chinese restaurant, and another two pizza shops. Where as only half if not less of these were here 1.5 years ago. So things are changing, I think people are slowly losing their willingness to go home to their country towns and villages and now are willing to spend more time in the city. Which is great for everyone, except maybe the isolated parents.

So these are just a few pictures at night from our balconies.