Euro Spoko

With the Euro only a bees breath away, I thought it only poignant to put some photos up of the new stadium. I did take them just as the good weather started so there isn't a huge amount of tree life around, but it gives you an idea of what it (the new national stadium) looks like. Of course, I haven't been inside yet, but hopefully one day soon.

Most Poniatowskiego (Poniatowski bridge)

From the West end of the bridge to the stadium across the Vistula

Kasia is in love on the bridge

Looks good up close, no?

The Vistula and its little sand isle

full of ducks and seagulls

Family fun on the beach

A few buds were popping

Remnant of the original stadium a statue about competition

Off to Saska Kępa, the embassy district

I'm in London still!

Some cool 60's architecture

Love the round balconies

Amongst some of the most expensive domestic real estate in Warsaw you can still get something that needs some love and care. Dąbrówki 4.

So let the games begin.

New Metro Line in Warsaw

Something that I haven't ever really mentioned is that there is a new Metro line on the cards. It is being dug out at the moment. The works are causing some headaches for the drivers, but what it has done it shown how the city can survive very easily with some if its main roads closed in the Centrum area. At present there is only one Metro line in Warsaw running North-South on the West/Left bank. The new line will eventually connect with the East/Right bank of the Vistula. It will be interesting to see how that changes growth on that side as well as housing prices. Anyway, while I was in the city centre recently I decided to take a few quick photos of the on going works, as boys love big toys and noise it was fun.

The PASTA building

 

muddy covering

remember no bike riding in the metro

notice about the on going work

The only metro line running through.

Home to blooms

and some spicy prawn pasta.

Majówka

Majówka, is the name given to a sneaky little time of the year. It is the first week of May when Labour Day and Constitution Day fall and create a holiday bonanza. The time is spent by many away from the cities and they head to the lakes, seaside, mountains, even abroad. All this as you can take off from work 3 days and gain 6 extra and get 9 days of leave, in a sense, if you include the weekends. We went to Berlin for a short part of this and then came back to enjoy the quiet times that exist in the capital on such an occasion. We thought it would be nice to stroll through the Pole Mokotowskie park which was originally the cities airport, or as it would have been called then aerodrome.

The Metro was empty but when we got to the parks I was blinded. Mostly by the volume of super white flesh that was on display.

 

Bikes welcome

The first sun devotees

It was a free for all at the fountain.

The wild flowers of the park attracted some to strip off even when not overly prepared for such an event

After the park we headed more centrally, in one of the "stinky" underpasses in Centrum there is a holographic Coke advert. So it isn't my bad photography skills but it changes depending on the angle you look at it.

The murals are tidied up and the H&M boobs are out in a rather gratuitous display

The Novotel went Orange in sponsorship only to see the orange fade rapidly to a sick salmon colour, it is now being removed.

I wanted to take Marty to see a mural I had noticed a few weeks before of Chopin

I really like its style

Freddy banging out a tune

I think that is his mother enjoying it in a very Polish way.

I do like the colour tones though.

Granny getting down to it.

Counting the keys

The difference between the outrageous H&M and the conservative M&S is pretty evident.

Next stop, the new metro line.

Berlin finito

So the final wrap up from the trip. It was really great. We had a fabulous time and the weather was perfect, the costs were lower than we thought and the beer was good. I must admit we are pretty positive about Berlin, it had a nice vibe to it.

Einstein now does relativity coffee

this was as close as I got to a currywurst this time round

B'burg gate

Holocaust memorial

This is actually the science museum

S-Bahn

The last breakfast

And what a fantastic one it was, thanks Giro D'Espresso

Giro D'Espresso

The Germans are intelligent they took the old East German crossing man and made it marketable calling it Ampelmannchen

That's grate thanks

As we stroll to the train station we stop for cake

The famous Buchwald Baumkuchen also found in Poland known as Sękacz

Just by the Spree and a sunny court yard made a nice place to stop Buchwald Baumkuchen

The Berlin Bear popping up everywhere

Berlin Owl?

More bear action

When the sun explodes so does all the white Berliner skin.

If they aren't sun tanning they are riding on bikes

I've always been a fan of the griffen

And the Hauptbahnhoff awaits for us to go back on that 5 hour train to Warsaw. Thanks Berlin, your a great sister.