It is Valentines Day.... apparently

The day of romance and freedom to spend on things that at other times of the year would make you sick or at least feel queasy in the belly. So instead I thought I would put up some of the things that I love about Warsaw. Some are things you would have seen on here before, others, maybe not.

I love about my Warsaw:

Palace of Culture, to me it is actually beautiful and a great focus of the city.

Old Town, a great place to see tourists get excited and also nice to think of how something was in the old days.

Markets, my local open air market, fresh, local and mostly organic fruit and vegetables.

Women, always in inappropriate clothes and shoes in all sorts of weather.

The Metro, it gets me everywhere yet only has one line!

The Stadium, it isn't up and running just yet, but it makes a grand statement in the Saska Kępa district.

Of course there are many more but these were just a quick few that popped into my head.

Central Tower

It is really great when something you see often changes, and that has been the Palace of Culture aka PKiN (or Peking). It had been flashing up different colours in a celebration of colour that is the start of spring and the EU as Poland will be taking over the EU presidency in July. Exciting times for protests, expense accounts and lots of fast moving vehicles with flashing lights no doubt.

Some love it, some loathe it. For me it is really a big landmark for Warsaw and a great way to tell where you are when drifting around town. The EU presidency will be interesting as most people in the other EU countries wouldn't really know much about Warsaw, so it is a great chance to put the city on display.

Life at the Top

So what is life like at the top of the ladder? Well, unless I open my own business, I will never know. I don't think I am a CEO type anyway. As much as I would love expense accounts, a fancy car, a personal assistant and plenty of travel, I don't think I am perfect at conformism.

Therefore, the only way I will see the view from the top is to pay for the chance.

Next question: who do I pay and how can I do this in Warsaw? I don't earn that much, I have no high powered friends and I am afraid of underworld gangs. So there must be a solution.....

And there is....

The Palace of Culture (Pałac Kultury i Nauki)!
It isn't the highest building in the world (is in Poland and the second tallest clock tower in the world!), nor do many people think of it as pretty at all (I beg to differ) but, it does offer great views from the 30th floor which is 114m high! So off we go!

The Entrance doors are quite pretty, and it is a hectic place. I waited for ten minutes to get the doors to close so I could get some reflections.
They went all out on lights and trees and decorations.
If you get up close enough you can see they have photos of famous people on the baubles.
Sometimes they are older people so they are in black and white, I think it is the little guy on the right making this happen.
So to give you the facts, read on.
We took lift No. 11 to the viewing location.
The ceiling in the foyer of the viewing area.
The lights and their friends reflections in the viewing tower foyer.
The doors for the way outside to -10C with wind and maybe if we are lucky some snow.
Now I have never been up the tower in summer, this was my first trip, and I think, without a shadow of a doubt, that it looks better in winter.
You get these really cool random patterns everywhere.
Plus the neons look more fun.
Those people down there look like ants, going into Marks and Sparks.
I just think there is something "romantic" about office towers when it is day time and the lights are on and people are in there. Maybe the romance is that those people aren't me.....
Some newly renovated buildings on Aleje Jerozolimskie look nice in soft sunset and with delicate highlighting lights, shame about the mobile phone and tron adverts.
Speaks for itself really.
The corridors (or are they belfries in a tower?) that run around the towers viewing platform
Some people in Poland think it is a third world country. If you look at this photo you would almost think it to be Japan or something equally high-tech.
It just looks great. On the left of centre there is the central railway station.
Not fire, just steam.
Below the round section is the Sala Kongresowa, an entrance to go to the theatre.
Warszawa Centralna
The old communist blocks that replaced the destroyed beautiful townhouses after WWII and behind the Church of all Saints.
The busy intersection of Marszałkowska i Świętokrzyska.
The coolest place to skate in town. The Palace ice skating rink.
I was so hoping to get a photo of people falling over, and......
We all live to dream further.

So after the enthralling, nose-freezing finger-removing cold and excitement of the tower, I ducked down to take some pics of the decorations in front of the Palace near the Central Station.
They are pretty cool.
So you must surely agree with me, Wawa is beautiful in winter, no?

The very best of the best of Warsaw #3

#3
Palace of Culture and Science (Pałac Kultury i Nauki)
I have to admit that this one really surprised me, as almost everyone always complains about the Palace as being an eyesore (part of the reason for the name of my blog). It was a "gift" from the wonderful and benevolent Josef Stalin. When I say gift, I mean it was paid for by Poles, built by Russians who were housed in luxury at the expense of the Poles and made from Polish material. But Stalin did allow them to build a structure, of which there are 7 identical ones of varying sizes in Moscow, to Russian plans and ideas. It only took three years to build and at this point in time it is 187th tallest building in the world!
It goes even better by being the second tallest clock tower in the world!
I love the Palace, it always lets me know where I am when I get lost. It can be seen from most anywhere in Warsaw and I really don't think it is as ugly as many suggest. Also, it hosts many events, has a cinema, a night club and an observation deck. A deck I am still yet to visit! Some joke (like they do with the Eiffel Tower) that is has the best view of Warsaw, because you can't see the Palace of Culture from there.

Around the base are some fun communist statues like this one.
I really just wish they would make the surrounding square nicer, remove all the car parks, shut down the roads around it and install some cafes, restaurants, link the central station and the metro line by a tunnel and just pretty it up a little. They have removed a horrid market that was standing when I arrived and it will be replaced by a new Museum (of modern art) which looks great, so it shows some promise and progress for an other wise dead heart.
Even with this moaning, I still love the Palace and it looks great at night too!

The very best of the best of Warsaw #4

#4
Wilanów Palace
This is a tricky one, as technically I would say it is out of Warsaw, but it has become a southern suburb now.... so, I have decided to include it. The last time I was at the Palace it was a glorious summer's day. The sun was streaming down, and Marty had just bought me a lovely coffee so I was pretty darned happy. It was a public holiday and there were about 75million people there, but I still had a great time enjoying what I could see around me. Again like in so many public places in Poland, it is a fashion show, but in such great weather I was happy to sit back and watch the grannies in the chiffon and the youngsters walking around in ridiculously inappropriate heels for a stroll in the gardens.
So is a fashion victim one that succumbs, one that has no fashion or the one that hurts themselves trying too hard?

Anyway, the park palace culture is also a great place to ride to as it has really easy access by bike from all parts of Warsaw. So you can even jump on the Metro with your bike if you live too far North and then ride down from Wilanowska station. When there you can stroll for free around the Baroque gardens , the English park or pay to see the internal palace and the Orangery where there are exhibitions. I like it there and you always get the chance to see some great cheesy wedding photos being taken as there is a very popular (and expensive) church near by. These photos sessions are really one of my penchants in Poland, as the poses they get into are just purely classic! Trust me on that one.

What else is there in Krakow?

Well not having seen all that Krakow has to offer, I am sure there is a lot! We have already taken you round the town centre and through the Jewish District, and so instead, I will continue to tell you about what I do know. So off we go to Wavel. The big palace on the hill. It overlooks the town centre and also the Vistula (Wisla).
They also have a Dragon's cave as there is a folktale about a man called Szewczyk Dratewka who fed a Dragon that had been eating all of the towns virgin's, a sheepskin full of sulphur. The Dragon then drank the whole Vistula (Wisla). Which caused him to explode! You can still visit the cave where the Dragon lived. There is also a statue to the Dragon that still breaths fire.
This palace is a little sad in a few ways, as it has been pillaged because as I mentioned earlier the Krakovites don't believe in fighting. So the Swedish, the Austrians, the Germans, the Russians pretty much anyone who has passed by has taken something for themselves. So inside the Palace apartments (we took a tour) we found out that all furniture, paintings and furnishings are all "imported" from either Italy, Holland, or Germany. With the odd sample from as far afield as the UK, Spain or Portugal. However, other than this small annoyance, it has been very well restored and is really a joy to walk around. I find that on a sunny day, there is certainly a lot of time to be wasted here.
The square is nice and smoothly plastered with balstrades abound. All casting lovely shadows.
Also with some small outbreaks of vegetation giving it a warm comfortable feel.

When we were there, there was still lots to see in the square in front of the apartments. There is something for the boys mostly, as I have told or heard from many that the Polish girls are very attractive and maybe this will show something of them. For the girls, there is fashion and shoes. :) It is a popular location for wedding photos and some modelling work too. Certainly entertaining for all.
They are shooting both calendars and wedding shots here.
Some models didn't have any fans following them, so brought their own.I swear I took this one for the ladies for the bracelet and the purse.Some can just model anywhere...........They just have style, poise, and look right when modelling......
Unfortunately, some just don't get the hints and clues that others drop..... Thanks Simon.But we can always make them models for other products....
Like chocolate bars or washing powder...... any other suggestions for our budding model?

As mentioned in a previous post, Marty has certainly got me into looking more at ladies shoes, I think Europeans probably wear nicer shoes than Australians. Then again, I didn't really look, so maybe they do.....


Here is the footer! Oh dear another bad pun, one per post, I promised you that!