The geographical core and political center of Poland since 1611, Warsaw is not the cold and dead city it used to be under communism rule. Today with bustling Polish economy and freedom from communist rule, the city has undergone a huge transformation process. Many old communist buildings gave way to modern sky scrapers, dilapidating old town was restored, entertainment and services transformed to match that of other western capitals.
During World War II Warsaw was in the worst possible location, and perhaps nowhere else in Europe are so many reminders of that time. The surviving one-third of Warsaw's inhabitants, however, energetically rebuilt brick by brick their city - literally from the ashes - starting in 1945. Although many of the buildings in central Warsaw were built in an austere, quasi-Gothic, Stalinist style, a large number of pre-war buildings were carefully restored or, in many cases, completely reconstructed according to old prints, photographs, and paintings. An example for this is the beautiful restored Rynek Starego Miasta (Old Town Square). Also impressive is the wedding cake-like Palac Kultury I Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science), Stalin's early 1950s gift to the city. Warsaw also has lovely churches and monasteries and interesting monuments and museums, and it bustles with activity during the whole year.
Apart from the embankment carved out by the Vistula (Wisla) River, which runs through the city south to north, Warsaw is entirely flat. It stretches more than 32 km (~ 20 mi) in each direction, the sights of greatest interest to most tourists are concentrated primarily in two areas: downtown, which lies along ulica Marszalkowska, and the Old Town, just over 2 km (~ 1 mi) away and centered on Old Town Square.
Both areas are best explored on foot. Public transportation, though cheap and efficient, can be uncomfortably crowded.
Very special thanks go to our friends and hosts, Gosia and Marc, who made our stay in Warsaw an unforgettable one! We also enjoyed our time with Hangy and his Mexican girlfriend Alejandra a lot.
All in all, we had a great time in Warsaw, not only because of the city itself, but also because of our friends! Moreover, it was the first time for me being in Poland, where my granddad is from - so it was a little bit like discovering my roots as well :-)
Following you find some pictures of Oli and my stay in Warsaw - enjoy!
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The Visitor
Travel Poland
Lonely Planet - Destination Poland
Poland.pl
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