Warsaw Home Exchange June 18-28, 2014
June 18, 2014, Arrival in Warsaw, Plac Zamkovy (Castle Square)
Today it was time to move the show from Krakow to Warsaw. AlteCocker's train left at 8:42am. She left the hotel at 7:30am to make her way to the unfamiliar train station. Better to be early than late! The hotel called a cab for her and the guy at the desk carried down her bags and helped walk them down the street to where the cab came. In no time she was at the train station with plenty of time to kill.
The hotel packed AlteCocker a breakfast bag which included a huge amount of stuff including a sandwich and a bottle of water. There was so much that some of it was abandoned on the train as just too much to carry. She did consume a delicious breakfast sandwich. While she was chowing down on the sandwich, the train pulled up. AlteCocker made her way to the train and found her compartment and seat. A young woman getting her doctorate in political science joined her in the compartment. She and the woman whiled away the train ride chatting. Occasionally AlteCocker would read and the woman wrote a letter. The woman was going to Warsaw to try and get permanent residency in Poland--a better option than her native Belarus. She was fascinated by the fact that AlteCocker was going to Belarus. She clearly loved her native land, but the government, not so much.
At the train station AlteCocker searched for a taxi. She got in a taxi that she thinks over charged her. While it was a long cab ride, the bill was $90--much more than she was expecting. It was the only cab there at the train station exit. Perhaps AlteCocker was overcharged. She doesn't really know but what was done was done. When she arrived at the apartment--a truly lovely apartment in a building with an elevator (but AlteCocker is on the first floor)--someone was there to give her the keys! After her experience in Krakow, AlteCocker is living in an apartment with a jacuzzi (which she is leaving alone because she does not know how to use one) and a dishwasher--a rarity in Europe. Nice--and clean. The apartment is in a building with an elevator but AlteCocker doesn't need it as she is on the first floor.
For her first day, after resolving not to do this, AlteCocker took the two buses necessary to get into the Old City section of Warsaw. It is called Place Zamkowy, or Castle Square. Of course there is a castle, and AlteCocker knocked that one off today--along with a very nice picture gallery with two fabulous Rembrandts. The one of the woman is especially spectacular. She just looks right out at you. The lighting of the Rembrandts in the gallery was just spectacular. Everything in Castle Square is a reconstruction as the Russians waited across the Vistula when Warsaw rose. They let the Nazis kill off the Polish underground to save Stalin the trouble. After the fight was over, Warsaw had been flattened and the Soviet Army waltzed in. It is not a nice story. The end result was massive destruction. Almost everything in central Warsaw is, therefore, a reconstruction. Still, it is very nice but AlteCocker is again exhausted. Definitely NO schlepping very far tomorrow. Perhaps there will be a short journey in the car where AlteCocker can drive somewhere and park with a site nearby without a lot of walking. She does not fancy going home in a coffin.
The predictable confusion getting home on the two buses required from Warsaw (really a very quick and easy change). It is always confusing the first couple of times. After that, you are an expert. Dinner was a bowl of soup and dessert in the Old City. AlteCocker was asleep by 9:00pm after writing the first part of this blog. She woke up several hours later to finish it up.
AlteCocker also spent sometime reconciling her checking account. It was a bit tedious without the use of a printer but it did get done. Ah, how it is possible to do things on the internet.
The hotel packed AlteCocker a breakfast bag which included a huge amount of stuff including a sandwich and a bottle of water. There was so much that some of it was abandoned on the train as just too much to carry. She did consume a delicious breakfast sandwich. While she was chowing down on the sandwich, the train pulled up. AlteCocker made her way to the train and found her compartment and seat. A young woman getting her doctorate in political science joined her in the compartment. She and the woman whiled away the train ride chatting. Occasionally AlteCocker would read and the woman wrote a letter. The woman was going to Warsaw to try and get permanent residency in Poland--a better option than her native Belarus. She was fascinated by the fact that AlteCocker was going to Belarus. She clearly loved her native land, but the government, not so much.
At the train station AlteCocker searched for a taxi. She got in a taxi that she thinks over charged her. While it was a long cab ride, the bill was $90--much more than she was expecting. It was the only cab there at the train station exit. Perhaps AlteCocker was overcharged. She doesn't really know but what was done was done. When she arrived at the apartment--a truly lovely apartment in a building with an elevator (but AlteCocker is on the first floor)--someone was there to give her the keys! After her experience in Krakow, AlteCocker is living in an apartment with a jacuzzi (which she is leaving alone because she does not know how to use one) and a dishwasher--a rarity in Europe. Nice--and clean. The apartment is in a building with an elevator but AlteCocker doesn't need it as she is on the first floor.
For her first day, after resolving not to do this, AlteCocker took the two buses necessary to get into the Old City section of Warsaw. It is called Place Zamkowy, or Castle Square. Of course there is a castle, and AlteCocker knocked that one off today--along with a very nice picture gallery with two fabulous Rembrandts. The one of the woman is especially spectacular. She just looks right out at you. The lighting of the Rembrandts in the gallery was just spectacular. Everything in Castle Square is a reconstruction as the Russians waited across the Vistula when Warsaw rose. They let the Nazis kill off the Polish underground to save Stalin the trouble. After the fight was over, Warsaw had been flattened and the Soviet Army waltzed in. It is not a nice story. The end result was massive destruction. Almost everything in central Warsaw is, therefore, a reconstruction. Still, it is very nice but AlteCocker is again exhausted. Definitely NO schlepping very far tomorrow. Perhaps there will be a short journey in the car where AlteCocker can drive somewhere and park with a site nearby without a lot of walking. She does not fancy going home in a coffin.
The predictable confusion getting home on the two buses required from Warsaw (really a very quick and easy change). It is always confusing the first couple of times. After that, you are an expert. Dinner was a bowl of soup and dessert in the Old City. AlteCocker was asleep by 9:00pm after writing the first part of this blog. She woke up several hours later to finish it up.
AlteCocker also spent sometime reconciling her checking account. It was a bit tedious without the use of a printer but it did get done. Ah, how it is possible to do things on the internet.
June 19, 2014, Housekeeping & Rest
As AlteCocker writes this it is noon and she has just gotten out of the shower and turned the washing machine on. This, being the Corpus Christi holiday in Poland all the museums are closed so it will be a down day. Perhaps AlteCocker will drive the car later somewhere. Perhaps she will do nothing. Nothing does happen on some days during a longer trip. Nothing is also sometimes good for the back.
After finally figuring out the shower (you sit down), she was able to clean up. The bathroom has a motion sensor that turns the light on. There is another light for the shower but AlteCocker only found that after she ended up showering in the dark. AlteCocker is convinced that no two showers or washers in Europe work the same way.
So, after showering, AlteCocker set out to conquer the washer. This is no small effort as the buttons are in Polish (They should be in English in Poland?). Yesterday Krystof, the brother of the family whose apartment AlteCocker is using and who met her at the apartment after the expensive taxi ride, sort of showed her how to use the washer. You have to understand he is a college student. Maybe his mother still washes his clothes. He closed the washer door and then we could not get it open again. He had to call his sister in Spain for instructions. She is on holiday (which is why AlteCocker is using her apartment; this is a complicated exchange arrangement). So today AlteCocker put the clothes in the washer and then could not figure out how to start it. It really was not a full load but AlteCocker had to see if she could figure the damn thing out. Nothing causes more problems in home exchanges in Europe for Americans than the washers (you rarely get a dryer) and complicated TV systems. The washers are all much smaller than those in the US with a mess of buttons that are unfamiliar and usually in some damn foreign language (at least foreign to English speakers). If you are lucky, there might be a multilanguage instruction booklet. Not here. So, how did AlteCocker get the clothes washed? Well there was a small Polish-English dictionary in the house. Pimsleur, unfortunately, concentrates on basic conversation and not Polish words for washing machine buttons. So, what to do? The dictionary was no help. The button for opening the door is on the right. There are several buttons on the left. Hmm. AlteCocker pushed the one to the far left and the machine started. She checked to see if the washing powder was put in the right place and noticed that that it was. Unlike with some European washers, she did not need to make the sign of the cross over the washer (mind you, she is not of the Christian persuasion) to hope it was working properly. Such and adventure and she did not even have to leave the house!
After hanging up the laundry (no dryers in much of Europe) AlteCocker decided to take a walk around the neighborhood in search of food. She started to go back in the direction of the bus stop but it looked as if there was more action in the other direction so she walked that way. At the corner she turned left and there was an Italian restaurant, San Marino. Now, if you click on the link for the restaurant, you will notice that it is in Zabki, not Warsaw proper. Zabki is a suburb and that is where AlteCocker's home exchange is located. She ate dinner. If you eat there, just order a main course. AlteCocker had fish called "gilthead" in the menu translated into English. She had no idea what it was but this is what wikipedia has to say about it. It was not filleted--fairly standard in Europe. The portion was enormous. AlteCocker should not have ordered an appetizer of bruchetta. She liked the bruchetta better than the main course. The fish came with a mix of vegetables with dried sun tomatoes and olives in it. Also on the side mashed potatoes and a salad. The bruchetta was definitely not needed but that and the salad were the best part of the meal for AlteCocker. The restaurant was nicely provided with a play area for kids. Adjacent--and part of the restaurant--was a bakery with gelato. Even though AlteCocker did not finish her main course, she had a scoop of pineapple gelato. She had pineapple. There was a play area in the bakery side of the business and AlteCocker was informed that people come there with small children to hang out in the winter when it is too cold to play outside.
So while eating gelato AlteCocker starts chatting with this couple and their little girl (or rather with the man because the wife did not speak much English and the little girl hasn't been to school yet). He turned out to be an actor named Rafal Sadowski. He and his wife also run the flower shop across the street from the restaurant. AlteCocker will purchase flowers there for the family whose house she is using before she leaves. Well, Rafal is performing in a musical revue in town and AlteCocker and Rafael invites her to see him perform. Best part: Pan (Polish for "Mr.") Sadowski will drive and AlteCocker would not have to send out the bloodhounds to find the place. It is a review of Hollywood songs so no worries about understanding what is going on.
After finally figuring out the shower (you sit down), she was able to clean up. The bathroom has a motion sensor that turns the light on. There is another light for the shower but AlteCocker only found that after she ended up showering in the dark. AlteCocker is convinced that no two showers or washers in Europe work the same way.
So, after showering, AlteCocker set out to conquer the washer. This is no small effort as the buttons are in Polish (They should be in English in Poland?). Yesterday Krystof, the brother of the family whose apartment AlteCocker is using and who met her at the apartment after the expensive taxi ride, sort of showed her how to use the washer. You have to understand he is a college student. Maybe his mother still washes his clothes. He closed the washer door and then we could not get it open again. He had to call his sister in Spain for instructions. She is on holiday (which is why AlteCocker is using her apartment; this is a complicated exchange arrangement). So today AlteCocker put the clothes in the washer and then could not figure out how to start it. It really was not a full load but AlteCocker had to see if she could figure the damn thing out. Nothing causes more problems in home exchanges in Europe for Americans than the washers (you rarely get a dryer) and complicated TV systems. The washers are all much smaller than those in the US with a mess of buttons that are unfamiliar and usually in some damn foreign language (at least foreign to English speakers). If you are lucky, there might be a multilanguage instruction booklet. Not here. So, how did AlteCocker get the clothes washed? Well there was a small Polish-English dictionary in the house. Pimsleur, unfortunately, concentrates on basic conversation and not Polish words for washing machine buttons. So, what to do? The dictionary was no help. The button for opening the door is on the right. There are several buttons on the left. Hmm. AlteCocker pushed the one to the far left and the machine started. She checked to see if the washing powder was put in the right place and noticed that that it was. Unlike with some European washers, she did not need to make the sign of the cross over the washer (mind you, she is not of the Christian persuasion) to hope it was working properly. Such and adventure and she did not even have to leave the house!
After hanging up the laundry (no dryers in much of Europe) AlteCocker decided to take a walk around the neighborhood in search of food. She started to go back in the direction of the bus stop but it looked as if there was more action in the other direction so she walked that way. At the corner she turned left and there was an Italian restaurant, San Marino. Now, if you click on the link for the restaurant, you will notice that it is in Zabki, not Warsaw proper. Zabki is a suburb and that is where AlteCocker's home exchange is located. She ate dinner. If you eat there, just order a main course. AlteCocker had fish called "gilthead" in the menu translated into English. She had no idea what it was but this is what wikipedia has to say about it. It was not filleted--fairly standard in Europe. The portion was enormous. AlteCocker should not have ordered an appetizer of bruchetta. She liked the bruchetta better than the main course. The fish came with a mix of vegetables with dried sun tomatoes and olives in it. Also on the side mashed potatoes and a salad. The bruchetta was definitely not needed but that and the salad were the best part of the meal for AlteCocker. The restaurant was nicely provided with a play area for kids. Adjacent--and part of the restaurant--was a bakery with gelato. Even though AlteCocker did not finish her main course, she had a scoop of pineapple gelato. She had pineapple. There was a play area in the bakery side of the business and AlteCocker was informed that people come there with small children to hang out in the winter when it is too cold to play outside.
So while eating gelato AlteCocker starts chatting with this couple and their little girl (or rather with the man because the wife did not speak much English and the little girl hasn't been to school yet). He turned out to be an actor named Rafal Sadowski. He and his wife also run the flower shop across the street from the restaurant. AlteCocker will purchase flowers there for the family whose house she is using before she leaves. Well, Rafal is performing in a musical revue in town and AlteCocker and Rafael invites her to see him perform. Best part: Pan (Polish for "Mr.") Sadowski will drive and AlteCocker would not have to send out the bloodhounds to find the place. It is a review of Hollywood songs so no worries about understanding what is going on.
June 20, 2014, Polish Rising Museum
AlteCocker's original intent today was to go to Jan Sobietski III's Palace. That was put on hold for another day because the morning was overcast and castle visits always involve walking the grounds. Who wants to do this if it rains? And it did later in the afternoon.
So AlteCocker hopped the two buses she needs to take (easy and convenient transfer) to get to Plac Zamkovy and tourist information. Those people are really great! Entering she asked for bus directions to the Polish Rising Museum (bus 178). At the end of World War II, the Russians encouraged the Polish Resistance to rise and fight the Germans. It was thought Stalin's troops would fight beside the Poles, but, no. They sat on their behinds on the other side of the Vistula and let the Poles and Germans kill each other so they could waltz right in. The Soviets made the Poles lay down their arms and then arrested many of them. Some of the leaders were tried an executed in Moscow AS TRAITORS! Traitors? They just fought the Germans for their own freedom. The Soviets saw them as traitors to Communism and eliminated many of them. Others were shipped to the gulag where their shelf life was not very long. Of course, the treatment of the Poles at Yalta was controversial, but the Soviets had troops on the ground and no one in the West wanted another war with Stalin. Many of the Polish intellectual and military elite was also shot by the Russians in the infamous Katyn Forest Massacre. Memorials to that one are all around. Poland just has such a sad history being between German and Russia--and, before that, Lithuania and Sweden had a whack at Poland as well. Let's hope they are able to exist the way they want to exist this time.
This museum is new and is focused on multimedia. As with the US Holocaust Museum, some exhibitions are put where children cannot view them. AlteCocker saw the most harrowing film of the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto she has ever seen in the Rising Museum. They were picking up bodies off the street and they were all so emaciated that they were just bones. Of course, the ones in who died in The Ghetto were relatively "lucky" compared to those who died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Poland has so many depressing sites. If you go to the Rising Museum, pay extra for the 3-D "City in Ruins" experience. Expect a long queue. What they have done is colorize aerial films of Warsaw taken after the Rising. After the Rising only about 1,000 Poles were living in the ruins. The rest were dead or had fled. Some of those who fought and died in the Rising were Boy Scouts and young teens. Before leaving home, one survivor was told by his father to do what he had to do but "Do not get killed in a stupid way." He said it was the best advice his father ever gave him. AlteCocker will remember that as long as she lives.
Those who survived the Rising and could left Poland after the Russians moved in. AlteCocker found that tremendously sad. You fight for your freedom, you win, and you then have to flee.
Lunch was at a nondescript kebab stand run by a Bangladeshi--yes a Bangladeshi in Poland! Kebab and pizza places have taken over Europe! They are good alternatives for an inexpensive place to eat--and you don't want a huge meal all the time. After the museum, which took AlteCocker 3 1/2 hours, AlteCocker bused it back to Plac Zamkovy--missing her stop but fortunately the bus turned around two or three stops later. She realized she had missed her stop when the bus passed by this huge memorial to the Polish Home Army during its run. Just a few minutes wasted. AlteCocker had a coffee, walked around the square some and took the bus "home".
This day was not overkill and AlteCocker is tired but not totally exhausted. Due to the fact she has more time in Warsaw, she is not obliged to kill herself to see the highlights.
Coming home was a lot easier the second time. AlteCocker did get an email from Rafael and the whole ticket thing is set up for Saturday night. On Sunday night something else is planned. For what is going on then, you have to keep reading.
So AlteCocker hopped the two buses she needs to take (easy and convenient transfer) to get to Plac Zamkovy and tourist information. Those people are really great! Entering she asked for bus directions to the Polish Rising Museum (bus 178). At the end of World War II, the Russians encouraged the Polish Resistance to rise and fight the Germans. It was thought Stalin's troops would fight beside the Poles, but, no. They sat on their behinds on the other side of the Vistula and let the Poles and Germans kill each other so they could waltz right in. The Soviets made the Poles lay down their arms and then arrested many of them. Some of the leaders were tried an executed in Moscow AS TRAITORS! Traitors? They just fought the Germans for their own freedom. The Soviets saw them as traitors to Communism and eliminated many of them. Others were shipped to the gulag where their shelf life was not very long. Of course, the treatment of the Poles at Yalta was controversial, but the Soviets had troops on the ground and no one in the West wanted another war with Stalin. Many of the Polish intellectual and military elite was also shot by the Russians in the infamous Katyn Forest Massacre. Memorials to that one are all around. Poland just has such a sad history being between German and Russia--and, before that, Lithuania and Sweden had a whack at Poland as well. Let's hope they are able to exist the way they want to exist this time.
This museum is new and is focused on multimedia. As with the US Holocaust Museum, some exhibitions are put where children cannot view them. AlteCocker saw the most harrowing film of the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto she has ever seen in the Rising Museum. They were picking up bodies off the street and they were all so emaciated that they were just bones. Of course, the ones in who died in The Ghetto were relatively "lucky" compared to those who died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Poland has so many depressing sites. If you go to the Rising Museum, pay extra for the 3-D "City in Ruins" experience. Expect a long queue. What they have done is colorize aerial films of Warsaw taken after the Rising. After the Rising only about 1,000 Poles were living in the ruins. The rest were dead or had fled. Some of those who fought and died in the Rising were Boy Scouts and young teens. Before leaving home, one survivor was told by his father to do what he had to do but "Do not get killed in a stupid way." He said it was the best advice his father ever gave him. AlteCocker will remember that as long as she lives.
Those who survived the Rising and could left Poland after the Russians moved in. AlteCocker found that tremendously sad. You fight for your freedom, you win, and you then have to flee.
Lunch was at a nondescript kebab stand run by a Bangladeshi--yes a Bangladeshi in Poland! Kebab and pizza places have taken over Europe! They are good alternatives for an inexpensive place to eat--and you don't want a huge meal all the time. After the museum, which took AlteCocker 3 1/2 hours, AlteCocker bused it back to Plac Zamkovy--missing her stop but fortunately the bus turned around two or three stops later. She realized she had missed her stop when the bus passed by this huge memorial to the Polish Home Army during its run. Just a few minutes wasted. AlteCocker had a coffee, walked around the square some and took the bus "home".
This day was not overkill and AlteCocker is tired but not totally exhausted. Due to the fact she has more time in Warsaw, she is not obliged to kill herself to see the highlights.
Coming home was a lot easier the second time. AlteCocker did get an email from Rafael and the whole ticket thing is set up for Saturday night. On Sunday night something else is planned. For what is going on then, you have to keep reading.
June 21, 2014, Jan Sobietski's Wilanow Palace
AlteCocker did this one on the bus today--3 buses to be exact. It was a so so day weatherwise in the morning but AlteCocker thought she'd better check this one off the list. The palace is located a good distance south of Warsaw. Bus 180 took her there. It was a long bus ride on bus 180. She had some confusion buying her ticket when she entered because she entered the palace grounds the wrong way. The place is Warsaw's answer to Versailles although much smaller. You buy a separate ticket for the gardens. If you are not sure you want to do both, you can buy the garden ticket at the entrance to the garden. Better have coins for the machine! AlteCocker went to both the palace and the gardens. She enjoyed the gardens more than the place. It being Saturday, the palace was mobbed which did not help in the enjoyment department. She can only imagine the mess on free days!
The palace is basically in the baroque style. Jan Sobietski was king of Poland 1676-1696. He is most well known for defeating the Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. On a prior trip to Europe AlteCocker visited the hill on which he looked down at the Turkish army before the battle began, so the visit to the palace was a must. Lots of paintings, furniture, ornate ceilings, etc.--and mobs of people. Compared to a lot of European palaces the Wilanow is relatively small. It was, however, basically a summer home for Sobietski and his family--not a showpiece palace like Versailles. The gardens are lovely as well with many fewer people there than in the palace (and more spread out). Lots of locals just visit the gardens for their daily constitutional. The outside of the place is very ornate with sculptures. It even has frescos. Imagine the upkeep on frescos outside! You will not see the frescos unless you visit the gardens.
Lunch--which was eaten backwards--was first a latte with another piece of Polish apple pie. Let AlteCocker tell you about Polish apple pie: It bears no relation to the American version and it is much better. The Poles call it "Szarlotka". (pronounced "Charlottke"; maybe Charlotte made it; AlteCocker does not know the story behind the name. It is chock full of apples and is very addictive. On the way out of the place grounds, AlteCocker passed an outside grill selling a variety of grilled meats. She tried something called a pork neck because one was cooking and looked delicious. It was. Despite her name, AlteCocker is definitely NOT kosher. The grill served the meat with mayonaisse and a sweet ketchup/salsa type sauce. AlteCocker hates mayonnaise. The other sauce was OK, but the meat was fine without it.
After exiting the place, AlteCocker began the bus journey back. On the long bus ride from Wilanow, AlteCocker wiled the time away talking to two Israelis and a young American man who has been teaching English in Poland for the past 6 years. The young man had just returned from attending a service at a Reform Jewish Synagogue near the palace with a Polish Jewish woman. The amazing thing was that, after living 6 years in Poland, when he tried to ask the Polish woman how large the congregation was at the synagogue, he couldn't. Shit, AlteCocker got through 28 lessons of Pimsleur Polish before the trip and SHE was able to ask the woman the question. The congregation was 100 people. There are very few Jews left in Poland, of course. 94% of everyone is Roman Catholic. Now you know why AlteCocker absolutely swears by Pimsleur for anywhere she is languague impaired. AlteCocker guesses that that young man must have a foreign language block if he has lived in Warsaw 6 years!
A stop was made at a friendly ATM to replenish the wallet. AlteCocker chose English for the language, but, part of the way through the machine inexplicably switched to Polish. She guessed at which button to push and she guesses she pushed the correct one because money came out. Since she will be leaving Poland in a week, she got just about enough to carry her through. The trip is going fast.
At about 5:00pm AlteCocker arrived back "home" and relaxed and caught up on the blog. At just before 6:30pm, she walked down to the Sadowski flower shop and Rafal arrived to take her to the Sabat Theater in Foksal Street in downtown Warsaw where he was performing in a Moulin Rouge type review downtown called "Hollywood na Foksal" ("Hollywood in Foksal Street"). It was a mixture of Polish and English songs. Of course, she did not get the Polish jokes but she still enjoyed the ambiance and the entertainment: Lots of dancing, some acrobatics with ribbons and a hoop and lots of singing. It was a feel good show. The reveue is really centered around the girls in elaborate costumes. They must have a huge back stage to store all them. AlteCocker thought of her sister who does wardrobe for Broadway shows in New York. Rafal sings in the show and he has a terrific voice! It was a show that AlteCocker would never have found by herself--and not the type of show she would normally see but she must admit she had fun. She got a specially priced ticket as a friend of Rafal's and sat right up front. Food was extra and, if you don't watch, you could spend a lot of money in there. AlteCocker stuck to the basics: Salmon for a main course and a glass of wine. She did not order dessert. The food was fine, but, as is true with all supper clubs, overpriced. It is the way they make their money. After the show some of the singers continued entertaining and some couples danced. Of course, AlteCocker was not a couple and didn't. Since Rafal did not have to work, we headed for home. It takes a lot less time than going by bus when you are with someone who knows where he is driving!
Having experienced low culture this evening, tomorrow will be high culture: Chopin in a park with some her exchangers. This is a home exchange agreement where the Polish people will visit me later--maybe in 2 years.
The palace is basically in the baroque style. Jan Sobietski was king of Poland 1676-1696. He is most well known for defeating the Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683. On a prior trip to Europe AlteCocker visited the hill on which he looked down at the Turkish army before the battle began, so the visit to the palace was a must. Lots of paintings, furniture, ornate ceilings, etc.--and mobs of people. Compared to a lot of European palaces the Wilanow is relatively small. It was, however, basically a summer home for Sobietski and his family--not a showpiece palace like Versailles. The gardens are lovely as well with many fewer people there than in the palace (and more spread out). Lots of locals just visit the gardens for their daily constitutional. The outside of the place is very ornate with sculptures. It even has frescos. Imagine the upkeep on frescos outside! You will not see the frescos unless you visit the gardens.
Lunch--which was eaten backwards--was first a latte with another piece of Polish apple pie. Let AlteCocker tell you about Polish apple pie: It bears no relation to the American version and it is much better. The Poles call it "Szarlotka". (pronounced "Charlottke"; maybe Charlotte made it; AlteCocker does not know the story behind the name. It is chock full of apples and is very addictive. On the way out of the place grounds, AlteCocker passed an outside grill selling a variety of grilled meats. She tried something called a pork neck because one was cooking and looked delicious. It was. Despite her name, AlteCocker is definitely NOT kosher. The grill served the meat with mayonaisse and a sweet ketchup/salsa type sauce. AlteCocker hates mayonnaise. The other sauce was OK, but the meat was fine without it.
After exiting the place, AlteCocker began the bus journey back. On the long bus ride from Wilanow, AlteCocker wiled the time away talking to two Israelis and a young American man who has been teaching English in Poland for the past 6 years. The young man had just returned from attending a service at a Reform Jewish Synagogue near the palace with a Polish Jewish woman. The amazing thing was that, after living 6 years in Poland, when he tried to ask the Polish woman how large the congregation was at the synagogue, he couldn't. Shit, AlteCocker got through 28 lessons of Pimsleur Polish before the trip and SHE was able to ask the woman the question. The congregation was 100 people. There are very few Jews left in Poland, of course. 94% of everyone is Roman Catholic. Now you know why AlteCocker absolutely swears by Pimsleur for anywhere she is languague impaired. AlteCocker guesses that that young man must have a foreign language block if he has lived in Warsaw 6 years!
A stop was made at a friendly ATM to replenish the wallet. AlteCocker chose English for the language, but, part of the way through the machine inexplicably switched to Polish. She guessed at which button to push and she guesses she pushed the correct one because money came out. Since she will be leaving Poland in a week, she got just about enough to carry her through. The trip is going fast.
At about 5:00pm AlteCocker arrived back "home" and relaxed and caught up on the blog. At just before 6:30pm, she walked down to the Sadowski flower shop and Rafal arrived to take her to the Sabat Theater in Foksal Street in downtown Warsaw where he was performing in a Moulin Rouge type review downtown called "Hollywood na Foksal" ("Hollywood in Foksal Street"). It was a mixture of Polish and English songs. Of course, she did not get the Polish jokes but she still enjoyed the ambiance and the entertainment: Lots of dancing, some acrobatics with ribbons and a hoop and lots of singing. It was a feel good show. The reveue is really centered around the girls in elaborate costumes. They must have a huge back stage to store all them. AlteCocker thought of her sister who does wardrobe for Broadway shows in New York. Rafal sings in the show and he has a terrific voice! It was a show that AlteCocker would never have found by herself--and not the type of show she would normally see but she must admit she had fun. She got a specially priced ticket as a friend of Rafal's and sat right up front. Food was extra and, if you don't watch, you could spend a lot of money in there. AlteCocker stuck to the basics: Salmon for a main course and a glass of wine. She did not order dessert. The food was fine, but, as is true with all supper clubs, overpriced. It is the way they make their money. After the show some of the singers continued entertaining and some couples danced. Of course, AlteCocker was not a couple and didn't. Since Rafal did not have to work, we headed for home. It takes a lot less time than going by bus when you are with someone who knows where he is driving!
Having experienced low culture this evening, tomorrow will be high culture: Chopin in a park with some her exchangers. This is a home exchange agreement where the Polish people will visit me later--maybe in 2 years.
June 22, 2014, Chopin Concert, AlteCocker Gets Stuffed
OK, this is a very complicated home exchange. The people in Warsaw could not come as planned so AlteCocker is using their daughter's apartment while their daughter is in Spain. They hopefully will visit me eventually.
This morning the female member of the home exchange couple meets me at my local bus stop with her granddaughter to take me to the noon Chopin Concert at he Chopin Monument in Lazienski Park. What AlteCocker did not know is that these people went all the way across Warsaw starting early in the morning to pick me up at the bus stop. Then they had to double back with me to go to the concert. AlteCocker had seen the Chopin statue before in her bus schlep out to Wilanow, but she had not realized what it was. She could have met them there! Polish people are just so nice! The Chopin concerts are a Warsaw tradition and are held every Sunday during the summer tourist season. There are benches on which to sit, but get there early to grab one (we did). Today we had a Polish woman pianist. Unfortunately, AlteCocker cannot find her name online. One highlight for AlteCocker was just watching some little Polish girls pretending to be ballerinas "dancing" to the music. Unfortuantely, there are no photos because AlteCocker was too far away and those little girls moved too quickly.
There were many tourists all taking what were certainly more or less identical photos.
After the concert, AlteCocker was in bad need of a toilet, as it the weather was chilly changing back from warm to rainy--necessitating the constant changing of layered clothing. Off one minute, on the next, etc., etc., etc. We ended up at a coffee shop and bakery very near to the Lazienski Park (in the embassy district) called Byc Moze. It had some fabulous bakery products; she asked if it was a chain (hoping to find one closer to her home exchange home, but, no, it was not a chain. AlteCocker bought a baguette and a dessert bread to donate to the Polish stuffing festival yet to come in the afternoon. She also had a delicious pastry with apples in it as she had not eaten breakfast. She shared the pastry with the others--well each of them had one bite; AlteCocker ate most of it.
The highlight of the day was yet to come. AlteCocker was schlepped on all sorts of trams, buses and the one Metro (subway) line in Warsaw on the way to her home exchangers' home where she experienced a true Polish Sunday lunch complete with the entire family including grandchildren. Some of the food reminded AlteCocker of the food she remembered as a child. Eastern European kosher cooking is very similar to that of Eastern European Jewish cooking. The Jews simply eliminate the pork. The "babka" AlteCocker had for dessert took AlteCocker back to her childhood. There were also fish balls and delicious breaded pork from the back of a pig. Yum.
Fortunately, AlteCocker was driven home after the meal and spared what would have been 1 bus, 1 Metro and 2 more buses. On Sunday the bus to AlteCocker's "home" does not run very often (the others . Otherwise the Warsaw tram service is extensive and very convenient. You do not wait long for connections. AlteCocker loves not having to drive a car with all the stress that entails (even with a GPS) and she is probably not going to use it. There is so much she still wants to see in Warsaw that it seems ridiculous to start learning to drive here for such a short home exchange--which ends in 5 days. One big plus for today was learning how to get to the western train and bus station--where AlteCocker needs to go to take the bus to Belarus next Saturday, June 28th. Each day, of course, gets easier.
Tonight it was time to do laundry again. The clothes are washing as AlteCocker is updating the blog. Last laundry in Poland will be June 27th--house clean up day. June 28th will be consumed in getting to the bus station for the long bus ride to Belarus.
This morning the female member of the home exchange couple meets me at my local bus stop with her granddaughter to take me to the noon Chopin Concert at he Chopin Monument in Lazienski Park. What AlteCocker did not know is that these people went all the way across Warsaw starting early in the morning to pick me up at the bus stop. Then they had to double back with me to go to the concert. AlteCocker had seen the Chopin statue before in her bus schlep out to Wilanow, but she had not realized what it was. She could have met them there! Polish people are just so nice! The Chopin concerts are a Warsaw tradition and are held every Sunday during the summer tourist season. There are benches on which to sit, but get there early to grab one (we did). Today we had a Polish woman pianist. Unfortunately, AlteCocker cannot find her name online. One highlight for AlteCocker was just watching some little Polish girls pretending to be ballerinas "dancing" to the music. Unfortuantely, there are no photos because AlteCocker was too far away and those little girls moved too quickly.
There were many tourists all taking what were certainly more or less identical photos.
After the concert, AlteCocker was in bad need of a toilet, as it the weather was chilly changing back from warm to rainy--necessitating the constant changing of layered clothing. Off one minute, on the next, etc., etc., etc. We ended up at a coffee shop and bakery very near to the Lazienski Park (in the embassy district) called Byc Moze. It had some fabulous bakery products; she asked if it was a chain (hoping to find one closer to her home exchange home, but, no, it was not a chain. AlteCocker bought a baguette and a dessert bread to donate to the Polish stuffing festival yet to come in the afternoon. She also had a delicious pastry with apples in it as she had not eaten breakfast. She shared the pastry with the others--well each of them had one bite; AlteCocker ate most of it.
The highlight of the day was yet to come. AlteCocker was schlepped on all sorts of trams, buses and the one Metro (subway) line in Warsaw on the way to her home exchangers' home where she experienced a true Polish Sunday lunch complete with the entire family including grandchildren. Some of the food reminded AlteCocker of the food she remembered as a child. Eastern European kosher cooking is very similar to that of Eastern European Jewish cooking. The Jews simply eliminate the pork. The "babka" AlteCocker had for dessert took AlteCocker back to her childhood. There were also fish balls and delicious breaded pork from the back of a pig. Yum.
Fortunately, AlteCocker was driven home after the meal and spared what would have been 1 bus, 1 Metro and 2 more buses. On Sunday the bus to AlteCocker's "home" does not run very often (the others . Otherwise the Warsaw tram service is extensive and very convenient. You do not wait long for connections. AlteCocker loves not having to drive a car with all the stress that entails (even with a GPS) and she is probably not going to use it. There is so much she still wants to see in Warsaw that it seems ridiculous to start learning to drive here for such a short home exchange--which ends in 5 days. One big plus for today was learning how to get to the western train and bus station--where AlteCocker needs to go to take the bus to Belarus next Saturday, June 28th. Each day, of course, gets easier.
Tonight it was time to do laundry again. The clothes are washing as AlteCocker is updating the blog. Last laundry in Poland will be June 27th--house clean up day. June 28th will be consumed in getting to the bus station for the long bus ride to Belarus.
June 23, 2014, Remnants of Jewish Warsaw
AlteCocker got a late start today but nevertheless spent many hours walking around remnants of Jewish Warsaw today. As with elsewhere in Eastern Europe, most of those who survived the Holocaust moved elsewhere so very few Jews are left. Recently Eastern Europe has realized that there is an advantage to somewhat reviving what is left to attract tourists. Many of those who travel into Eastern Europe are Jewish and Jewish related sites are a prime interest. For some Jewish sites are all they want to see.
The bus ride into town was enlivened by the company of a Nigerian woman on the bus who, of course, spoke perfect English. She and her Nigerian husband have immigrated to Poland. Her husband studied in Poland so that is how it happened. There are very few nonwhites in Poland. The country is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and does have some issues with Jews and Muslims--recently over kosher and halal butchering which are both banned in Poland forcing observant Jews and Muslims to import their meat from outside the country. One Polish Jewish man also told me that circumcision is also banned but people continue to do it anyway and no one is prosecuted for it. There is a rise in antisemitism in Europe as a result of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians. Without getting into all the politics (and politics is not the point of this blog or something in which AlteCocker likes to interject herself when out of the United States), it is what it is.
AlteCocker had gotten a little booklet on suggested Jewish walks from tourist information in the Stare Miasto (Old City). It was the old commute in but she stayed on the bus to Ratuz Arsenal, where she took the Metro one stop to Swietokryska to begin her walk. Opposite the exit from the Metro was a kosher reataurant and AlteCocker stopped there to have a small portion of falafel before heading out to conquer the ghetto.
There was a group tour there in English and AlteCocker asked if she could join it. However it was a group tour for a bus group. Then a woman named Agnuska, who identified herself as a new guide came up and asked if AlteCocker needed a guide. Since she was a new guide Agnuska told AlteCocker that she could just tip her at the end if she was satisfied. AlteCocker hates those arrangements but for one person a personal guide can be expensive if engaged ahead of time as the price is often the same as for a group. Anyway Agnuska became her guide. Her English was not as fluent as some but she made up for it with a good heart. AlteCocker pretty much saw all that she wanted to see except for the assembly area where Jews were assembled for deportation and the markers of where the footbridge that went over the tram line was. The tram line passed below and the Jews climbed a footbridge to go from one side of the line to the other. The Nazis put up the walls and set up the footbridge to prevent Poles from throwing bread to the Jews--something for which you could be killed when the Nazis were in power. if she has time, she might return to the area on another day.
AlteCocker did see some remnants of the ghetto wall. Of course, eventually there was a ghetto rising, the ghetto was destroyed and most of the Jews were shipped to Treblinka and gassed upon arrival. Agunska also took AlteCocker into the Nozyk Synagogue, an orthodox synagogue still in operation. You have to go in through the rear and there is a 6 zloty fee. The rabbi was lecturing to a bunch of obviously orthodox Jews (the woman had wigs). They all spoke American English interspersed with Hebrew. We had a look around from the women's gallery but did not stay long. From the women's gallery the acoustics were terrible and we did not want to disturb the group. AlteCocker also saw the outside of Poland's only surviving Yiddish theater (plays in both Polish and Yiddish, but Agnuska told me that the quality of the productions was terrible). The theater was named after Esther Rachel and Ida Kaminska. Ester was Ida's mother. Ida became a big star in the Yiddish theater on the Lower East Side of New York after immigrating. Yiddish theater productions were known for emotive over acting--something that was popular at the time.
AlteCocker spent about 3-4 hours with Agnuska and, as she was disengaging a Canadian couple arrived and asked to join. AlteCocker passed Agnuska onto them and we all went to the Museum of Polish Jewish History. Unfortunately, the permanent exhibition does not open until October, but, from the small exhibition that AlteCocker saw, this museum promises to be a blockbuster. A highlight of the museum for AlteCocker was seeing this silver candlestick in a corner of the first area of the museum. AlteCocker has two identical candlesticks in her home in the United States. They are Russian and are part of family heritage. Imagine finding something you own in a museum! They are not, however, particularly valuable and are what is referred to as "paper silver"--very thin silver. They were used for the sabbath when women would bless the candles. In AlteCocker's house they were display items only and she was not happy when some home exchangers actually used them to burn candles--getting wax all over them in the process. They have were placed out of sight before AlteCocker left for Europe. Also in the museum are some short films--one of Jews just walking in the street, selling things, etc., was very nice. It had been colorized! So sad to think that almost no one in that film survived World War II.
Outside the Museum is the Monument to the Ghetto fighters commemorating the rising of the ghetto when people realized they were all slated for destruction anyway. Most of them died but a few escaped through the sewers. The ghetto was totally destroyed by the Nazis afterward.
After this cheerful day, AlteCocker headed home after almost getting on a tram in the wrong direction. Someone pointed to the other side of the street and saved her from wasting time. The mistake was quickly rectified and she made it home safely. Dinner was at the pizza joint near the bus stop, Pizza Fiore di Pizza (no website for this one--just a local joint). They did not speak English, and, of course, AlteCocker's Polish is limited. Lots of hands were used. A stop was then made next door to pick up more bus tickets after which AlteCocker walked home.
When she got home, someone was stuck in the front yard of AlteCocker's apartment building. He hadn't seen the button that opens the front gate if you press it and was on the phone in a panic thinking he was trapped. AlteCocker let him out with her key--being profusely thanked afterward. She also pointed to the button on the wall that would have opened the gate. He looked rather sheepish because all apartments in Europe have that button somewhere. He probably thought the button was inside the hall and he could not get back in the building. He had no clue that AlteCocker was not Polish because she never opened her mouth and gave away the store.
The bus ride into town was enlivened by the company of a Nigerian woman on the bus who, of course, spoke perfect English. She and her Nigerian husband have immigrated to Poland. Her husband studied in Poland so that is how it happened. There are very few nonwhites in Poland. The country is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and does have some issues with Jews and Muslims--recently over kosher and halal butchering which are both banned in Poland forcing observant Jews and Muslims to import their meat from outside the country. One Polish Jewish man also told me that circumcision is also banned but people continue to do it anyway and no one is prosecuted for it. There is a rise in antisemitism in Europe as a result of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians. Without getting into all the politics (and politics is not the point of this blog or something in which AlteCocker likes to interject herself when out of the United States), it is what it is.
AlteCocker had gotten a little booklet on suggested Jewish walks from tourist information in the Stare Miasto (Old City). It was the old commute in but she stayed on the bus to Ratuz Arsenal, where she took the Metro one stop to Swietokryska to begin her walk. Opposite the exit from the Metro was a kosher reataurant and AlteCocker stopped there to have a small portion of falafel before heading out to conquer the ghetto.
There was a group tour there in English and AlteCocker asked if she could join it. However it was a group tour for a bus group. Then a woman named Agnuska, who identified herself as a new guide came up and asked if AlteCocker needed a guide. Since she was a new guide Agnuska told AlteCocker that she could just tip her at the end if she was satisfied. AlteCocker hates those arrangements but for one person a personal guide can be expensive if engaged ahead of time as the price is often the same as for a group. Anyway Agnuska became her guide. Her English was not as fluent as some but she made up for it with a good heart. AlteCocker pretty much saw all that she wanted to see except for the assembly area where Jews were assembled for deportation and the markers of where the footbridge that went over the tram line was. The tram line passed below and the Jews climbed a footbridge to go from one side of the line to the other. The Nazis put up the walls and set up the footbridge to prevent Poles from throwing bread to the Jews--something for which you could be killed when the Nazis were in power. if she has time, she might return to the area on another day.
AlteCocker did see some remnants of the ghetto wall. Of course, eventually there was a ghetto rising, the ghetto was destroyed and most of the Jews were shipped to Treblinka and gassed upon arrival. Agunska also took AlteCocker into the Nozyk Synagogue, an orthodox synagogue still in operation. You have to go in through the rear and there is a 6 zloty fee. The rabbi was lecturing to a bunch of obviously orthodox Jews (the woman had wigs). They all spoke American English interspersed with Hebrew. We had a look around from the women's gallery but did not stay long. From the women's gallery the acoustics were terrible and we did not want to disturb the group. AlteCocker also saw the outside of Poland's only surviving Yiddish theater (plays in both Polish and Yiddish, but Agnuska told me that the quality of the productions was terrible). The theater was named after Esther Rachel and Ida Kaminska. Ester was Ida's mother. Ida became a big star in the Yiddish theater on the Lower East Side of New York after immigrating. Yiddish theater productions were known for emotive over acting--something that was popular at the time.
AlteCocker spent about 3-4 hours with Agnuska and, as she was disengaging a Canadian couple arrived and asked to join. AlteCocker passed Agnuska onto them and we all went to the Museum of Polish Jewish History. Unfortunately, the permanent exhibition does not open until October, but, from the small exhibition that AlteCocker saw, this museum promises to be a blockbuster. A highlight of the museum for AlteCocker was seeing this silver candlestick in a corner of the first area of the museum. AlteCocker has two identical candlesticks in her home in the United States. They are Russian and are part of family heritage. Imagine finding something you own in a museum! They are not, however, particularly valuable and are what is referred to as "paper silver"--very thin silver. They were used for the sabbath when women would bless the candles. In AlteCocker's house they were display items only and she was not happy when some home exchangers actually used them to burn candles--getting wax all over them in the process. They have were placed out of sight before AlteCocker left for Europe. Also in the museum are some short films--one of Jews just walking in the street, selling things, etc., was very nice. It had been colorized! So sad to think that almost no one in that film survived World War II.
Outside the Museum is the Monument to the Ghetto fighters commemorating the rising of the ghetto when people realized they were all slated for destruction anyway. Most of them died but a few escaped through the sewers. The ghetto was totally destroyed by the Nazis afterward.
After this cheerful day, AlteCocker headed home after almost getting on a tram in the wrong direction. Someone pointed to the other side of the street and saved her from wasting time. The mistake was quickly rectified and she made it home safely. Dinner was at the pizza joint near the bus stop, Pizza Fiore di Pizza (no website for this one--just a local joint). They did not speak English, and, of course, AlteCocker's Polish is limited. Lots of hands were used. A stop was then made next door to pick up more bus tickets after which AlteCocker walked home.
When she got home, someone was stuck in the front yard of AlteCocker's apartment building. He hadn't seen the button that opens the front gate if you press it and was on the phone in a panic thinking he was trapped. AlteCocker let him out with her key--being profusely thanked afterward. She also pointed to the button on the wall that would have opened the gate. He looked rather sheepish because all apartments in Europe have that button somewhere. He probably thought the button was inside the hall and he could not get back in the building. He had no clue that AlteCocker was not Polish because she never opened her mouth and gave away the store.
June 24, 2014: Chopin & MArie Curie
AlteCocker got a late start today. That does start to happen all to frequently on a longer trip. She grabbed a bun from the grocery store as breakfast and navigated to the Chopin Museum. They only let people in on the hour and AlteCocker whiled away sometime having coffee in the restaurant before her noon entry time. Of course, Frederic Chopin, the greatest classical piano music composer of all time, was born in Poland, although he spent much of his time elsewhere in Europe and died in France having had the storied love affair with the Auroe Duduvant, aka Georges Sand. The building in which the museum is housed has no direct connection with Chopin, but it is an old aristocratic residence converted into a museum. The museum is new and has a lot of multimedia opportunities including a room in the basement where you can select and listen to Chopin's music. There were school children in the museum, but they are mostly taken off for special programs and did not upset the enjoyment of the museum.
As AlteCocker learns her way around Warsaw, she is getting confused less on transportation. Of course, on a home exchange, once this really becomes easy, you go leave.
After Chopin, AlteCocker attempted to find some damn site connected with Copernicus where she was told that you have to make a reservation for a tour. There is a Copernicus Science Museum here but that is mostly for kids and AlteCocker is giving it a pass. She never found whatever the place was or wasn't but did a lot of needless walking around. Eventually, she found her way back to where she could pick up the old 180 bus and headed back to the Old City--giving up the Copernicus quest. She popped into Tourist Information for new maps and asked about the Museum of the City of Warsaw. Apparently, Tourist Information does not get a lot of questions about this museum. She was given directions to it, but there was one problem: Closed for renovations for 3 years. She continued walking through the old city and eventually went to the Marie Curie Museum. The museum is in the house where she was born. It is very small but still a nice visit. Alas, to reach the toilets (which AlteCocker badly needed to do), it was an additional flight of stairs.
AlteCocker wandered awhile through the Old City seeing parts she had missed and finally made her way back around the walls (as an AlteCocker she did not climb up stairs to walk around the walls; down below was just fine) and eventually to the old familiar buses back "home" to Zabki. There she opened up her computer and there was a request for her appearance on a television program about home exchange. One problem: AlteCocker's presence was requested on the day she is scheduled to go to Brest, Belarus, on 7 hour bus ride. The bus cannot be changed. So she wrote back and agreed to accommodate the program on other days she has left (not much at this point) if they can change the TV taping. AlteCocker really hopes that the whole thing doesn't happen because it just adds another complication to her trip if it does. It is no big deal either way as the only "must see" she has left is some places in the formerly Jewish areas when she toured around with Agnuska. She would also like to see the National Museum but it is lower down on the list and, if she doesn't see it, she doesn't see it.
On the way back to the apartment from the bus, AlteCocker stopped at the supermarket where someone commented her Polish accent in the 6 words of Polish she knows (thank you Pimsleur). Ha! The woman asked if AlteCocker were teaching English in Poland as she was looking for someone to help her with her Polish. AlteCocker told her she was a tourist and would only be in Poland for 4 more days. Actually, the woman seemed to speak excellent English. Polish people are consumed with learning English now that their country is part of the EU. People see that it is necessary for a good future and you do see many Americans working here and hear English all the time from people who are obviously not tourists. We Americans are very lazy with foreign languages because we already speak the language everyone else wants to learn. We need to start foreign language training when children are in grade school, in my opinion. All American children should be bilingual in both English and Spanish to prepare for the world that is before us in the United States.
As AlteCocker learns her way around Warsaw, she is getting confused less on transportation. Of course, on a home exchange, once this really becomes easy, you go leave.
After Chopin, AlteCocker attempted to find some damn site connected with Copernicus where she was told that you have to make a reservation for a tour. There is a Copernicus Science Museum here but that is mostly for kids and AlteCocker is giving it a pass. She never found whatever the place was or wasn't but did a lot of needless walking around. Eventually, she found her way back to where she could pick up the old 180 bus and headed back to the Old City--giving up the Copernicus quest. She popped into Tourist Information for new maps and asked about the Museum of the City of Warsaw. Apparently, Tourist Information does not get a lot of questions about this museum. She was given directions to it, but there was one problem: Closed for renovations for 3 years. She continued walking through the old city and eventually went to the Marie Curie Museum. The museum is in the house where she was born. It is very small but still a nice visit. Alas, to reach the toilets (which AlteCocker badly needed to do), it was an additional flight of stairs.
AlteCocker wandered awhile through the Old City seeing parts she had missed and finally made her way back around the walls (as an AlteCocker she did not climb up stairs to walk around the walls; down below was just fine) and eventually to the old familiar buses back "home" to Zabki. There she opened up her computer and there was a request for her appearance on a television program about home exchange. One problem: AlteCocker's presence was requested on the day she is scheduled to go to Brest, Belarus, on 7 hour bus ride. The bus cannot be changed. So she wrote back and agreed to accommodate the program on other days she has left (not much at this point) if they can change the TV taping. AlteCocker really hopes that the whole thing doesn't happen because it just adds another complication to her trip if it does. It is no big deal either way as the only "must see" she has left is some places in the formerly Jewish areas when she toured around with Agnuska. She would also like to see the National Museum but it is lower down on the list and, if she doesn't see it, she doesn't see it.
On the way back to the apartment from the bus, AlteCocker stopped at the supermarket where someone commented her Polish accent in the 6 words of Polish she knows (thank you Pimsleur). Ha! The woman asked if AlteCocker were teaching English in Poland as she was looking for someone to help her with her Polish. AlteCocker told her she was a tourist and would only be in Poland for 4 more days. Actually, the woman seemed to speak excellent English. Polish people are consumed with learning English now that their country is part of the EU. People see that it is necessary for a good future and you do see many Americans working here and hear English all the time from people who are obviously not tourists. We Americans are very lazy with foreign languages because we already speak the language everyone else wants to learn. We need to start foreign language training when children are in grade school, in my opinion. All American children should be bilingual in both English and Spanish to prepare for the world that is before us in the United States.
June 25, 2014, More Jewish sites, Archeology Museum
AlteCocker is really aching and paining tonight after a very long day in Warsaw mostly focused on Jeiwish sites.
She started the morning with a visit to the Emanuel Ringleblum Institute (at Metro stop Ratuz Aresenal). Ringleblum was a historian and social worker who chronicled the nefarious Nazi goings on in the Warsaw ghetto. While Ringlebaum died in the ghetto, his archive was found later in cans hidden in the ghetto. The Institute has a 37 minute film (available in English) on the Warsaw Ghetto. It was definitely worth watching and sitting down to do it was a plus! The exhibition was less interesting than the film. AlteCocker spent a little over an hour there. Unfortunately, none of the documents from Ringleblum's archive are on display. When AlteCocker asked about that, she was told that they were all available on the internet. Fine, but AlteCocker would have liked a peek at the real thing.
After the visit to the Institute, AlteCocker began walking towards some other Jewish sites she had missed when she was waylaid by the Archeological Museum. She entered. There was virtually no one in the museum, but pay your 12 zlotys and do go in. This is a fantastic museum. Prehistory in Poland is something AlteCocker new nothing about. Poland has a lot of prehistoric sites and the museum does a wonderful job of explaining them. Unfortunately, the word has not got out about how wonderful this museum really is. So, the museum was almost empty. AlteCocker hopes the word gets out so the museum can stay in business. AlteCocker spent about an hour in the museum. There is a special exhibition which included tapestries woven by a Polish woman that are inspired by the Lascaux Cave in France. If you are in Warsaw, give this museum some business!
Well, entering the Archeological Museum, AlteCocker noticed there was a restaurant, Restaurant Arsenal, in the building that looked very nice (not connected with the museum, but in the same building that was formerly the Arsenal). This one was a winner. Lunch was veal with mushrooms accompanied by Polish style noodles and carrots cooked with ginger. AlteCocker had a small piece of applecake for dessert. She did not drink wine at lunch as she still had much on her agenda. The best thing about lunch was the pianist who accompanied it and even offered to play requests from AlteCocker. He was a bit over the top with flowery improvisation but AlteCocker enjoyed every minute. Sometimes you have to stop and take a break. Those breaks can prove to be valuable travel experiences too.
After lunch AlteCocker walked over to the place known as Umschlagplatz in the former ghetto area. It's the place where the Jews were assembled to be dragged off to Treblinka in cattle cars to be gassed. There is a memorial there but AlteCocker thought it would be a bit larger and was disappointed. Nevertheless she began chatting with a young postal employee from London who spends free weekends flying all over Europe on cheap airlines. She showed him a piece of the ghetto wall adjacent to the Umschlagplatz (not marked but identical to the ones that are and--most significantly unrepaired as historical evidence). He was not Jewish, not well educated and very interested in history--and a very nice guy. He schlepped a very slow AlteCocker over to the place on Choldna Street where the ghetto footbridge was located; there is a so-called "footbridge of memory" there to show you where it was. It connected the two parts of the ghetto, as the ghetto was split so that the tram could pass. The Jews had to walk from one side to the other via the footbridge. You frequently see it in the films of the Warsaw Ghetto. On the way to this site, Gary and AlteCocker passed a large children's playground. Life goes on and the location of the ghetto wall is marked in the street. Ajacent to the footbridge is the house where the president of the Jewish Community ("Judenrat"), Adam Czerniakow lived. When it was clear that all the Jews were being cleared from the ghetto and gassed, Czerniakow committed suicide.
Before World War II, 30% of Warsaw's residents were Jewish. After the war, those who survived mostly left for the US and Israel. There was nothing left for them in Poland but bad memories. This Eastern Europe leg of my home exchange summer has been a sad trip in many ways, but it has also been a way to pay tribute to those who disappeared into the whirlwind that was Nazi Europe.
When Gary and AlteCocker got over to the footbridge, AlteCocker pushed him to go on his way, as, by this time her back was killing her and her energy had left. Gary had better things to do that schlep around with AlteCocker. She did take him for a very well deserved fancy lemonade with ice in an overpriced cafe en route. You never know when you will have an interesting encounter on a trip. After taking some photos, AlteCocker made her way very slowly to Ratuz Arsenal and threw herself into a seat for the bus ride home. She thought about stopping for a coffee/cold drink again, but what she wanted to see was her bed and she was home at a little after 7:00pm to sit--mercifully- down, rest and write this blog.
She started the morning with a visit to the Emanuel Ringleblum Institute (at Metro stop Ratuz Aresenal). Ringleblum was a historian and social worker who chronicled the nefarious Nazi goings on in the Warsaw ghetto. While Ringlebaum died in the ghetto, his archive was found later in cans hidden in the ghetto. The Institute has a 37 minute film (available in English) on the Warsaw Ghetto. It was definitely worth watching and sitting down to do it was a plus! The exhibition was less interesting than the film. AlteCocker spent a little over an hour there. Unfortunately, none of the documents from Ringleblum's archive are on display. When AlteCocker asked about that, she was told that they were all available on the internet. Fine, but AlteCocker would have liked a peek at the real thing.
After the visit to the Institute, AlteCocker began walking towards some other Jewish sites she had missed when she was waylaid by the Archeological Museum. She entered. There was virtually no one in the museum, but pay your 12 zlotys and do go in. This is a fantastic museum. Prehistory in Poland is something AlteCocker new nothing about. Poland has a lot of prehistoric sites and the museum does a wonderful job of explaining them. Unfortunately, the word has not got out about how wonderful this museum really is. So, the museum was almost empty. AlteCocker hopes the word gets out so the museum can stay in business. AlteCocker spent about an hour in the museum. There is a special exhibition which included tapestries woven by a Polish woman that are inspired by the Lascaux Cave in France. If you are in Warsaw, give this museum some business!
Well, entering the Archeological Museum, AlteCocker noticed there was a restaurant, Restaurant Arsenal, in the building that looked very nice (not connected with the museum, but in the same building that was formerly the Arsenal). This one was a winner. Lunch was veal with mushrooms accompanied by Polish style noodles and carrots cooked with ginger. AlteCocker had a small piece of applecake for dessert. She did not drink wine at lunch as she still had much on her agenda. The best thing about lunch was the pianist who accompanied it and even offered to play requests from AlteCocker. He was a bit over the top with flowery improvisation but AlteCocker enjoyed every minute. Sometimes you have to stop and take a break. Those breaks can prove to be valuable travel experiences too.
After lunch AlteCocker walked over to the place known as Umschlagplatz in the former ghetto area. It's the place where the Jews were assembled to be dragged off to Treblinka in cattle cars to be gassed. There is a memorial there but AlteCocker thought it would be a bit larger and was disappointed. Nevertheless she began chatting with a young postal employee from London who spends free weekends flying all over Europe on cheap airlines. She showed him a piece of the ghetto wall adjacent to the Umschlagplatz (not marked but identical to the ones that are and--most significantly unrepaired as historical evidence). He was not Jewish, not well educated and very interested in history--and a very nice guy. He schlepped a very slow AlteCocker over to the place on Choldna Street where the ghetto footbridge was located; there is a so-called "footbridge of memory" there to show you where it was. It connected the two parts of the ghetto, as the ghetto was split so that the tram could pass. The Jews had to walk from one side to the other via the footbridge. You frequently see it in the films of the Warsaw Ghetto. On the way to this site, Gary and AlteCocker passed a large children's playground. Life goes on and the location of the ghetto wall is marked in the street. Ajacent to the footbridge is the house where the president of the Jewish Community ("Judenrat"), Adam Czerniakow lived. When it was clear that all the Jews were being cleared from the ghetto and gassed, Czerniakow committed suicide.
Before World War II, 30% of Warsaw's residents were Jewish. After the war, those who survived mostly left for the US and Israel. There was nothing left for them in Poland but bad memories. This Eastern Europe leg of my home exchange summer has been a sad trip in many ways, but it has also been a way to pay tribute to those who disappeared into the whirlwind that was Nazi Europe.
When Gary and AlteCocker got over to the footbridge, AlteCocker pushed him to go on his way, as, by this time her back was killing her and her energy had left. Gary had better things to do that schlep around with AlteCocker. She did take him for a very well deserved fancy lemonade with ice in an overpriced cafe en route. You never know when you will have an interesting encounter on a trip. After taking some photos, AlteCocker made her way very slowly to Ratuz Arsenal and threw herself into a seat for the bus ride home. She thought about stopping for a coffee/cold drink again, but what she wanted to see was her bed and she was home at a little after 7:00pm to sit--mercifully- down, rest and write this blog.
June 26, 2014, Art Museum and Another Classical Piano Concert
AlteCocker slept in on her last full day in Warsaw. Tomorrow will be devoted to housekeeping and packing so she can clear out on Saturday morning. Getting to the bus station is a bit complicated and AlteCocker wants to leave plenty of time for the schlep.
First thing this morning was to throw the laundry in. European machines are teeny by American standards, use less water and take a long time. So you want to get everything hung up to dry promptly to have what you need. In Belarus for 6 nights AlteCocker will be in hotels and will not have access to a washer, so the push is on to get as much done as she can get done here--not helped by the fact that she has had mostly cold weather which means wearing the same 2 pairs of long pants over and over again. She wishes she had brought a third, but she hasn't, so that's that. While the laundry was interminably washing, AlteCocker walked over to the florist shop belonging to the wife of the man who took me to the Hollywood am Fosal Show earlier in her stay and purchased some purple flowers in a basket for the people whose apartment she has been using. She then walked over to the San Marino Restaurant/Bakery and had a coffee and a donut with some "avocat" filling. That word has been mystifying AlteCocker since she got to Poland. It's some sort of nut filling. AlteCocker thought it would be almond. Maybe it was but very sweet. Now at least AlteCocker has discovered what the word means--and it is not "avocado".
She also bought some tiramisu in the shop and gave it to the florist when she picked up the flowers walking back to the apartment. The clothes were still not done, so she opened up the computer and began the blog. After hanging up the wash, she made her way down to the old familiar bus stop for the last sightseeing day in Warsaw. The first destination was the National Museum of Poland--really an art gallery. Parts of the Museum are being renovated (a usual story everywhere, it seems). What AlteCocker largely wanted to see were the paintings anyway--and there were plenty of those. The Polish artists--about which AlteCocker knew zilch before her visit--were especially interesting.
As is usual, AlteCocker ended up paling around with someone through the gallery--this time an art historian named Agnuska (not the same Agnuska as the guide in the Jewish quarter, but the same first name). This is not a gallery where you will see tons of paintings of artists you know if you are from the US, but you will learn about artists you did not know. There was a special exhibition on an artist named Aleksander Gierymski. Really an interesting artist. His most famous painting "Jewish Woman Selling Oranges" was on display (both versions). A number of paintings were of Jewish subjects. He deserves to be better known. What AlteCocker likes about foreign art galleries best is expanding her knowledge. That she did today.
There was a wander around the gallery after the special Gierymski exhibit. There were lots of Polish portraits and, notably, a Botticelli. Lots of what my kids used to call "Jesus pictures" as well. AlteCocker can never get into to those.
Lunch was at the restaurant in the gallery called Aleje3. It's quite good. AlteCocker had a paninni, salad and bottle of still water for about $8. The paninni was delicious. They have daily specials but that would have cost more and been too much food.
More information on the art gallery can be found here.
After the art gallery AlteCocker made a stop at a pharmacy for some medication she needed that she had left in the house--very dumb. You carry it every day and, when you need it, you don't have it. Fortunately, even non English speaking pharmacists know the names of medications. They are all the same everywhere.
Then AlteCocker walked over to the Chopin Museum to position herself for the free music concert. These concerts are held in the basement of the old aristocratic residence that houses the museum. Finally, AlteCocker figured out the easiest way to get to this museum now that she is leaving. Walk down Ordynacka from Novy Swiat (on the route called "Royal Road"). There are plenty of buses that go down that route. The stop is Foksal. She wasted a lot of time running around in circles here on her earlier visit. True to form on a home exchange, when you find out where everything is, you leave.
The pianist was Joanna Krauze, an 18 year old amazing young woman. When you here her play in the US someday, remember AlteCocker told you about her first. Check for the concert schedule if you want to attend one. The venue appears to have at one time been the chapel in the aristocratic home that houses the Chopin Museum.
After the concert, AlteCocker threw herself upon the mercy of the Warsaw bus system to get home. She took what turned out to be an express bus that did not make all the stops and deposited not exactly where she wanted to be. What would have been a disaster on her first day here was a mere "blip" at the end. When the bus finally stopped she knew just where she was and what she needed to do to get bus 199 that took her home to Zabki. She will, by the way, not miss bus 199--surely one of the worst buses in the system. Part of the problem is that the route to Zabki just has no fast route. The bus is also infrequent and usually packed. Nevertheless AlteCocker now has earned her badge as a veteran of bus 199--not once missing her stop.
First thing this morning was to throw the laundry in. European machines are teeny by American standards, use less water and take a long time. So you want to get everything hung up to dry promptly to have what you need. In Belarus for 6 nights AlteCocker will be in hotels and will not have access to a washer, so the push is on to get as much done as she can get done here--not helped by the fact that she has had mostly cold weather which means wearing the same 2 pairs of long pants over and over again. She wishes she had brought a third, but she hasn't, so that's that. While the laundry was interminably washing, AlteCocker walked over to the florist shop belonging to the wife of the man who took me to the Hollywood am Fosal Show earlier in her stay and purchased some purple flowers in a basket for the people whose apartment she has been using. She then walked over to the San Marino Restaurant/Bakery and had a coffee and a donut with some "avocat" filling. That word has been mystifying AlteCocker since she got to Poland. It's some sort of nut filling. AlteCocker thought it would be almond. Maybe it was but very sweet. Now at least AlteCocker has discovered what the word means--and it is not "avocado".
She also bought some tiramisu in the shop and gave it to the florist when she picked up the flowers walking back to the apartment. The clothes were still not done, so she opened up the computer and began the blog. After hanging up the wash, she made her way down to the old familiar bus stop for the last sightseeing day in Warsaw. The first destination was the National Museum of Poland--really an art gallery. Parts of the Museum are being renovated (a usual story everywhere, it seems). What AlteCocker largely wanted to see were the paintings anyway--and there were plenty of those. The Polish artists--about which AlteCocker knew zilch before her visit--were especially interesting.
As is usual, AlteCocker ended up paling around with someone through the gallery--this time an art historian named Agnuska (not the same Agnuska as the guide in the Jewish quarter, but the same first name). This is not a gallery where you will see tons of paintings of artists you know if you are from the US, but you will learn about artists you did not know. There was a special exhibition on an artist named Aleksander Gierymski. Really an interesting artist. His most famous painting "Jewish Woman Selling Oranges" was on display (both versions). A number of paintings were of Jewish subjects. He deserves to be better known. What AlteCocker likes about foreign art galleries best is expanding her knowledge. That she did today.
There was a wander around the gallery after the special Gierymski exhibit. There were lots of Polish portraits and, notably, a Botticelli. Lots of what my kids used to call "Jesus pictures" as well. AlteCocker can never get into to those.
Lunch was at the restaurant in the gallery called Aleje3. It's quite good. AlteCocker had a paninni, salad and bottle of still water for about $8. The paninni was delicious. They have daily specials but that would have cost more and been too much food.
More information on the art gallery can be found here.
After the art gallery AlteCocker made a stop at a pharmacy for some medication she needed that she had left in the house--very dumb. You carry it every day and, when you need it, you don't have it. Fortunately, even non English speaking pharmacists know the names of medications. They are all the same everywhere.
Then AlteCocker walked over to the Chopin Museum to position herself for the free music concert. These concerts are held in the basement of the old aristocratic residence that houses the museum. Finally, AlteCocker figured out the easiest way to get to this museum now that she is leaving. Walk down Ordynacka from Novy Swiat (on the route called "Royal Road"). There are plenty of buses that go down that route. The stop is Foksal. She wasted a lot of time running around in circles here on her earlier visit. True to form on a home exchange, when you find out where everything is, you leave.
The pianist was Joanna Krauze, an 18 year old amazing young woman. When you here her play in the US someday, remember AlteCocker told you about her first. Check for the concert schedule if you want to attend one. The venue appears to have at one time been the chapel in the aristocratic home that houses the Chopin Museum.
After the concert, AlteCocker threw herself upon the mercy of the Warsaw bus system to get home. She took what turned out to be an express bus that did not make all the stops and deposited not exactly where she wanted to be. What would have been a disaster on her first day here was a mere "blip" at the end. When the bus finally stopped she knew just where she was and what she needed to do to get bus 199 that took her home to Zabki. She will, by the way, not miss bus 199--surely one of the worst buses in the system. Part of the problem is that the route to Zabki just has no fast route. The bus is also infrequent and usually packed. Nevertheless AlteCocker now has earned her badge as a veteran of bus 199--not once missing her stop.
June 27, 2014, Time to Clean Up and Pack
Poland is about finished. Today is the last full day. It began with a load of laundry and the second one is finishing now. AlteCocker has the first one outside drying. There is only a drying rack and she can't dry it all at once. The last one will be put on the drying rack in the house as AlteCocker does not want it outside to get (a) stolen or (b) rained on after she leaves tomorrow. Better to let it just dry slowly in the house.
Leaving an exchange usually involves tossing a lot of the tourist information for the place and today is no exception. Information has been packed for Belarus in AlteCocker's neck pouch. AlteCocker does have directions now to the West Bus Station by bus but probably will get a taxi once she gets into town. She has two bags--not really that much luggage--but she is an AlteCocker (as you all know); she is entitled to a taxi if she wants one.
After dealing with laundry and going through half the sheets here before finding one that fit the bed she is using, AlteCocker had lunch at the San Marino Restaurant around the corner. She said good-bye to Rafal Sadowski and his wife and observed chaos in front of the restaurant. Today is the last day of school in Poland. They appear to all go to school dressed up and then celebrate by, of course, making a lot of noise. The restaurant had special play equipment rented for the day. Everyone gives the children flowers. In fact, everyone gives everyone else flowers in Poland all the time. The Poles really love flowers and the flower giving is a nice custom.
The afternoon was spent in a glorious nap after which AlteCocker did a Turkish lesson from Pimsleur (no time to revihereew Pimsleur Turkish much on this trip because her focus was learning a little Polish). She went through lesson 21 the last time she was in Turkey. She will be lucky to get through lesson 10 this time. In the evening she walked down to the San Marino to have a scoop of gelato--only about $1 here. The flavor was "something delicious from Venice". It was an vanilla base with some chocolate bits and swirls and orange bits--a new flavor for AlteCocker.
Packing is almost complete. Just post shower stuff to shove in and it will be out the door leaving the keys in the mailbox as instructed.
Please note that once AlteCocker arrives in Belarus, she will either have internet or not--she does not know. Should there be no posts for a bit that would be the reason--in which case, AlteCocker will catch up once she arrives in Istanbul.
Another wonderful home exchange ends.
Leaving an exchange usually involves tossing a lot of the tourist information for the place and today is no exception. Information has been packed for Belarus in AlteCocker's neck pouch. AlteCocker does have directions now to the West Bus Station by bus but probably will get a taxi once she gets into town. She has two bags--not really that much luggage--but she is an AlteCocker (as you all know); she is entitled to a taxi if she wants one.
After dealing with laundry and going through half the sheets here before finding one that fit the bed she is using, AlteCocker had lunch at the San Marino Restaurant around the corner. She said good-bye to Rafal Sadowski and his wife and observed chaos in front of the restaurant. Today is the last day of school in Poland. They appear to all go to school dressed up and then celebrate by, of course, making a lot of noise. The restaurant had special play equipment rented for the day. Everyone gives the children flowers. In fact, everyone gives everyone else flowers in Poland all the time. The Poles really love flowers and the flower giving is a nice custom.
The afternoon was spent in a glorious nap after which AlteCocker did a Turkish lesson from Pimsleur (no time to revihereew Pimsleur Turkish much on this trip because her focus was learning a little Polish). She went through lesson 21 the last time she was in Turkey. She will be lucky to get through lesson 10 this time. In the evening she walked down to the San Marino to have a scoop of gelato--only about $1 here. The flavor was "something delicious from Venice". It was an vanilla base with some chocolate bits and swirls and orange bits--a new flavor for AlteCocker.
Packing is almost complete. Just post shower stuff to shove in and it will be out the door leaving the keys in the mailbox as instructed.
Please note that once AlteCocker arrives in Belarus, she will either have internet or not--she does not know. Should there be no posts for a bit that would be the reason--in which case, AlteCocker will catch up once she arrives in Istanbul.
Another wonderful home exchange ends.