Warsaw

I wasn't expecting to enjoy Warsaw as much as I did. I guess I should have figured it was mostly city rivalry talking when people from Krakow told me that Warsaw was just a financial center with no charm, character, or culture. The wide avenues, skyscrapers and numerous parks reminded me of Chicago (always a good feeling). I tried to imagine what it must have been like for Warsaw's few inhabitants who did survive WWII, trying to decide what exactly to do with the bombed-out shell that used to be their beloved city. Because they made the decision to rebuild, all of the buildings are less than 60 years old, and the architecture sometimes seems like it's trying too hard to give off an historical vibe. Case in point- when Kate and I visited the reconstructed royal palace during one of our afternoons off, the walls of the King's Apartments were made of stone that was painted to look like marble, the intricate designs of the moldings covered in what looked like gold paint, instead of the real thing. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but applaud the city's efforts to capture its former self while at the same time acknowledging the reality of the war that destroyed it- practically every street corner contains a monument or plaque commemorating an uprising against the Nazis by the city's Polish or Jewish residents, or tragically marking the place where hundreds of them were imprisoned or killed. Like most of Poland, Warsaw is a city working to come to terms with the darkness and tragedy of its past, while at the same time trying hard not to spend too much time looking backward and running the risk of getting left behind as the capitalist, democratic, globalized world speeds ahead.