Vecais Sakarnis' abroad trips: WARSZAWA

Thanks!
As I said, I plan to return, and that means I really liked the city! I liked the mix of urbanity and royality which has left from glory past - despite of what Warsaw had to go through. Old Town replica looks so authentic and real, then I have even to ask - is it really all built in 40ies or there was left some part of it after WW2?? I liked the crowds of people in Old Town and Nowy Šviat street - they are very lively, I liked the hill which leads from Wistla river bank to Old Town - there was one fantastic street, it will be included in second part of this thread. I didn't like that Warsaw, like Riga, hasn't developed watersides yet - they look abandoned and boring. I liked the density of private houses when driving into Warsaw from Lithuania side - it looked somehow cosy, densely populated feeling like in some southern European city or town. I liked also the commie districts more than here - they looks planned more clever, more liveable.
Of course, I saw also the contrasts, f.e., the railway station and bus station is really out of date and screams for renovation. In the bus station there even wasn't anyone who could explain us (some passengers who waited Ecolines bus to Riga) what's going on when the bus delayed some 2 hours. But - it's so great feeling when you can go into railway station and see - then train departs to Berlin, then to Wienna, then to Prague etc.. We are so detached from European railways here in Baltics :drool: at least, while Rail Baltica aren't built. The same contrasts on the streets - you have some low floor trams already, but at the same time the old Icaruses drive on the streets which was real surprise for me - and I saw even one older Soviet time bus on the bus station which went to some Poland city. I tried also the metro and it is really nice and simple but the most incredible thing about it was the price of single ride ticket - it costs as much as public transport ticket costs here in Riga. I don't understand now - here we talk, if we would build metro we will had to pay enormous sums for a ticket but how Warsaw make it for about half-euro??? Are the city paying for it or just so much people use it that it pays back??
Another one thing which surprised me was many guardsmans around various objects in the city - it made me feel there is a terrorism alert or something like that although the city itself felt safe. And the guardsmans, at least those who I saw, was very nice and kindly - it leads me to conclusion that poles have European standards in dealing with people, in contrast here in Latvia you many times can feel unwelcomed even in your own country - guard can scream at you when you confuse the right direction to exit of airport's custom zone, then bickers when you took pictures (in public places where you have all right s to do it!) etc.

It's very nice that you like Warsaw

Vecais Sakarnis said:

then I have even to ask - is it really all built in 40ies or there was left some part of it after WW2??

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Well, basicly it was, but this what you can see from street level is more or less original, because most of those houses have original front walls, because they've survived. Generally rebuildres tried to use everything that survived, and most front wall survived (but mostly only them, some only to the 1st floor and some on the whole)

Vecais Sakarnis said:

I didn't like that Warsaw, like Riga, hasn't developed watersides yet - they look abandoned and boring.

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Yes it's true. But there are plans to build metro station there before 2012 and something like science park which should help a bit

Vecais Sakarnis said:

I liked the density of private houses when driving into Warsaw from Lithuania side - it looked somehow cosy, densely populated feeling like in some southern European city or town.

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Yes, this is true. But i see it othervise. In Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia or most other countries there are no houses anywhere and no people

Vecais Sakarnis said:

I liked also the commie districts more than here - they looks planned more clever, more liveable.

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I have to admit that even if I hated all those commies they look much better than those from USSR or Czechoslovakia.

Vecais Sakarnis said:

Of course, I saw also the contrasts, f.e., the railway station and bus station is really out of date and screams for renovation.

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Well, now we have big discussion, because the governement of Warsaw don't know what to do with it. On the one hand it is now old and some kind of a symbol and they just want to renovate it and leave on the same way as it is, but on the other hand this area after building more skyscrapers will be very high and it wouldn't fit.

Vecais Sakarnis said:

The same contrasts on the streets - you have some low floor trams already, but at the same time the old Icaruses drive on the streets which was real surprise for me - and I saw even one older Soviet time bus on the bus station which went to some Poland city.

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Well, in Warsaw they've got actually very few low flor trams because they've put all their money on building metro. For example in Kraków around 50% of trams are low floor and all buses.

Vecais Sakarnis said:

I tried also the metro and it is really nice and simple but the most incredible thing about it was the price of single ride ticket - it costs as much as public transport ticket costs here in Riga. I don't understand now - here we talk, if we would build metro we will had to pay enormous sums for a ticket but how Warsaw make it for about half-euro??? Are the city paying for it or just so much people use it that it pays back??

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Yes, public transport in Warsaw is cheap. But you pay only around 30% of it's price, 70% are paid by city. Also many people use it. During the day there are around 4 mln people in Warsaw and most of them coming to the city by train or bus use public transport.
We are also building metro in Kraków, it will be open on October. Actually it is a tram which will have underground stops in the center, but it looks and works the same. As far as I know we will pay as much as we pay now, but we pay twice more than in Warsaw....

I'm glad that you wrote so much about Warsaw. As I said it is very interesting for me. Next time you should try to come to Warsaw and get fast train to Kraków (really nice city). It takes 2 hours to get here, and trains leave every full hour in both ways. Then call me and I can show you some places
Nowadays there are lot's of polish films showing how life in Warsaw is cool and with no problems. How people working in skyscrapers are living in fashionable flats and have cool life. For example this one
Maybe it would be interesting for you

Jedrzej said:

It's very nice that you like Warsaw


Well, basicly it was, but this what you can see from street level is more or less original, because most of those houses have original front walls, because they've survived. Generally rebuildres tried to use everything that survived, and most front wall survived (but mostly only them, some only to the 1st floor and some on the whole)

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oh, that explains.

Jedrzej said:

Yes it's true. But there are plans to build metro station there before 2012 and something like science park which should help a bit

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we also have big plans to do something with waterfront, but our big plans frequently disappears somewhere..

Jedrzej said:

Yes, this is true. But i see it othervise. In Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia or most other countries there are no houses anywhere and no people

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Well, it's not that, especially if we talk about Riga urban area, there are many private houses, many of them built in last years - f.e., Riga and Kekava town (distance some 10 km) was separate units some years ago, now they have flooded into one urban area with thousands newly built private houses stretching along the road and the same has happened along other roads who leads into Riga, but the difference is in the density - while here houses are some 10-20 metres from one another, in Warsaw I saw they are almost side by side.

Jedrzej said:

Well, now we have big discussion, because the governement of Warsaw don't know what to do with it. On the one hand it is now old and some kind of a symbol and they just want to renovate it and leave on the same way as it is, but on the other hand this area after building more skyscrapers will be very high and it wouldn't fit.

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I also think that you need renovate railway station not reconstruct it - because it looks quite impressive as architecture, but it is just in bad condition and very undeveloped also from inside - although I very liked one thing - how the figures on the timetable rotate mechanically instead of electronic tablo. That sounded and looked lovely! But bus station need complete reconstruction, it's just an ugly metal box.

Jedrzej said:

Next time you should try to come to Warsaw and get fast train to Kraków (really nice city). It takes 2 hours to get here, and trains leave every full hour in both ways. Then call me and I can show you some places

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Yeah, I have a foggy image about Krakow as a great city with old charm (some time ago saw some telecast on BBC Discovery Travel channel) and I plan to go there as well as Poland southern regions in general, but it will not be so soon because I use to mix up different countries in my travelling, get different impressions and returning where I have been only after some time.

Jedrzej said:

Nowadays there are lot's of polish films showing how life in Warsaw is cool and with no problems. How people working in skyscrapers are living in fashionable flats and have cool life. For example this one

Maybe it would be interesting for you

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Yeah, that was interesting, thanks! Looks like a quite professional soap-opera!

Part 2: Old Town & Royal Warsaw



(some of the objects here will be representet in next part as well)

1. The very popular Novy Šwiat street - full of people from morning to late evening:



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5. Coppernicus



6. One of the buildings in Warsaw University complex which consists of many such royal buildings:



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9. There was large event in Ogrod Saski park that day - Polish president spoke, army parade, thousands of people... Some national celebrity for them in 3rd may (we celebrated day later here in Latvia)



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14. Love this kind of streets - with hill and buildings side by side:



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16. In Old Town



17. Lucky people - they live between Old Town and Visla river:



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19. Now some pics from the main square in Old Town - Market square:



20. This tradition is spreading al over Europe - but how long there is horses in Warsaw's Old Town? In Riga they have appeared not very long ago



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Hope you liked! Wait for next pics!

Vecais Sakarnis said:

20. This tradition is spreading al over Europe - but how long there is horses in Warsaw's Old Town? In Riga they have appeared not very long ago

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Horses in Warsaw has very long tradition, they were of course there before II WW, then they've gone. After that they appeared somewhere around 1970-1980 and they are present till now

Part 3: Warsaw at night

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Vecais Sakarnis said:

Part 3: Warsaw at night
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That bridge looks amazing. I really hope that someday our Vanšu bridge in Riga will also look so good at night..