Warsaw

In Europe, Eastern Europe 2002 On 27/07/2002 No comments

In Moscow I met a Spanish couple who told me they haven’t liked Warsaw. They said the city was too modern and the buildings weren’t attractive. I, on the contrary, liked the city. I think the reason for one to like or not depends a lot on his/her experience on the place. Even though the days were cloudy and I couldn’t photograph that much I had a good time in Warsaw. I thought people were very educated, many could speak English, I didn’t have communication problems and I found the old town really beautiful. For me there it was not modern, since I came from a city that it is a little more than one hundred years old. It was like a small town.

My first day I went to see the symphony from the Mozart Festival in the Royal Castle. It was worth it not only for the music but specially for the place, a room all decorated with golden motifs. It was like going back in time a few centuries. Another of my cultural programs was going to the movies. I went to see a Brazilian movie with Polish subtitles. It was a movie theater that shows non Hollywood movies. I saw “Behind the Sun” from Walter Salles.

I visited the Palace of Culture and Science. It is the highest building in town. Constructed in the 50s, it was a gift from Soviet Union to Poland. You can go up to the 30th floor and have a good overview of the city. Downstairs there was a exhibition on soccer, it is said to be the most popular sport in the country. It was funny to see the people looking at old Brazilian soccer team t-shirts.

I also visited a small Chopin museum that shows his last piano. They also show some drawings, portraiture and information on his life. This time there was music, I didn’t have to ask them to play it like in the Tchaykovsky Museum.

I spend the days walking on the old town, around the small streets. I would sit somewhere to look at the people pass by. I found the city pleasant and people kind.