FROM WARSAW, POLAND

Warsaw - Day 1

WARSAW, May 23, 2006 - My speaking tour of Eastern Europe started in Warsaw, where I arrived in early afternoon on May 22, after about a 24-hour trip from Arizona.  I was bushed as I never slept more than 2-3 hours on the plane, for a total of about 7 hours in the last two days.  But rather than go straight to bed, I went for a brisk walk through downtown Warsaw, after a brief business meeting at my hotel.

This is a view of downtown Warsaw from my hotel's 38th floor.  The most prominent building is still this Stalin-era "wedding cake" structure, built just over 50 years ago (in 1955).  It is the only one of the kind besides the "seven sisters" that Stalin had built around Moscow.

This is the view of the same building from the ground level, as seen from one of the nearby streets.  The building now houses a museum, some art galleries and several theaters.  Higher floors are used for offices.

And again closer up, from a nearby park in front of the building.  

More panoramic views of Warsaw from atop my hotel.  As you can see, Warsaw is a pretty plain-looking city that lies on flat plains.  There is not a single mountain, or even a hill, visible anywhere within a 360-degree view.

Since Warsaw was practically leveled to the ground during World War II, the whole city had to be rebuilt.  Unfortunately, this meant the boxy socialist-style architecture that is an insult to most people's aesthetic tastes.

Even the old city (above) was actually a replica of the old city that was built after WW II.

The sad part about downtown Warsaw is that junky markets, kiosks and stands, such as the ones shown above... 

...or the ones in the above two scenes...

...are all around the few pretty buildings that are still standing, such as the ones above.  And even here you can see the Gypsy-like people lying around on the ground or peddling their wares to passersby.

The interesting thing about Warsaw is that right around the corner from the Gypsies you can find such modern skyscrapers as shown above.  The biggest one in the foreground is the Marriott hotel at which I am staying.

Mszczonow - Day 2

My speech took place at a hotel in the above town with an unpronounceable name that lies some 50 km (31 miles) west of Warsaw.  The front of the hotel is completely modern looking...

... while the back, as you can see, looks like an alpine village.  The style of construction is apparently typical of the mountain lodges in the south of the country - the Tatra mountains - the "Polish Alps," that Poland shares with Slovakia.

For those of you who may be interested in the topic and content of my speech - "Go East, Young Man!" - click here to view the text (PDF, 0.06MB); and click here to view the slides (PDF, 2.0MB).

Warsaw - Day 3

Here's an aerial view of Warsaw as we took off from the airport enroute to St. Petersburg.  The downtown area is visible in the distance in the middle of the picture.

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