Warsaw

So last week I went to Warsaw, Poland for a global business meeting. After 24 hrs of traveling I finally arrived in Warsaw on Saturday night. I had already booked a tour with a small tour company called "Warsaw: Off the Beaten Track" They picked me up at my hotel in a old van from the 19oo's. It was pretty cool. People would stop on the street and take pictures. We walked through several neighborhoods where we saw the communist vs non-communist housing. There was a stark difference. Communist houses were all grey, boring and all looked the same. Non-communist had a nicer facade, balconies, ect. They showed us houses and buildings that withstood the war which was very interesting - many still had bullet holes. What is even more interesting is that they don't maintain these houses - they are falling apart but add unique character to the city.

We went to the Jewish ghetto, where over 1million Jews were forced to live during the war. The buildings are condemned, but untouched, so it felt like walking back in time. Next on the tour (at 10am) was the bar to drink vodka and have a traditional Polish drinking food. The vodka was surprising smooth and good. The drinking food wasn't bad - bread with lard and pickles. Then it was off to Praga, the slummier side of town that is now becoming more artsy. We ate lunch at a traditional milk bar, which is an old communist eating joint. The place was very interesting. Very plain, boring, no color. Big old polish ladies serving the food. You place your order, then they yell at you in Polish and you come get your food. When you are done, you clean up your own plates. We ate pierogi, a cabbage thing, beet root something, and a potato pancake. Polish food is good, but very heavy.

After the tour I headed to Old Town which was a UNESCO World Heritage site. The old buildings were stunning. Next I headed to Lazienski Park. Inside the park I visited the Chopin monument (famous classical musician) where they had a pianist playing his music. I walked through the park and visited the royal palace. The park was so incredibly beautiful and big. After 10 hours of sightseeing, it was time to try the local beer. It was very good! Then I headed to the mall to see if I could find anything I needed to have. I must look Polish because everyone talked to me in Polish. I just nodded and headed to the dressing rooms like I knew what they said! The good news was they had real size clothes and shoes! But the prices were very European.

The currency in Warsaw is called the zloty and apparently Polish is one of the most difficult languages to learn outside Thai and Mandarin. I found that Polish people were not particularly friendly. They don't seem to ever smile.

After my day of touring, I had two days of business meeting. The first night we had a team dinner where we took about a 1/2 walk to the restaurant walking by several interesting historical places. The second night we had a traditional Polish meal of pierogi's and cabbage. We decided we had to truly experience the Polish culture by trying the local vodka. One turned into 3 and that turned into many. I don't need to tell you that the vodka was very tasty. We shut down the bar at 3:30. Since my flight was at 6am and I needed to leave at 4am to catch my flight I headed to my room, took a shower and headed to the airport. I think I was still drunk at the airport as I got all the way to security before I realized I didn't check my bag! Doh! The good news was that I was flying business class so I slept almost the entire way back. I arrived back in Manila at 9am on Friday morning. I took a 2 hour nap and headed back to the office. Did I mention I need a vacation?