Poland: Chapter 4 – Warsaw

In the fruit and vegetable market on Warsaw's Jean Paul II boulevard we buy wild strawberries at £2 a punnet. Stalls carry bilberries at around £3 a kilo and chanterelles – wild fungus picked in the forest – at £5 a kilo. We are staying at a nearby hotel but for a moment or two we fancy it would be interesting to self cater.

Warsaw market Not that we haven't eaten handsomely in restaurants. Lunch today was at al fresco at a popular tavern: the seemingly ubiquitous zurek again – soup made of fermented rye bread with boiled egg, slice sausage and marjoram – followed by pork schnitzels big enough to hide your face behind, delicious apple pie and light cheesecake with chocolate sauce and strawberry mousse. Traditional Polish cooking is not for weight watchers.

In the morning we are reminded of a time when such a meal, for most of Warsaw's inhabitants, would have been purest fantasy.  At a small surviving section of the ghetto wall, part of the enclosures which sealed off the Jewish population until the transports to the death camps began, 91 year old Mieczyslaw Jedrusiak fetches his visitors' book. Though not Jewish he is the self appointed history of this bit of brickwork. He looks after it, he says, because he himself has known suffering, having spent three years in a Soviet gulag. The book is his fifth. Some of the messages written in them are from visitors who lost relatives in the holocaust, some from Germans clearly anxious to distance themselves from the brutality. It is hard, standing in this little yard at the foot of an apartment block, not to shed a tear.

Mieczyslaw Jedrusiak I used the word enclosures, plural, because for a time there were two ghettos – one large, the other small. We are driven down Chlodna Street, which divided them. Non Jewish inhabitants rode trams along this street. Jews had to  cross on a bridge. The  bridge is no longer there but the cobblestones and tramlines remain. We pass the orphanage run by Janusz Korczak who chose to enter the ghetto and stay with his children when he could have saved himself. Korczak was a far sighted educationalist who argued, early last century, that children should be allowed to object to domineering parents. In his book The Piano, later a film, Wladislaw Szpilman describes watching Korczak being marched off with his orphans, en route to death in Treblinka, telling them to the last that they were going for a day in the country.

Then it's on to the museum of the Warsaw uprising for more grim reminders. We walk, stooping, through an original section of the sewer system, part of which was used by Polish resistance fighters as a communications network in that brave – some would say foolhardy – battle in 1942. We watch rivetting footage filmed by the Home Army, of shooting, blazing buildings, women scurrying for cover and cooking something in a tin surrounded by rubble. In one sequence, a couple gets married, the groom with one arm in a  sling.  They survived, we learn, and emigrated to America. The result of Polish defiance as the levelling of much of Warsaw, including its old town, which was reconstrructed after the war in meticulous detail. A 3D film takes us on a "flight" over the ruins, accompanied by sombre music.

Time for someting less downbeat, a refreshing change of mood watching young people at study and play. We head for the University of Warsaw's ten year old library, close to the Vistula river. It is a lofty, airy building with a sizeable garden on the roof where we get sweeping views of the city. Below us researchers are working at laptops, connected to the internet via the library's wi-fi system. In the cental atrium you can buy old posters advertising Poland's airline, LOT.

A squall of rain threatening wind prompts a hasty retreat from the roof and a quick transfer to the nearby Copernicus Centre, opened a year ago. This is strictly for kids, though not necessarily for those under 50. State of the art exhibits include a responsive robot, an "orchestra" playing the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth where you can distinguish individual instruments such as the bassoon and clarinet by sitting next to them and equipment designed for security which detects your state of mind from your facial expression. It's bright and noisy but after all that harrowing history it seems like an oasis of hope.

  • Read Poland: Chapter 1 – Gdansk
  • Read Poland: Chapter 2 – more Gdansk
  • Read Poland: Chapter 3 – Sopot, the summer capital
  • Read Poland: Chapter 5 – more Warsaw
  • Read Poland: Chapter 6 – Zakopane
  • Read Poland: Chapter 7 – Krakow
  • Read Poland: Chapter 8 – more Krakow
268 people found this helpful
17354

Share Article:

Roger Bray

Travel writer

Leave a comment

*

Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest travel tips on top destinations.

Join the club

Become a member to receive exclusive benefits

Our community is the heart of Silver Travel Advisor, we love nothing more than sharing ideas, inspiration, hints and tips between us.

Most Recent Articles

There’s something refreshingly nostalgic about the quintessential British coach holiday….

Come feel the love on a Princess cruise. You’ll enjoy the MedallionClass experience others simply can’t, and it’s exclusively for everyone. Visit incredible destinations and be involved in the best experiences around each one of them.

Experience more with Princess and connect effortlessly with the world around you, spend time away with loved ones, take a moment for yourself, and fall in love with your holiday of a lifetime, every time.

With over 20 years of experience, Wendy Wu Tours has mastered the art of creating exceptional, fully inclusive tours which showcase the very best of each destination.

Each tour is led by a world-class guide, who will highlight the very best of their homeland, and includes authentic cultural experiences so you are not just seeing the sights, but truly immersing yourself in local life.

Say hello to ease at sea. Ambassador’s purpose is simple: they want to inspire every guest to experience authentic cruising, effortlessly and sustainably. Passionate about protecting our oceans and destinations, their ships comply with the highest industry emission standards and there is no single-use plastic on board.

On your voyage, you will receive the warmest of welcomes from the Ambassador community as you sail upon the friendliest ships afloat.

This is a global co-operative co-owned by local partners using real local experts and guides, which supports local communities, environments and wildlife. It offers travellers quirky places to stay, activity holidays and learning experiences. Not In The Guidebooks gets travellers off the beaten track into local culture with day experiences and longer, immersive adventures.

From wild wellness breaks in Wales to painting in Portugal, sustainable adventures in Mauritius to food safaris in Brazil, this is immersive, exciting travel.

Seabourn’s five intimate ships carry guests to the heart of great cities, exclusive yacht harbours and secluded coves around the world, while two new purpose-built expedition ships will combine exhilarating adventures in remote destinations with the sophisticated amenities of the world’s finest resorts at sea.

From the luxury of all suite accommodations to complimentary fine wines and spirits, and a no tipping policy, Seabourn exemplifies the definition of travelling well.