Visiting Warsaw: Defined by Dairy

“Usually, when I say I miss a place, I’m talking about the signiture food of that area.” -Old Sean

A Return to Europe

After a year traveling throughout Asia, I’ve cycled back towards Western civilization, landing in Eastern Europe’s Warsaw.

It’s nice being back in Europe.  The heavens are impressively puffy with the legions of marshmallow clouds that a healthy sky supports. All private homes and houses are required to be constructed in an adorable manner, looking snug and compact. The surrounding lands are decidedly green.

One of my absolute favorite features of Europe is the city-walkability. The vast majority of European cities were initially designed during an era when horse and strides were the primary mode of transportation. Furthermore, the European wealth-heyday came during this period as well.

As such, I’m fortunately able to walk everywhere within cities again, most urban areas being compact enough for foot travel.

Project Launch

After I landed in Warsaw, I began my various tasks for the next few months. 

My new job includes a content creation contract regarding the places I visit.  I’ve been assigned to visit and research locations that potential Chinese tourists would find attractive. At these locations, I must take photos of what’s publicly available and write fun facts and short stories. 

These brochures will be turned into short books for English and Chinese readers at the behest of my company.  

If I’m operating in complete honesty, I don’t have the nuances of the job locked down quite yet.  There’s a requirement for some semi-advanced planning which I’m gradually becoming more skilled at. Additionally, a portion of my job involves taking reference photos of the scenery. These photos are included in my reports so a team of artists can better-render the stories in the finalized books.

Lessons in Photography

For anyone preparing to become a talent on social media-photographing, there’s an easy trick to it. The secret to stunning scenery pictures is waking up at ungodly hours to hold down the shutter button during sunrise.

Sunrise.  Which is currently at 4:30 AM.

I’m unsure of the onomatopoeia for shuddering, but I imagine it’s something like “mrururur.”

And if I’m wrong, please be patient with me: It’s four thirty in the morning.

Visiting Warsaw

Since I’m required to get moving early for light-sensitive work, I’ve found myself awake well before most attractions are opened. This means the majority of my mornings were spent doing free, scenic and open activities that didn’t require interviews or paid-access to tourism attractions.

This meant starting out my day by walking along the Vistula River, striding through parks, glancing at the Multimedialny Park Fontann and wandering past Fort Legionów. It was scenic, quiet and beautiful. My only initial company was the rare, ambitious morning jogger.

Afterwards, I spent the remaining wee hours of the morning exploring a large chunk of Old Town, most especially enjoying Old Town Market Square.

Here, pastel buildings of narrow design press up against one another in a cobbled plaza. In the center of said Square, I saw the first rendition of Warsaw’s fully armed Guardian Mermaid. 

Mermaid of Warsaw

Warsaw is coated in mermaids, both official statues and more artistic depictions. 

All are inspired by variations of the same story, where a native “Syrenka” swam up the local river to meddle with the nets of Warsaw fishermen. The mermaid’s motivations vary somewhat in different tales. 

Regardless, the fishermen were angry at the sabotage, but upon seeing her beauty and hearing her siren song, they couldn’t muster any hate. 

Later, a rich merchant contrived to capture the Mermaid as a trophy. However, his plans were foiled by the now-adoring fishermen, who freed the beautiful aquatic being.

In thanks, the Syrenka swore to protect the fishermen and their homes. The Mermaid’s guardianship eventually extended to the wider city.  

An Early Zoo

After passing through Old Town, I shuffled over a river bridge (Most Gdański) to visit the splendid Zoological Gardens (Miejski Ogród Zoologiczny w Warszawie).

The zoological gardens are perpetually open, allowing me to walk around freely inside despite the still-early hours. I especially enjoyed the island penguins, which are among the most adorable creatures on Earth. 

The zoo follows a unique open-enclosure design, with animals being given small parks separated from the public by concrete trenches.  Most of the animals were exceptionally active in the morning. Elephants pulled up tufts of grass, zebras trotted back and forth, and flamingos bobbed their heads knowingly. I got a lot of sidelong looks from the animals, since I was the only person visiting them at that time.  

Breakfast While Visiting Warsaw

After my time among the animals, I ended up meandering back through the quieter streets of town.  I made my way past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Here, a guard performed a proper march in front of a narrow brazier honoring the traditions of the tomb.

After pausing to watch, I walked into Saxon Gardens for a slow walk.  I made myself a quiet breakfast here of breaded pastries purchased from one of the few vendors in the area.  

After my tiny, mobile breakfast, I wandered towards the towering Palace of Culture and Science (Pałac Kultury i Nauki), located back across the river and south. 

Warsaw is perfectly gorgeous to walk through and my short tour should have been extended for at least a few more days.  However, part of my job requirements involve a lot of in-person interviews planned in advance, so my schedule is strict.

Instead of lounging, I went to my hotel to bein compiling reports, writing blurbs and preparing for my route for the next day.

Another Day Another Dollar (Spent)

The following day was again defined by extremely early morning hours. The majority of my day would be spent following the Royal Route, a eleven kilometer winding path curving through Warsaw. The Route is especially profound for tourism, since it visits the vast majority of monuments and historical features within Warsaw.

On this morning, I headed to Łazienki Park, which serves as the southern anchor point for the Royal Route. This sprawling park held quiet amphitheaters, water features, old buildings and rows of elder trees.

The park itself took considerable time to explore. There were monuments of Chopin, Aleksander Kamiński and Ignacy Jan Paderewski (Poland’s WWI-era Prime Minister).

Once I was done in the park, I began winding northward. My day was spent passing palaces, churches, preserved avenues and town squares until I finally reached Warsaw’s Castle Square.

Say Cheese

With the Royal Route thoughouly explored, my photography-task-list for Warsaw was complete. I had a few odd interviews left, but not much else.

I felt like I was getting a feel for my boots once more. The weight of my backpack was settling, becoming unnoticeable on my shoulders. I felt like I was returning to a pleasant, full-travel-oriented version of myself with relatively few adjustments from my time in China.

However, there was still an adjustment period inbound.

During my last morning visiting Warsaw, I went grocery shopping to buy supplies to make a few sandwiches. These would sustain me during bus rides and short trips, allowing me to stay within my company’s food-budget.

Unfortunately, during this shopping spree, I saw cheese. Like several blocks of cheese.  And I bought them.

China, unfortunately, doesn’t have many rich dairy products. A huge portion of the population is lactose intolerant, so heavy-dairy products and fine cheeses are either non-existent or expensive. I leapt at the chance to sample some European cheese.

On my walk back to my hotel through a park, I felt my eyes being drawn toward my shopping bag. I decided to tear off a sliver of cheese and eat it while I walked.

The next thing I knew, I was eating an entire block of cheese while seated against a tree. My eyes were closed and I was making mortifyingly audible sounds of joy.

Many early-morning walkers understandably sped up their pace when they saw me.

Remaining Hours

With my remaining time in Warsaw nearly spent doing nothing but gorging myself on cheese, I needed to hurry slightly to visit at the last thing on my list.

I had planned on visiting Warsaw Uprising Museum. The uprising itself is a defining event of Polish history and features heavily in WWII reports and books.

In August of 1944, the Polish resistance attempted to overcome the five year Nazi occupation by aligning their efforts with the arrival of Soviet allies. They hoped to time their uprising alongside the arriving liberating force, thus breaking Nazi Germany’s power over the region.

However, Soviet leader Stalin chose to hold back and force the uprising to operate independently for 63 days, until it’s defeat. 

The current historical consensus states that Stalin had hoped to severely hobble the post-war anti-communist movement in Poland following the German crackdowns and executions.  This museum tells the story of Europe’s largest-coordinated resistance movement in WWII.

Leaving Warsaw

On that somber note, my time visiting Warsaw was done. My company had me slated to visit Wroclaw next.

It’s strange being back in Europe. For one thing, I’m basically invisible again, just another pale man walking amongst a crowd. In China, I stood out and that could prove both flattering and disorienting. But now I’m part of the background once more.

It’s a bit freeing. I look forward to enjoying more of that going into Wroclaw.

So until then,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written May 23rd, 2018

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