Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Author: admin

  • Warsaw – Warsaw Uprising Museum (City of Ruins)

    Warsaw – Warsaw Uprising Museum (City of Ruins)

    For anyone who visits the Warsaw Uprising Museum, it’s worth hunting out the little theatre section near to the replica Liberator aircraft. The Liberator was a US military aircraft and was used in relief flights to try and assist the Poles engaged in the Warsaw Uprising. The video of the City of Ruins lasts for five minutes and it’s in 3D, with glasses provided by the staff, giving a view of the destroyed Warsaw that someone on a Liberator aircraft might have seen at the end of the Second World War.

    The video is twelve years old now, so perhaps they can now do more with effects, but it was a sobering reminder of how Warsaw looked in 1945 after it was nearly entirely destroyed by the Germans. The museum was busy when I visited, since it was free admission day, but I had a wait of only around ten minutes to see the video. They can only fit 25 people into the theatre screen at a time, so there can be a little of a wait sometimes.

    The museum director said a few years ago:

    “If you have not seen it with your own eyes, individual photos from the war will not show it. It is only by visualising the destruction of the film that you will get an idea of ​​what Warsaw really looked like right after the end of the war, and from which ruins it had to rise.”

  • Warsaw – Warsaw Uprising Museum (Printing Press)

    Warsaw – Warsaw Uprising Museum (Printing Press)

    There’s a recreated printing press at the Warsaw Uprising Museum and they’ve got it going so that they can produce copies of genuine posters which were made by those courageous Poles fighting against the odds against the Germans during the Warsaw Uprising. There’s something amazing that even in a city which had been so overwhelmed that resourceful men and women could produce newspapers, posters and propaganda. It was also necessary to have a way of being able to call people to arms and to start a revolution against the occupiers.

    There were official Polish newspapers which were printed in Polish, but they were authorised by the Germans and were heavily censored. Their aim was to cause division and mistrust within the Polish community, so it was essential that this misinformation was countered by more authentic news. There were over 100 different titles produced during the war by the underground movement, which was a serious risk as the Germans would have likely killed anyone involved. And it wasn’t just the printing of this material, it was the distribution of it.

    I don’t normally take souvenirs back, but I liked this one, so I kept the poster that they gave to me from the printing press.

  • Bialystok – General von Driesen’s Villa

    Bialystok – General von Driesen’s Villa

    There aren’t very many wooden buildings in Bialystok, too many fires have put paid to that piece of the city’s heritage. There are though two surviving wooden residences, with this being one of them. The building is named after its first owner, General von Driesen, who purchased this plot in 1889 and constructed this wooden house on it.

    Driesen sold the building to Abraham Tyktin, a city merchant, in 1898 and then it was later sold to Adela Hasbach, the wife of a cloth factory owner. It was purchased in 1984 by the National Publishing Agency, but then sold to the museum service in 1990. Today, the building is used as a sculpture museum, hence the artwork at the front of the property.

  • Bialystok – Love Locks

    Bialystok – Love Locks

    I won’t complain here about love locks, as I’ve done that on previous occasions. But I’m impressed by the very half-hearted effort made here by the residents of Bialystok. Try and spot the love lock in the above photo….

    Here it is.

  • Müllermilch Pistachio

    Müllermilch Pistachio

    I’ve meant to post about this before, since it’s the drink I keep buying when meandering by nearly any convenience store in Poland. I don’t think I’ve even seen Müllermilch in the UK, although I’m sure it’s available somewhere, but this pistachio version is pure decadence in a plastic bottle. Marvellous…

  • PKP Intercity : Bialystok to Warsaw

    PKP Intercity : Bialystok to Warsaw

    The entrance to Bialystok railway station.

    Standing on the footbridge over the platforms, the train on platform 3 is the one that I was boarding. There’s a story, albeit of limited interest to anyone, about that. I’m always moderately nervous about boarding the wrong train, so I was confused that there were quite a lot of people on the platform who weren’t getting on the train.

    I was confused as the yellow departures sheet suggested that there were no other trains departing, so the train that was on platform three should be the only one to get on. Not least that it also had the train number and Warsaw on it, but I pondered why not everyone was getting on it. So, I faffed around taking some photos before boarding.

    Here’s one of them. Anyway, at this stage, a shiny intercity train pulls in, seemingly quite delayed and that was the reason that people were waiting. So I decide it’s time to board the train that I’m meant to be getting on and head to my seat. There are no other passengers on the carriage other than the person sitting in the aisle seat, next to my seat and she has just that second sat down and made herself comfortable. I hate such situations, it would look ridiculous if I make her get up to let me in and then we’re the only two on the carriage for the journey. So I sit nearby, until someone hovers nearby to where I’m sitting and I guessed that I was in their seat (I wasn’t as it transpired) before then deciding I’d move to my originally allocated seat. There’s a Very British Problems post about just this sort of situation….

    Bialystok railway station, which is being heavily renovated at the moment, although they’ve still got another year to go before it’s all finished. The newly restored building looks excellent and they’re renovating stations along the railway line, so this arterial route from the city to Warsaw is likely heading for increases in passenger usage.

    Around half-way through the journey, the train stopped at Małkinia Górna railway station. I felt an urge to check Wikipedia about this station and I found out, although really should have known, that this was the connecting line to Treblinka concentration camp. If I’d thought about it in advance, I’d have got a train ticket to here and then walked to the site of the camp before getting a later train to Warsaw. There isn’t much at Treblinka, but I’ll like to see the memorial and I think there’s a small museum there.

    I had expected a compartment / corridor train, solely because that’s what the rail company used on the train to get me to Bialystok a few days before. But, it was a more traditional type of carriage, which was comfortable although lacked power and wi-fi.

    And safely back into Warszawa Centralna, exactly on time. The journey had again cost £6 and lasted for around two and a half hours. All very easy once again….

  • Bialystok – Ibis Styles

    Bialystok – Ibis Styles

    This has been one of my favourite hotels, although it wasn’t a subtle Ibis Styles, it was an enormous bulk of a building towering over the shopping centre which it’s attached to.

    The view from my room over central Bialystok, which I very much liked. It also had large windows which made gazing out of the view much easier. The air conditioning and room heating worked to my satisfaction and the wi-fi was also fast and efficient.

    A room with a desk and chair, something which certain Ibis room designers would be horrified by. I’m not sure why I booked a twin room, I can only imagine that either it was all that was available, or that I’m an idiot. There was effectively no internal or external noise disturbance, this felt a particularly well constructed building to manage to avoid such noise leakage.

    I thought the water and biscuits were welcome gifts, but they were generally restocked every day, so they might be a standard offering. Anyway, a nice touch.

    Every Ibis Styles has a theme, something I think is a really positive idea, giving lots of design options to play with and giving it an element of uniqueness. I’ve had Ibis Styles focused around the Romans and space, with this hotel going for birds.

    The drinks voucher.

    And the drink I went for. I’m not sure that they had any darker beers, although the staff member had a look for some options and although this was a lighter option, it was something different to Zywiec.

    The hotel provides free coffee and tea at all times, they’re available at a little desk near to the reception area.

    Part of the salad offering at breakfast.

    Fruit.

    They had waffles that guests could make, although I’m not too engaged with that, but these are the toppings for those or for the pancakes, which I’m also not that engaged with…. They did though have a coffee machine which also did some rather excellent hot chocolate.

    And there were cereals to be had as well. The breakfast area was never that busy and it was kept spotlessly clean by the staff. They were a bit overwhelmed on the Saturday and didn’t seem to be restocking food very efficiently, but on the other four days it was all kept fully stocked.

    The prices for this hotel are reasonable, something usually around £35 to £40 per night, although my room was around £27 per night including breakfast as part of an Accor offer. The staff were always friendly, the public areas were clean and it’s a centrally located hotel just a short walk from the city.

  • Bialystok – Legend of Giants

    Bialystok – Legend of Giants

    There are some outstanding murals in Bialystok, but this one located on al. Józefa Piłsudskiego is perhaps one of the best in the city and also one of its better-known. Created by Natalia Rak in between 20 and 30 September 2013, it uses a real tree as part of the artwork. The artwork has faded a little over the years, but it is still just as impressive.

  • Bialystok – Cukiernia Sowa

    Bialystok – Cukiernia Sowa

    I went to the Kielce outlet of this national chain last week and couldn’t resist quickly visiting one of their two outlets in Bialystok city centre.

    Tasty looking doughnuts and the staff member was impeccably polite and helpful. The prices are reasonable and lower than some of the other international coffee chains that operate within Poland.

    A chocolate eclair, with plenty of confectioner’s custard inside, with a large coffee which had a rich and decent taste to it. The cafe was clean and organised, with a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. This chain really is becoming my new Greggs in Poland…..

  • Bialystok – North Fish

    Bialystok – North Fish

    North Fish is part of a national Polish chain run by a company called North Food, who also operate another food concept which is John Burg. I visited that John Burg restaurant in the Galeria Echo mall in Kielce last week, which is the same shopping centre where North Fish was started from in 2002.

    The reason I thought I’d visit an outlet is that they’re commonplace in shopping centres around Poland, but I’ve never been to one. And, I am quite drawn to fast food chains and their bright lights and shiny menu boards…. North Fish restaurants usually appear to be well attended, with the reviews also being of a higher average than other food court options.

    I have to admit to not quite understanding the ordering process, but it seems to revolve around selecting a fish element and then the customer helping themselves to chips or salad elements. The staff member who served me didn’t speak English, so although I could order what I wanted easily enough by pointing and speaking Polish (well, nearly entirely pointing if I’m being honest), there was no explanation of the ordering process or promotions possible on this occasion. The service was always polite though, with the process seeming efficient and well managed.

    I’m not entirely sure what this fish is, but it tasted of cod to me and flaked away as I’d expect cod to do. So, I’m going to call it cod. And it was an excellent piece of fish, tender and full of flavour, with the batter being soft, but still retaining some crunch and a decent amount of taste. The chips were fine, nothing exciting, but they also retained some bite, although I didn’t see any opportunity to get sauces and this needed some tartare sauce to raise it up a level. The berry smoothie was excellent, lots of bits of fruit in it and it seemed freshly made.

    I didn’t have a clue how much this was going to cost and it came to £6 for the food and drink, which seemed to be reasonable to me. I understand that there are discount vouchers and promotions available, so I’m sure there were better value options to those who understood those, but as a first visit to this chain, it struck me as a positive experience. I do remember, I think it’s in Warsaw, that they have an outlet with an ordering panel, and I might visit that as the ordering by kiosk option will likely give me a better oversight to the menu and the possible promotions. I can see the attraction though of North Fish.