This subtle little centrally located monument was erected in 1975 and commemorates those who were killed fighting for a free Poland. Unveiled in October 1975, it’s made of concrete and stands seventeen metres in height. The words on the pillars mean “God, Honour and Homeland”, although these are more modern additions which have been controversial to say the least.
More photos of the monument, which is in need of some repair judging by the state of some of the concrete.
I know nothing more about this project, other than it’s a reminder of what was once here in Bialystok that no longer stands. There was a large Jewish population in Bialystok before the Second World War, and its decimation meant much inevitably changed, let alone all the other upheaval which took place in the post-war city. The above photo was taken in 1929, but the only downside is that I can’t locate at the moment any more information about this building.
I think that this is the area today, but there are no anchors to really pin down where the property once stood.
This urban art project was installed in 2011, designed by Aleksandra Czerniawska, a local artist. The artwork is meant to show different things depending on which the direction the viewer looks at it from. From one side it’s a eye in a camera frame.
From the other, it’s some sort of dish. At least, I think that’s what it’s meant to be, this is one of the art installations which doesn’t have an English translation to explain the concept a bit more. Indeed, I suspect that I might have made that bit up, but that’s what it looks like to me. Anyway, it’s eye catching though, but excuse the pun there… It’s apparently a nod towards the work of Dżiga Wiertów, a Soviet documentary maker who was born in the city.
This considerably sized bronze sculpture weighs over a ton and is a reminder of puppetry in the region over the centuries.
There is also a puppet theatre in Bialystok which was opened in 1953, moving into its own premises in 1979, which was the first purpose built puppet theatre building in Poland.
I’ve written about the train I took last week from Warsaw to Kielce, so I won’t repeat too much of the same information.
I’ve been to Warszawa Centralna railway station many times before, although I realised that I’d never seen the waiting area. It’s not surprising on reflection, the platforms are on level -1 and the large waiting room area is on level 2, so three floors up.
Nicely reassuring, I can see that my carriage will be at the front of the train. It’s quite a short train, with just five carriages. There are several stops en route, with the service taking just over two hours.
Confirmation of the platform number, I do like it when they make it nice and easy.
And here comes the train, arriving around fifteen minutes before its estimated departure time. There’s clear signage on the train where it’s going, which gives me lots of reassurance.
Brits at least need that reassurance….
And it’s a compartment train (or corridor train, I’m never sure of the difference), something which I still see on mainland Europe, but they got rid of on UK trains decades ago. They seem to be on their way out in Poland though as well, all of the newer trains that I’ve seen have open carriages, so I imagine these will taken out of services over the coming years.
I personally prefer open carriages, but there’s a slightly strange social dynamic that occurs with these compartments which is interesting. On an open train, where there is no division within the seating, I’ve never seen in Poland anyone say anything to someone in the nearby area when they leave the train. Here though, there seems to be some social etiquette of saying hello when entering the carriage and goodbye when leaving the carriage, which is of course a complete anathema to British people in terms of social engagement.
This is British social etiquette on trains.
Compartment trains also leads to this Very British Problem.
Safely in Bialystok.
Looking down on the train from the bridge, which terminated here (I mean the train terminated here, not the bridge). The train arrived into Bialystok on time and the entire process of boarding it and finding the seat was again very easy, almost idiot proof. The fare was £6, which was about the same as the Flixbus, which again seems rather good value for money to me.
This is the seventh Accor hotel in Warsaw that I’ve stayed in over the last couple of years, and the fifth this month, and it’s also the one I’ve liked the least and the only one that I wouldn’t stay at again. I posted separately about how Ibis are seemingly moving away from what I personally would like, with this hotel being the cause of that post.
Irritatingly though, for an Ibis hotel, the breakfast, the welcome and the design of the public areas was well ahead of the curve for the brand. The public areas do have that community feel, although they need to go further, whether it’s by implementing some form of coffee shop or some form of specialism, such as my own favourite of craft beer. The first impressions for guests at this hotel is, I’d imagine, a really positive one as it’s airy, bright and contemporary in style.
I’ve already posted that I don’t like the room, I think it looks dated, although it’s the lack of functionality that is primarily why I don’t like it. There used to be a lovely desk and chair under that window. Ibis used to be proud of that, in the booking confirmation for this stay it even mentions “a large desk”.
Incidentally, the room does still have a door, this hasn’t been removed yet. In terms of cleanliness, it was spotless, with the bathroom feeling modern and contemporary. This also isn’t the brand standard for the new room that Accor sent to me last year, all three of their room designs had desks in, albeit not as large as I’d personally like, so I’m not sure why at this stage they’ve changed.
The room’s climbing frame and play area. As an aside, the bed was very comfortable. Although since there’s no chair now, I suppose it has to be.
Just as my opinion, this is a really poor design, I’m conscious that a couple of airport lounges introduced these, then had to take them back out again. Anyone with an adapter, so the USA, the UK, much of Asia and the like, may struggle as they’re recessed. That leaves one power point in the room. I don’t understand why they can’t just keep things simple and have a power socket on the wall that everyone can use. Design improvements are meant to make things easier, not present the guest with more difficulties.
I digress slightly, but a few years ago, Marriott hotels had this marvellous idea that they’d take the desk out of hotel rooms. They claimed this was what the younger generation wanted, that guests didn’t want formal desks, they wanted informality and they could always sit on their bed with their laptop or just use public spaces. It was a little bit of a PR nightmare for the company and the policy was scrapped during the fit-out process, it had misunderstood the needs of millennials, let alone everyone else. I’m also pretty confident that in a year’s time that Accor will be doing the same, saying that they’re evolving the room design by re-implementing larger desks.
Anyway, back to my normal drivel, this is the welcome drink voucher. The check-in process was seamless, the staff member particularly engaging and everything felt clean and modern. I’m pleased to note that this hotel still has a check-in desk, although Ibis are apparently ditching them so that customers have to queue up at the bar. I have no idea how Accor have come to the impression that this is a great idea, although they have access to far more customer data than I ever will, so I’m sure they’ve got good reason. Although, I still think customers want to be receive a proper welcome from a staff member at the check-in desk, they often don’t want to check-in at a computer, or by trying to find a member of bar staff padding around with a device to check them in.
This is the standard beer offered by Ibis as a free gift, all acceptable if not particularly exciting.
And a lovely touch, very much appreciated.
For a few seconds I wondered what was going on here, but it’s just the floor being protected whilst they go through ruining the rooms with the new design.
Breakfast was much better than the standard Ibis fare, I’m not sure why they’re going further than the brand standard. My Polish friends know what I think of smalec, but it’s a delicacy which it’s good to see for those who want to try it. The range of cold meats isn’t the usual Ibis standard either, it’s much better, which I very much approve of, with a wider selection of breads.
All told, and excluding what I personally consider to be a dysfunctional room, this is one of the best Ibis hotels that I’ve been to. The cleanliness, staff friendliness and attempt at localisation at breakfast are all really positive, although I’m always easy to please by giving me free chocolate. But, a desk and chair in the room is essential for me, if not for others, so this is a hotel I won’t be revisiting.
I’m not entirely sure how the individuals are picked to be featured on the Avenue of Fame, but it’s an intriguing addition to Skwer Harcerski im. Szarych Szeregów, which is a city centre park.
Back at Kielce railway station, which had a light dusting of snow on the ground, getting the early afternoon train back to Warszawa Centralna. The service starts down in Krakow and ends in Olsztyn, with my ticket purchased on-line a couple of days ago.
Artwork at the end of the subway at Kielce railway station.
Kielce railway station waiting hall and ticket desks. The railway station was first constructed in the 1880s, but this is a much more modern building, albeit now quite dated.
The old style split-flap boards, I miss these from London Liverpool Street.
Lots of information boards, so it was clear from where the train was departing from.
More platform, track and sector boards, which fortunately do make sense for those passengers paying attention.
A busier service than I had anticipated, with the train being one of the older Stadler rolling stock, but it was all clean and well maintained.
Boarding the train in Kielce. The journey was all smooth and on-time, with the train being nearly full. The seat reservation system works well, with the signage being relatively clear, although not perfect. The staff member performing the ticket check was helpful and polite, although I didn’t see any refreshment trolley working its way up and down the aisles on this service.
The service starts from Kielce (where the 9hr 19 min) is above, then goes to Radom and then Warsaw. I noticed the very strange rail routing today on my map, although there is a line which goes directly from Radom to Warsaw without looping around. I assume it’s not a mainline, but there are no stops between Radom and Warsaw, so it’s an erratic route in geographic terms, which doesn’t make for the quickest of services.
And safely into Warsaw…. There was a little problem here as the staff couldn’t open the doors, which led to the guard who was standing near me phoning someone. There was a good 60 second wait for the doors to open, which is fine when you are near the guard and can see what’s happening, but it’s nervy for those further down who just assume only their doors weren’t opening.
It’s warmer in Warsaw and the air quality is better, I still have a sore throat that I’m putting down to air pollution in Kielce. Anyway, the train journey represented good value for money, around £6 for the three-hour long service.
Located a short walk from the city centre, and interestingly for me in what was once the city’s Jewish ghetto during the Second World War, this is a modern building. The welcome at the reception area was prompt and polite, with the staff member setting a friendly first tone.
My room had its own mini corridor, very nice. Not that I could do much with that space, but it made the room feel a bit quieter.
And the welcome gold amenity, very nicely done and this pleased me greatly.
I was here for three nights and did do this for one day, earning 100 Accor points.
The breakfast area, which is also where meals are served throughout the day and that’s the bar area on the right. It was never very busy. I’m not sure that the hotel needs such a visible car rental area though, it’s the first thing that customers see when entering and it’s not very subtle.
The teas, coffees and juices are on the left hand side.
Breads, croissants, apple pie and jams.
Fruit, salad and hot dog accompaniments.
Very lovely.
The welcome drink, the staff member helpfully told me that I could have a darker beer, but she took the bottle and so I don’t know exactly what it was. It tasted fine though, it’s a nice change from the standard Zywiec.
Without being rude to the band or hotel, this simply didn’t work as far as I’m concerned. The hotel knocked out its bar and restaurant for the evening, disturbing every single one of its customers (I know this as I was the only customer in the bar, and had to leave quicker than I wanted). The hotel is meant to be promoting its restaurant and it can’t do that by shutting it to put a band on. I know it’s all part of Ibis’s engagement with music, but I’m not sure that was how the concept was meant to work, shutting restaurants and bars in order to put very loud music on. Anyway, as a positive, it was nice of the hotel to engage with a band and try something different, as innovation is the key as they say. I’m not sure who says that, but I’m sure that someone does.
The hotel was clean throughout and everything was well managed, although it always felt quiet (other than when the band was playing, which I could hear on the fourth floor). The sound proofing seemed effective, as there was no noise disturbance either internally or externally (other than the band) and the staff were always friendly and helpful. The air conditioning that the hotel use is though inadequate and would ideally be better, although it’s frequently not that good in Ibis hotels. Anyway, all told, all very lovely given that the room and breakfast was under £25 per night.
Before the Second World War, there were around 25,000 Jews living in Kielce, which was around a third of the city’s population. Only around 400 Jews from Kielce survived the Second World War, and some of those died in the Kielce Jewish Pogrom in 1946, which marred the city’s reputation for decades.
There’s not much left from the ghetto period, but there is this memorial to it. One surviving building is the Jewish synagogue, although it’s not used by the community now, and I noticed that the Ibis Hotel that I stayed in is located within the former ghetto area. It’s all a modern area now, there are few traces of the horrors which took place here.
This figure relates to when the ghetto was liquidated in August 1942, with over 20,000 people sent to Treblinka concentration camp, where they were killed. Many more died whilst living in the ghetto or during the transportation. The memorial is a necessary reminder of what was lost during the Second World War, with the Jewish community and its buildings being nearly entirely destroyed.
