Targowa and its atmosphere

From the first time I clapped eyes on ul. Targowa (named, as attentive readers will remember, after the Russian General Targov), I found it decidedly exotic; putting me more in mind of Buenos Aires than of left-bank Warsaw. The broad, tree-lined avenue with tramway running down the middle sports an eclectic mix of architecture, from Tsarist tenements to 1930s modernism and 1960s blocks.

Below: a second-hand jewellry store; note the neon - one of the classics of its genre (I intend to write more about Warsaw's neons in the near future).

Below: architecture reminescent of Fritz Lang's Metropolis (note the riot of advertising)

Below: if you want to get your broken video recorder repaired around here - tough. Targowa's last video repairman has gone out of business.

Below: Park Skaryszewski, the link between Stara Praga to the north and sophisticated Saska (Kępa) to the south. The statue in the distance is to Soviet heros who died 'liberating' Warsaw.

No doubt more about the pearl of Warsaw's right-bank parkland anon, but compared to Park Łazienkowski, Park Skaryszewski feels more, well, democratic. It's not gated, not shut at night; there's no ban on cycling or roller-blading (indeed in winter, there's a cross-country skiing track in the snow).