Below: tram stop outside Rondo ONZ 1 tower. Modern public transport serving modern offices. A safe, clean, modern, reasonably priced city. Though peeking into an estate agent's window, I'm shocked at what's happened to house prices over the past ten years. From 2002 to 2014, hardly any movement, then a London-style explosion.
Below: Rondo ONZ 1 tower from across the road. All this was brand new not so very long ago; today the centre of gravity of Warsaw's business district is shifting westward towards Wola.
Below: one of my favourite thoroughfares in Warsaw, just around the corner from my office, ul. Świętokrzyska. Across the road from the Palace of Culture. And here's one my favourite shops in Warsaw, Voltarex, a shop selling high-end kitchen equipment. I pop in to buy a stainless-steel vegetable steamer insert for my pan; from now on, steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus, steamed runner beans, healthier and tastier than boiled veg. It's the end of April, and the restaurants have their pavement tables out, creating a wonderfully Mediterranean atmosphere. The long weekend is just beginning...
Below: ulica Grzybowska as it intersects aleja Jana Pawła II, shortly after sunset. The old 1990s Atrium International plaza has been demolished; the crane stands where the 34-story Upper One building will shortly emerge. My father spent his earliest years around here; on his last visit to Warsaw in 2019, he was delighted by how modern Warsaw has emerged from the rubble of Nazi occupation.
...and this time in focus... 'Flying you since 1929'.
This time three years ago:
Return to the Konstancin-Jeziorna sidings
A review of the second part of Hillier's Betjeman biog.
New roads and rails
This time eight years ago:
The Gold Train shoot - lessons learned
This time 11 years ago:
Digbeth, Birmingham 5
This time 12 years ago:
Still months away from the opening of the S2/S79
This time 13 years ago:
Looking at progress along the S79
This time 14 years ago:
Snow on 3 May
This time 15 years ago:
Two Polands
This time 16 years ago:
A delightful weekend in the country
This time 17 years ago:
The dismantling of the Rampa
This time 16 years ago:
Flag day
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3 comments:
Beautiful series of photos, Michael! Thank you so much for sharing this captivating journey. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada.
The first three photos (the second one especially) would make great ads for Warsaw:
1. Lots of trams!
2. Safe separated bike paths (a middle-aged guy on a bike, a woman on a skateboard talking on the phone, both without helmets - which is how it is in societies where riding a bike is a normal activity), women walking, someone walking a dog, someone sitting on a bench, greenery, trees, old and new buildings, a mural.
3. The tree shaded outdoor restaurant tables scene has a feature that shows hospitality: there are two stands with blankets for patrons: to either put on knees or back to keep warm, or to sit on. In that photo there is also someone riding a bicycle rickshaw with a passenger and a bicycle stand.
@ Tomasz Andraszek
Thanks for the comment – you have found the key to how I select photos for my blog! Yes, this is exactly how I wish to portray Warsaw (and Poland in general)... as I find it, which means modern, safe, welcoming, open, creative, busy and green.
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