Functionalism in Warsaw

One of the most well-thumbed books on Warsaw is Architektura w Warszawie by Marta Leśniakowska (I have the 1998 edition; the book was updated in 2005). En route from a lunch meeting to an interview with Polish Radio (Trójka), I passed the post and telecommunications building on ul. Nowogrodzka 45, an excellent example of pre-war Functionalism.

Turning to my trusty tome, I discover that this was Poland's first steel-framed building, completed in 1934. I am particularly struck by the Polish eagle, rendered in functionalist style, and the wording: "Interurban telephone - telegraph - radiotelegraph". Imagine coming here in the mid-'30s to phone your relatives in Kraków or to reach a crew member on board the transatlantic liner, the MS Batory.

While considering pre-war functionalism, it's worth taking a peek at this building on Al. Na Skarpie, overlooking the Vistula escarpment. Completed in 1935, this was the villa of architect Bohdan Pniewski, a complete functionalist remodelling of what had been a masonic temple from the late 18th C. The use of stone cladding was quite revolutionary at the time (in Britain today it's associated with right-to-buy council houses trying to distinguish themselves from their neighbours).

Above: the coded inscription, which according to Ms Leśniakowska, says something like "Raising ahead he rebuilt the masonic temple and lived in it". Below: I mentioned this before, but I feel it would be worth placing the station signage at W-wa Włochy into the context of pre-war functionalism.

This time last year:
What's the Polish for 'to bully'?

This time two years ago:
Making plans

This time three years ago:
The setting sun stirs my soul

This time four years ago:
Rain ends the drought

Just for the record...

Not pictures of great artistic merit, but just to record the fact that on Wednesday, 4 May 2011, there was a dusting of snow on the ground; the air temperature recorded in the meteorology department of Warsaw Polytechnic was +0.6C.

Overnight the clouds scudded by, the sky cleared and the previous evening's snow was preserved by the ground frost. I got back on my bike and cycled to work, spattered with mud (today I wore waterproof over-trousers).

I'm worried about the effect this unseasonable cold will have on crops and on the subsequent effect on food prices, which in any case have been rising very quickly. Nature is fragile at this time of year, tender green shoots can have the life frozen out of them. I pray for warmth.

This time four years ago:
This is not America, no?

Evil of a snowflake in May

Cycling when it's cold is OK - you dress up warm, especially hands and feet, and krentch that little bit harder. Cycling when it's wet is OK when you're dressed in waterproofs and your bike's equipped with full-length mudguards. But cycling on a very cold and very wet day is none too wise. And yet the day looked reasonable when I woke up; chilly (+4C) though dry. The Las Kabacki was as full of joggers, Nordic walkers and cyclists as I could imagine on a public holiday.

Above: the Vistula, Wyspy Zawadowskie, a nature reserve midstream, just outside Warsaw's city limits, by a village called Kępa Oborska. Below: for the first time I catch the coal train in motion between Konstancin-Jeziorna sidings and the Siekierki power station.

Below: the power station chimneys in the background, to the right, the flood defence wall. Last year's floods did not breach this wall but left it compromised; the water level was two metres higher on the river side, the earth dyke dangerously sodden. Had the wall burst here, it would have made it impossible to deliver coal to the power station by rail. See how high the water was in late May last year.

Around 2pm it started to rain, lightly at first, and home was still a long way off. The rain got steadily heavier, the temperature started falling. It was absolutely miserable. My skiing gloves were sodden, as were my feet (there are holes where the pedal cleats are fitted to my otherwise solid cycling boots). And as the bus finally took me homewards, it started snowing - intensively. Large wet flakes of snow. The last kilometre of my journey, into the wind and sleet, saw me covered in white.

Above: home and dry, but look outside. It's gone eight o'clock, still light outside, and yet snow has settled on the lawn. I have never witnessed snow in Warsaw in May (previous last-snow records were 13 April in 1997 and 9 April in 2001). This is bizarre. And Manchester has just had a fortnight of unbroken sunshine and +25C heat... Climate change is happening, anomalous weather events are occurring ever more often.

This time last year:
Two Polands

This time two years ago:
A delightful weekend in the country

This time three years ago:
Greatest shock in six years of living in Jeziorki

This time four years ago:
Flag day

Guide's guide to Warsaw

Central European capital city of two million people - what's to show your visitors? My cousin Teresa (mother's sister's daughter) and her husband Peter have just been over from London (Ontario, that is). Now, Teresa has not been to Poland since 1976, while for Peter, it was his first visit. So - for the well-travelled visitor, what are the must-sees in Warsaw?

What makes Warsaw Warsaw is its history - from monarchy, via Russian occupation, a brief interlude of independence, Nazi occupation and Soviet occupation to free-market democracy. So much poignancy, tragedy and yet hope; as I've written before, Warsaw is today more peaceful and prosperous than ever before, but tensions remain.

So what to see? Our itinerary: New Town, Old Town, Krakowskie Przedmieście (and assorted folk remonstrating with the town guard by the former site of the Smolensk Cross); Plac Piłsudskiego - being prepared for the John Paul II's beatification; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; Ogród Saski, the old PAST building; ul. Próżna (the only street of the Jewish Ghetto left standing); the Palace of Culture (30th floor viewing gallery, then the Museum of Technology); a gig with Orkiestra z Chmielniej for a spirited rendition of Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino and Warszawskie dzieci; lunch at Szwejk (pork knuckle washed down with one-litre steins of Pilsner Urquell); bus to the royal palace at Wilanów; brief repose at Kuźnia Królewska, then bus to Łazienki Park and long walk through the park via the Parliament building (Sejm), Plac Trzech Krzyży, up Nowy Świat and Krakowskie Przedmieście, Old Town, New Town and a wonderful dinner at Galeria Freta.

Above: Wilanów palace - nice place, but still a work-in-progress; last time I was here was probably 2007 or 2008 and the gardens were being dug up and partially closed off, as they were today. Millions of euros of EU and Polish public money are being spent on doing it up; when ready it will be quite something, but until then, Łazienki offers a similar tourist experience without having to get across the far suburbs. Until Wilanów is finally ready, I'd recommend giving it a miss.

Day Two started off with the Warsaw Uprising Museum (above), which I've now visited four times, and each time it gets better. This must be one of the best historical museums on earth. Incredibly good - each time I visit, it's packed. An absolute must-see. Lunch at W Komitecie, the communist-themed restaurant on the ground floor of the former party HQ (very apt, as it was 1 May). Sledż, washed down with vodka, pork, cabbage, beetroot. Then - disappointment. The National Museum and the Polish Army Museum were both closed (again, very apt; unlike the Uprising museum, these places are rather unreconstructed and show their communist-era roots).

After a visit to Jeziorki and a drive around the countryside to the south and south-east of Warsaw, we returned to the Old Town (left) and dinner at Świętoszek, in an atmospheric cellar tucked into a side street just off the market square (barszcz, duck).

This morning I drove Teresa and Peter to the airport, which again, is something else that Warsaw can be proud of. Memories of the ghastly Etiuda terminal are still fresh in my mind; it's good that the new airport building is finally world-class.

Warsaw is well worth a visit if you've not been (or not been recently); it will surprise very positively.

This time last year:
Bike ride across rural Poland
Night Train, Carry Me Home

This time three years ago:
Warsaw's museum museum

This time four years ago:
On the Polish-Czech border

Hobnobbing

Thursday and Friday passed in a blur of frantic activity connected with two major events, a meeting with Poland's president and the Warsaw celebrations of the Royal Wedding.

Above: President Bronisław Komorowski responding to comments made by representatives of 13 foreign chambers of commerce in Poland. Speaking for the British-Polish chamber, I made three points - trade between the UK and Poland is growing wonderfully, quadrupling in value since Poland joined the EU, but that inward investment from the UK to Poland is held being back by perceived bureaucratic barriers - Poland should be an easier place to do business. And, echoing calls from several other chambers, I told the president that Poland's public procurement process should be more transparent and open.

President Komorowski said that further deregulation was necessary. Earlier this month, he'd signed a law replacing the need for a zaświadczenie with a simple oświadczenie. Confused? Until now, you needed a piece of paper from a relevant authority, stamped and signed, to prove that white is not black. Now, you can simply write your own statement to that effect. This is seen as a huge step forward in cutting unnecessary red tape. Welcome though this be, much more is still needed - something that President Komorowski said he fully accepted.

Above: on the terrace behind the Belweder palace. President Komorowski has chosen to reside here rather than in the presidential palace on Krakowskie Przedmieście, where his predecessor lived.

A good move, given the extreme emotions of the 'Defenders of the Cross' who still hang out there. To a vocal minority of Poles, President Komorowski will always be Satan incarnate, the Butcher of Smolensk, a tool of Muscovy and a servant of Israel. Such extreme views are not heaped upon the British head of state, which brings me on to Friday's big event - the celebration of the Royal Wedding at the Intercontinental Hotel, but that will be another post...

In the meanwhile, my personal reflections about the benefits of a monarch and Royal Family.

UPDATE: The Royal Wedding has come and gone; despite the greatness of the day, I cannot muster any retrospective enthusiasm to blog it.

This time two years ago:
Time to get cycling to work

This time four years ago:
Why I'm staying put in Poland

This time four years ago:

New laptop - but which one?

My 2002 vintage laptop is on its last legs. At least twice a week it just dies on me at work and requires a 15 minute break to resuscitate. It's slow and confused. Multimedia is a challenge. A new laptop is now a top capital expenditure priority for me - the only question is - which one?

And here I turn to my dear readers for suggestions as to what's reliable, portable and multimedia friendly. As in life, a balance needs to be reached between lightness of weight and a screen that's sufficiently large to handle big photos, with good graphics processing power. Mobile blogging will be encouraged by fast built-in wi-fi internet and a long battery life.

I'm currently writing on a Dell, which has proved more reliable that I could have ever expected (I bought it second hand in late-2004 when it was already two years old), but that reliability is now failing. New Dell? Manufacturing has been contracted out to Foxconn, but then hasn't every laptop? IBM Thinkpads have become Lenovo, Moni's Toshiba has a good guarantee but she encountered problems with her screen and wi-fi within the first month of using it. Hewlett-Packard any good? Acer? Asus? Sony Vaio - people I know with them curse its very name.

I'd be grateful for any user experiences (good or otherwise) and recommendations for something light, robust and compatible (Apple?). Windows 7 - a huge advance over Windows XP? Is OpenOffice really a decent replacement for Microsoft Office (I can't stand Office 2007)?

In praise of Warsaw's trams

The other day, Eddie spotted an article in Gazeta Stołeczna that as of the end of this month the No. 20 tram will be back running all the way to Boernerowo. Like, where's Boernerowo? I asked. Swathes of western, north western and north eastern Warsaw remain terra incognita to me; the centre of Kraków I know far better. The photo in the newspaper showed a single tramline, with passing places, running through woods on the very edge of town. Looks interesting! (I hope to report from Boernerowo soon).

Anyway; this prompted us to look at a map of Warsaw's trams (here in full). And looking at it, I fancied the following conceit - Warsaw has 22 metro lines. Compared to London's 14*. OK, not all of Warsaw's metro lines go underground (well, only one, actually). And the rest stop at traffic lights. And only have two carriage-trains. But even so, when one compares urban transport on rail in the two capitals, Warsaw's trams go a long way to bridge the gap with London.

To make my point, I've stripped down the Warsaw tram map (below) to just trams and the one metro line. No airport buses, no commuter railways, no Zone 2 (untouched by trams anyway). Click to enlarge to view full size.

Below: Tram Aesthetic I. Rondo de Gaulle'a, late summer 2009. Azure sky and fake palm lend the pic a Mediterranean air. The tram on the left is a low-floor PESA.

The other type of modern, low-floor tram to be seen in Warsaw is the Swing (below).

Below: the Swing trams are articulated, so passengers can move freely inside from the front to the back. LCD screens give real-time information as to where the tram is, and how many minutes to each subsequent stop along the line.

Much as I admire the modern tram design for its practicality and ease of access, I retain a soft spot for the early 1960s Żmija ('adder'), the Konstal 13N, which I remember were very new when I visited Warsaw as an eight-year old boy in 1966. They may not be easy to get in and out of, they may not keep you informed of your journey time, but they have klimat.

Below: unlike modern trams, the Żmija is composed of two entirely separate wagons, each with a front and a back (they can't be driven in reverse). The second of the two wagons also has a driver's cabin; in some these are left open, and when the tram is crowded you can see students perched here, often with girlfriend on lap.

Below: on my way home tonight I went via Słuzewiec - the stop at the end of the line, from which I took the train to Jeziorki. Something different - never been this way home before.

Below: Służewiec pętla (loop) - the end of the line. From here you can catch the No. 18 all the way across town to Żerań FSO, the (newly closed) car factory in north-east Warsaw.

* London's 11 Underground lines plus the Docklands Light Railway, the East London Line, the Waterloo and City Line and the Croydon Tramlink, to count like-for-like.

This time last year:
Plans for the railway line to Radom

This time two years ago:
Bicycle shakedown day

This time three years ago:
Jeziorki in bloom

Corruption: reasons to be cheerful

Last week's Economist ran a full-page story in the front of its Europe section about corruption in central and eastern Europe (From Bolshevism to backhanders). I read the story three times, the third time very carefully, to make extra sure I'd not missed anything.

Latvia: "...political attempts to nobble the [anti-corruption agency]." Czech Republic: "corruption scandal rocking the government". Bulgaria: "brazen attempt to rig a nuclear-power tender." Romania and Slovakia: "attempts to reform the judiciary have stalled". Lithuania: "scant critical scrutiny of the activities of its agriculture ministry." Russia: "companies willing to pay bribes; the curse of easy money from oil and gas." Ex-communist Europe: "[A] rising tide of sleaze."

Yet one country from the region conspicuously missing from this rather depressing article is Poland. Every year since 2005, the nadir of Polish corruption, the country has done better and better in Transparency International's global Corruption Perception Index ranking (below).

While Poland may not be as squeaky-clean as Scandinavian countries, it's moving in the right direction.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2012: Transparency International's latest Corruption Perception Index shows the trend continuing, with Poland's score improving yet again (to 5.5).