21 June 2004 Warsaw, Poland My 10th European nation! A year ago I would never have thought I would be in Poland. I started the day very early in Cologne and took a very long walk through the northeast neighborhood of the German city. I love taking walks through residential districts to get a non-tourist feel for a city, and this morning afforded me well over three hours of doing just that. Unlike the other few German residential areas I've seen, this one has its imperfections and worn-look.

Around 11AM I took a very fast-driven taxi to the airport. After clearing the passport check, we waited for the delayed German Wings airplane to begin my exploration of Poland. I must admit that I missed train travel just for a closer view of the countryside, but I needed to economize on time. We arrived at the Warsaw airport under a low cloud cover, which cast a gray hue on everything, contributing even more to the worn-torn airport. It looks like they are trying to expand and update, but the hard times of the past could not be so easily conccealed.

As in every new country I visit, I deliberately stopped and slowly considered my next moves. To my delight I found a good number of people who knew English, and they provided good advice, as it turned out. After I changed my money into Polish currency, I boarded an airport-recommended taxi for the trip to my downtown hotel. The trip is quite short geographically, but the heavy traffic made it into a thirty minute stop-and-go affair. I settled into the delightful hotel room (Hotel Hetman) and then took a brief walk around the neighborhood. It was during the homebound rush hour. Why do I think people in a country I have never visited will be somehow radically different from any other human beings I have ever seen? Well, as you can imagine, I was assured that the people here are not from outer space. The stores workers I encountered in a nearby shop, although unable to speak English, were quite friendly. The buildings are almost all old and a bit weather-tattered. It looks like they are trying to do something about all that, but we'll have a more thorough look tomorrow.

22 June 2004 Warsaw I woke up very early and noticed that the sky is already light. The sun had not risen yet, but it was not far off at 3:15AM! Warsaw is on the eastern edge of the Central European Time zone, but this blew me away. And the direction of the sun confuses me here, but that's for another day to think about. I crossed the Vistula River to enter the center of Warsaw. There is not a spectacular city skyline, but the old section of the sity does present an inviting view. On this brilliantly sunny morning the vividly painted buildings make for a very pleasant Old Town. But I wanted to leave the more touristy area to see the workaday portions of the city. I passed by the Presidential Palace, quite nice, and moved on towards the commercial center. The streamlined, concrete soviet-era structures stand in stark contrast to the older, well-kept baroque-style buildings. I noticed that there were more than a few older women trying to sell goods on the sidewalks. Perhaps my imagination about their difficult lives does not conform to reality, but I cannot help but think that they should not have to sit on the streets hawking trinkets to make ends meet.

I stopped in at a number of churches and was impressed with their simplicity. Some are of the gawdy baroque sort, but the others are beautifully unadorned. To be honest, I had expectations that the churches of Poland would be somewhat kitchy. The ones I visited were not.

There is alot of construction, but alot more reconstruction is needed. Sidewalks and buildings are in need of repair. But I think Warsaw will come through this post-communist transition well; the people seem to be hardworkers, in contrast to the western Europeans I've seen! And these folks are having kids, too!

After some time in a struggling commercial zone, I returned to the Old Town of Warsaw. In time it should be a very attractive tourist attraction, but for now it seems to draw only the Polish; there are very few non-Polish visitors.

On my way back to the Old Town, I noticed that something was astir at the presidential palace. There was an honor guard and military band at attention. Soon enough a police-escort led a limousine into the palace yards. It seemed that an Asian visiting dignitary was given the royal treatment. Perhaps I saw a head of state or two.

Perhaps because of low expectations I am pleasantly surprised by Warsaw. On the other hand, there are some rough characters around here. Some appear to be of the innocent sort, others not so. At times I wondered whether I wasn't being targeted by pick-pocketers, particularly by a specific woman and what appeared to be her son who followed me quite closely in the main Old Town square. I didn't hang out there too long. There are also many beggars, but that is also true about Cologne. They predominate outside churches.

23 June 2004 Warsaw I know that I have seen only a very small portion of Warsaw, but I have yet to see a house. After Mass this morning I took a walk around this neighborhood, Praga. All residences were apartment buildings, and not very nice exteriors at that. I guess it is the communist utopia of drab habitation. About the Mass this morning, this weekday Mass was replete with singing and a priest who would not be rushed. It was a crowd of about 60, and they received communion on their knees and on their tongues (sounds like an impossible bodily contortion, doesn't it?). But the folks were devout and of all ages. The church appears to be a cathedral, seat of a diocese with a comnbination name: Warsaw and something that starts with a P, if I remember correctly. During my walk there were many fruit and vegetable hawkers and a few others with other merchandise. Aside from the very busy Carrefour Mall a few blocks away from my hotel, there are no new buildings; all are well worn.

I am ready for the next exploration: Budapest.