Why NOT Warsaw?

Look, I don't have a drop of Polish blood (that I know of), but Warsaw looked like a complicated, sprawling metropolis that could hold my attention for two weeks. After five days on the ground, its scope ― and intricacies ―are still a little overwhelming. Before arriving, my conception of the Polish capital was strongly shaped by Krysztof Kieslowski's bleak 1989 TV miniseries "Dekalog," so imagine my surprise to learn how pretty it is. This picturesque fountain and little cinema are just outside the steps to the Ratusz Arsenal metro stop.

A shoutout to the photographer who put me off-center in Plac Zelaznej Bramy (Iron Gate Square). Lubomirski Palace is in the background.

Across Marshal Street lie the English-style Saxon Gardens, the city's first public park. In the final days of April the tulips are screaming for attention. 

A sandstone personification of Wisdom, carved in Florence in the 1730s, is one of a couple dozen statues in the park.

Soldiers guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ― somebody who died in the 1918-19 war between Poland and Ukraine, a conflict I am just becoming aware of.

These attractions are around Solidarity Avenue near the central business district, so I moseyed over to take a look at one of the most imposing skylines in Europe. 

The Bank of China is at right, The Palace of Culture and Science, looking like Cleveland's Terminal Tower on steroids, is at left.

Bullet or shrapnel holes on Prozna Street. The Nazis razed 85% of Warsaw's buildings. This one survived. So did the one in which my apartment is located. I can't think of a single pre-1939 palace or castle here that is not a reconstruction.

The Intercontinental Warsaw is at right; the TP SA tower is at left.

I approach the Palace of Culture and Science and buy a ticket on my phone while waiting in line to go to its 30th-floor observation deck.

Varsovians sarcastically refer to the building as Stalin's "gift" to Warsaw. It is said that the Poles bore the cost of its construction, and some older Polish people detest its existence. 

A speedy elevator. Nineteen seconds to go 30 floors. I didn't bring a mask so I held my breath. [Anti-Covid, not anti-Polish, Russian, Ukrainian etc. ha-ha]

Zlota 44 is at right. It's residential! The tallest building in Europe, the Varsa Tower, is at left. (Only someone deliberately trying to be obtuse in the year 2023 would consider the supertalls in Moscow and St. Petersburg to be "European." Just stop. I made this argument more than a decade ago while visiting the then-new Sapphire Tower in Istanbul.)

Girl looks out over Warsaw.

A ticket costs 25 zlotys. Exactly $6 USD. I have found that few things in Poland cost more than six dollars.

The Intercontinental is at center, the Warsaw Financial Center at right.

Looking to the east, here's a view of the Swietokrzyski Bridge over the Vistula River (upper left). It took me a week to learn how to pronounce this important place name, and I still don't have it right. Shevento-kreeshka is as close as I can get. It's a key axis because it's the only place where Warsaw's two metro lines intersect.

A view to the west. Warsaw's more prestigious commercial activity continues to drift in this direction.