Warszawa Day 2

Myles had a meeting at the Fulbright office here in Warszawa from 11:30 until 1:30. He met up with some other Fulbrighters who had also traveled here from different parts of Poland at 10:15 at a coffee shop. The rest of us stayed in the apartment and leisurely got ready for the day. We left the apartment right at noon and walked around the square in Old Town. We found some neat little things to bring home. We then took a taxi to the restaurant where the Fulbright office was hosting lunch. That taxi ride was frightening to say the least. The driver flew down the streets of Warsaw as if we were in a high speed chase! He did drive us by the Presidential Palace where Lech Kaczynski lives and pointed it out. We had to look quickly because he was going so fast, but we did see it. Fortunately we survived the apparent race and made it to our destination.

We had lunch at a little German restaurant. There were probably 15 Fulbrighters there and some of their families. The people who run the Poland Fulbright office were also there. We met lots of people and swapped stories of our experiences. The lunch was delicious. We could choose from four German dishes and lunch included soup and dessert. We left there feeling very full! This is Natalie outside of the restaurant.

We then went to the Palace of Culture. It is a building that was given to Warszawa as a “gift” from Stalin. There is much controversy over the building here. I thought it was a very pretty building, and the Poles call it “The Wedding Cake”

because that is what they think it looks like. The controversy is that it is very much a statement of the Russian power over Poland. We learned tonight that most of the European capital cities that were under the control of Russia have a similar building. I can understand the desire to not have that as a reminder of what used to be. But on the other hand the question is what to do with it. The inside is decorated for Christmas and is beautiful. There are cafes and theaters, along with offices in the building. The kids saw this photo op outside one of the theaters.

We took the elevator up the 34 floors and took in a bird's eye view of the city.

We met some of the other Fulbrighters for a late dinner. Seems like we have eaten all day today! Tomorrow we are off to see the Warszawa Uprising Museum. We have been told that it is very interactive and a must see. We are then going to the chocolate factory here. The kids (ok, all of us) are really looking forward to that!