Then the temperature fluctuated between 38-50!!!! When I arrived mid-September, my friends asked why I had brought along my fur coat, then felt that it was a very wise thing to have done.
I surely appreciated it. Warsaw is a burgeoning metropolis, losing a lot of its Polish-ness unfortunately. Conveniences make life maybe easier, but you could be in almost any major city and not be able to tell the difference. Except maybe for how they “drive”. They are all practicing for LeMans or Daytona, Make sure you cross the street carefully and verrrry quickly.
The Old Town is better than Disneyland. The cafes were still set up on the square when I arrived, but when I came back from Krakow a week later most were put away. For the foreigner, Poland is still a bargain. The dollar hovered at 3.90 and the EURO hit 4.40…so we aren’t doing great, but passable. Meals averaged 40-60 zloty in a restaurant and 25-40 in a cafe. Gas is 3.70 a liter ($3.79 a gallon) and yet there are thousands of cars on the road. Periodicals consistently bash the government for corruption, libel, bribery, etc.
There is a diminishing middle class and a soaring poor one. People over 65 are the worst off. Their average pension is 600PLN/month or $150. Not much to live on. Power is pricey, many don’t eat meat and subsist on the most meager of rations. Medicine costs are skyrocketing and health care is in disaster mode. As of January, patients in nursing homes who are there on government subsidies will be re-classified and if one is still up and functioning they may stay there only six months, then must leave for a year and re-apply for entry for a second six months. Then they have to apply in a different city! If they have nowhere to go or family to take care of them, well, that’s the way it goes, folks. ZERO compassion for all those people who survived the wars, uprisings, etc. A very high official in the Ministry of Health committed suicide a few weeks ago, because he was involved with some major scams that had been uncovered. I also heard that once Poland enters the EU officially, many people will sell their properties just to get some money to last out their days elsewhere. The EURO is already posted in many stores and the small percentage of people who will be able to afford those items are leery of being able to afford them for long.
The general fear among Poles is that they will be swallowed up economically and unable to recover. The number of officials who dress well and drive fancy cars is nauseating. Everyone wants to be perceived as very important and they accomplish very little. But then , while they have a job, they take advantage of it to the hilt, since next week, they may be out of a job because Minister so and so has been replaced!
Every time I go, I look at the scene with different eyes. At one time I waxed romantic at the thought of going to Poland, seeing friends, eating out and being a guest. Now I go more frequently and see things I may have missed before and the glamour has worn thin. Buildings go up wherever, without much thought to their surroundings. Baroque edifices are surrounded by unimaginative glass boxes that block views, hide landmarks etc., JUST because somebody had some money to invest in Poland.
Krakow is not as bad. Except for the new Sheraton. An angular, un-attractive, block facing the Royal Castle Wawel and the river Wisla – with guest rooms on the backside looking over the garbage bins of neighboring buildings. And how much was that room again? Roads are pretty beaten up, getting to bridges almost impossible, and off even worse. The mood is full of apprehension and uncertainty. Too bad. These people surely deserve better than what they have to choose from.
After the first weekend I took the intercity express train to
For the first time in ten years I had a few days’ vacation in Krynica Gorska. About three hours by bus from Krakow, I met a girlfriend there who is designing the guest rooms for an exclusive boutique hotel. I knew I was tired when I left, but was amazed that I could sleep so much while there. Good food, walks in the foothills, spa treatments, etc. were just what the doctor ordered. After all the turmoil at home this summer I really needed it.
I came back with a better attitude and more positive outlook than that which I had left with. The problems are still there, but a healthier attitude may solve them sooner. Having five people to support single-handedly is no picnic. This time I didn’t do quite as much running around as last time and it felt great. There was an astounding photographic exhibit in Planty, the park that encircles the Old Town of Krakow. A French photojournalist took pictures in many parts of the world from a helicopter and with MAJOR corporate sponsorship, had weather-proof 3’x4’ enlargements hung for several blocks of the park. Breathtakingly beautiful, hauntingly horrific and thought-provoking for sure, I went back several times to see them. The book was too heavy to bring back, but a calendar fit nicely into my suitcase. For those interested in international photography: www.yannarthusbertrand.org or www.ziemiaznieba.pl
Upon returning to Warsaw I put the finishing touches on my own photo exhibit BOSKIE DARY (God’s Gifts) at the Paderewski Museum in Lazienki Park. The weather had turned nippy and gray, but the rain waited until Monday to water the grounds. About 70 people attended the Opening. It was wonderful to see so many of my friends there as well as guests of the Museum. After an elaborate introduction, I had the opportunity to welcome the guests and tell them about the past year with Splendor Of Poland and the plans for the future.I also included a very special evening I had experienced the night before. Walking back to Stare Miasto (the Old Town) from downtown, I strolled down Mazowiecka Street near Zacheta Gallery. A group of Girl Scouts lit red votives along the buildings. Curious as to the significance of that, one of them responded: “Today we observe the Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. We are placing these lit candles to remind people to never forget the sacrifice of the 240,000 people who died in those 63 days. The candles on this street are particularly important because this is where the original canal was that provided access for the partisans to the Old Town.” As tears rolled down my face, I saw in my mind’s eye the thousands of pictures we had to choose from several years ago for the exhibit at the SF Main Library, reminiscences of friends who participated and survived, and other stories I had read. Each step was sacred. On many of the buildings I had walked by were plaques documenting assassinations by the Nazis: 42 here on ….date, 13 children here on ….date, 78 professors at the university on ….date….on and on. Below each plaque lay flowers and candles. Each church tolled its bells at 7pm.
There was a holiness to Warsaw that I had never experienced before. Stopping into St. Anne’s Church on Krakowkie Przedmiescie, most of the congregation had already gone and with the few stragglers left, I knelt listening to a novitiate singing a solo of “Boze Cos Polske”. I totally lost it at that point. I couldn’t get the tissues out of my bag fast enough.
The monument to the Uprising was only three blocks away. I followed the red candles to the plaza across from the Krasinski Palace. There stood several hundred people singing and praying, laying down thousands of flowers and adding more and more candles to the monument until it was all aglow. The pictures at night didn’t turn out well, but I returned the next day and have proof of devotion and commitment to the memory.
May we never forget……..Recalling this to the audience, many were overly appreciative of my sentiment. Despite all the garbage they have to contend with now, many are still hopeful of tomorrow. Poland will not die, as long as we live.