Galeria Mokotów

There are three key shopping centres in Warsaw; Arkadia in the north, Złote Tarasy in the centre and Galeria Mokotów in the south. If you like spending the day shopping they have much to offer and all the main European brands are here. For us, the shopping we do here is functional and usually consists of a quick dash into Carrefour for the weekly shop. ‘Browsing’ is not on my agenda for a day out – but for some people I know they consider this to be the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Madness!

View north along ul. Wołoska

Wołoska runs through the heart of the Mokotów Business District past Galeria Mokotów and the numerous office buildings which line the street here. With three lanes running both ways, you would have thought the traffic would run smoothly here, but the numerous traffic lights means that rush hour can be hectic. In Warsaw, the trams are crammed with people running away from the city centre at 8:30 in the morning (to here) and the ones running into the centre have plenty of space. Most of the large corporates moved out of the centre, but this has lead to Mokotów becoming a very crowded part of the city.

Intercity from Kraków

This is the 2pm Intercity train from Kraków to Warsaw which doesn’t stop until it reaches Warszawa Zachodnie, almost 3 hours after it leaves Kraków. Due to cost-cutting measures, we now have to travel 2nd class rather than 1st class on business trips, but to be honest I really couldn’t tell the difference. Other than the fact that you had to pay for a coffee and it wasn’t free. Which means a coffee and a biscuit costs around 40 zł in 1st class! Or is there something else?

Patterns in ice

I spotted this in the leaf litter on the verge a couple of days ago. Some of the larger leaves had retained the ice from the early morning which had formed in the tiny furrows and veins. A sign that earlier that day, the temperature had been much lower.

Wilanów Palace

To the south of Warsaw lies Wilanów, one of the few areas of the city that escaped the bombing during WWII. The Palace was built for the Polish king Jan III Sobieski between 1677 – 1698. It is now open as a museum and for a small fee (5 złoty per person), you can walk around the vast woodland gardens behind the palace which run alongside the lake. Well worth a visit during the summer for the rose gardens, and the museum tour if you have plenty of time!

Wilanowska Metro Station

Currently Warsaw only has a north-south line which is being extended, but there are plans for an east-west line and rumour has it this will be completed before the European Football Championships in 2012. As these stations are all relatively new, the platforms are kept clean and the trains are modern. Quite a contrast to other underground lines in other parts of Western Europe.

Right on cue

As the nights are now darker much earlier, one of the options is to call in at one of the Snooker & Pool Clubs in Warsaw. This one is located on ul. Nowogrodzka and has 5 snooker tables and around 15 pool tables – all in very good condition. With the low ceilings and at times smoky atmosphere (and beer on tap), it’s a very good way of spending an evening with your overly-competitive mates.

Blue Palace

Unfortunately I didn’t have my tripod with me, but I snapped this on the way home from work the other day looking east along ul. Złota. Recently they have changed the lighting on the Palace of Culture and it repeatedly shimmers from blue to green to red. Sala Kongresowa can be seen in the foreground where concerts and large cnferecnes are regularly held.

Towering above the city

To the west of the city centre is one of my favourite buildings. Warsaw Trade Tower is Europe’s 9th tallest building and stands 208 metres high (42 storeys). I was here recently and was amazed at the speed of the lifts – they travel 7 metres per second which makes them the fastest in Poland. This photo really shows the contrast between WTT and the surrounding buildings. Warsaw still has a lot of developing to do!

Brightly coloured trams

This used to be my tram to work from Mokotów to the city centre. The No. 33 runs from the south from Wyścigi northwards via the Polish television studios, the National Library, past the Central Railway Station and the heart of the city’s business district and onwards towards Żoliborz, terminating at Huta.  A full schematic of Warsaw’s tramlines can be found here. With trams advertising ‘Golden Lady’ on the side, it’s no wonder the Poles speak such good English when they see it everyday.