15 June - an extreme long day covering Praga, the Warsaw Jewish quarter and night lights in Warsaw old town

15 June

We woke up reluctantly when the alarm went off.  We wanted to accomplish much today so we had set the alarm for 7 am.  Around 8 am, we headed to the Central Station to see if we could find where we need to board the train for Warsaw airport the following morning.
 

Remnants of the original ghetto wall built by the Nazis

Remnant of a gate of the ghetto wall
built by the Nazi

As we walked down the street where our apartment is located, we note a sign saying Access to Jewish Ghetto Memorial Wall".  Curious, we decided to enter the austere but marred by graffiti compound behind an open iron gate.  We followed an older couple who were walking really slowly.  It turned out that they lived there.  We had stumbled on the remnants of the Jewish ghetto wall and a gate built by the Nazis; the only one still intact and stating in Warsaw.  Wow, what a great accidental find.  It was one visited by overseas visiting dignitaries!!

As we were headed towards the entrance that we used the day before to egress the train station, a young man popped out of what appeared to be access to the underground area. Since we had no heavy bags, we decided to explore.  Aha … there was a much easier way to get to the station from our apartment … shorter flight of stairs and better spaced risers … directly to the platforms area of the station.  Hmmm … that was definitely not something that would be known to a first time visitor.  Great, this would be the path for the next day.

We saw the ticket office for domestic and international tickets but the lady in the window spoke no English.  She just indicated that we should go to the news agent.  We went there and found out that the ticket for the airport train is the same price as a single ticket for the usual bus.  We will return to buy the ticket when we know where the train is leaving from.  The guy at the news agent could not tell us anything useful in that regard.  We continued to platforms 1-4 where we noted a reference to Chopin International Airport.  We went down to the tracks hoping to ask help from a young person.   A young lady we approached indicated only a limited understanding of English.  A young man however piped up, and explained the whole process succinctly, adding that one should check the display on the actual day to determine the actual track as the paper information said track 1 but the actual display said track 4.  He was on his way to the airport.  What a nice helpful young man.

Armed with that information and a path to that train for the next day, we went to the news agent and procured two tickets, one for the next day to the airport and one for later tonight to come back from the old town.  We then decided to take a different path to the old town meeting point for the first tour – our destination was Praga, the place where no one dares to go.  Located across the Vistula River, Praga is the town on the wrong side of the river, the ugly twin of Warsaw.  

Enroute to Sigismund Column, we passed the building known as Museum of Technology – which appeared to house the Tourist Information Centre, and School of Drama and a variety of unrelated businesses.  Its four facades appeared to serve 4 different purposes.  

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The cross

We then went to explore the Saxony Gardens which we only perused on the way out to the Old City the day before.  This time we walked  behind a group of Spanish speakers who thought we were tailing them when we were actually trying to pass them.  It is one of the oldest parks in the world and one of the first to be accessible to public.  We found the man made lake in front of the water tower where ducks were swimming.  Near the big fountain just behind the Tomb of the Unknown soldier were sandstone statues honouring different education subjects such as Geography, History, etc.  From there we revisited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the huge cross in front of it.  This must have been where John Paul celebrated his first Mass as Pope in Warsaw back in 1979, the Mass credited with providing impetus to the Velvet Revolution.

Interior of Arch Cathedral 

We watched the security protocols as we wandered along the front of Presidential Palace. We tried to visit the church next to it that was closed for music testing (it would appear).  Strange that what looks like a Dominican church would be closed to public.  The Presidential Palace Gate is guarded by a pair of flanking anatomically correct male lions. As we were still early, we went to visit the Arch Cathedral as it was closed to visitors the evening before when a cardinal was celebrating Mass.  This time, a funeral mass was being prepared but we managed a hurried visit.  It is indeed quite a beautiful church.  We never did find that bell that never rang again.

And then it was time for the free walking tour to Praga.  Our guide Jacek is a language graduate. There was quite a good crowd for the tour although we were the only Aussies.  Jacek perceived us to be bringers of good weather as in the recent, he had had rain and storm when there was no Aussies on the tour.  So we were happy to serve as talisman for good weather.

Soviet art decorating the escalator

We went down the escalators which took us to where we could cross the Vistula by walking across the Slasko-Dabrowski bridge.  The escalator was a gift from the Soviet following the “liberation” to show that they were friends to Poland but also to show their might and power.  Back then, the computer required to run the escalator was three closet tall and weighed a few tonnes, but now a chip runs the thing.  It was decorated with Soviet propaganda figures.

As we were crossing the Vistula, we learnt that it is actually very shallow but of unpredictable depths through its length and breadth.  It looks like a haven for wildlife, which we learnt included the like of beavers in addition to birds.  We spotted a cormorant sun bathing on a bank.  We should come back here after the Jewish tour to spend more time bird watching.  On the Praga side, the Vistula does not have a built up bank; only a natural one.  The only super structure in modern times to be built on that side of the river was the soccer stadium which also serve as performance arena. It is a venture that has been profitable since the 2nd year of operation, unlike other ventures in the city according to our guide.

The Soviets had wanted to build a bridge to Praga.  Praga was where they put the prisoners and criminals.  Praga was nearer to Germany too so should invasion come again, a bridge would make it easier for their enemies than they need to be.  This side of the Vistula was purposely left undeveloped.  The zoo of Warsaw sits here and is often the only site here visited by most Warsaw folks.  Warsaw and Praga inhabitants think of the two places as two cities rather than two halves of a single city.

The Catholic Church

The priest

Our first stop was the Roman Catholic Church, the tallest spire this side of the city.  The spires was not in the original design but after the Soviet liberation, an Orthodox church was built at the terminal rail station there.  So when Soviet fell, the Catholics added the spires to reclaim their position of superiority in architecture.  Outside it stood a priest that was supposed to represent the Warsaw Uprising but many thought that it looked as if he were trying to catch a leaving bus.

Jewish dormitory of Warsaw University

We walked to the Jewish dormitory of the Warsaw University where the founder of Israel had lived when he was a student.  The Jewish rituals were so at odd with general Polish population then, that the Jews had to construct their own living quarters.  But these were superior to the prevailing student accommodation of that time, with running water and toilets, with two or three sharing some common facilities, and with exercise as well as quiet study facilities. 

We then entered a typical compound Praga where buildings surrounding the yard today still has no running water or electricity.  Everyone who lived there had to wire themselves in for power or live without it.   Bathrooms and toilets in a building are shared by all apartments. Fronting the same yard, are modern renovated buildings on one side and shocking discrepit ones resembling slums in India on the other sides.  There is an honour among those who live here though.  A guest of any resident is always treated with utmost respect and no harm would befall them.  We spied a resident in her balcony on her cellphone.  We waved to her and she waved back.

The attempt to beautify
in spite of no water or power

New renovated and derelict
old buildings sharing the same yard

Jacek advised that yards should not be randomly entered into, and especially when not on a guided tour.  He has been doing so many tours here so the residents are familiar with him.  The conditions in the yard was not the best but one can see that the residents tried their best to beautify it.  There is a shrine to the Virgin Mary in the yard.  The city is not interested in making these blocks better as they are waiting for them to fall so that developers can come in.  The owners cannot get better rent so they are milking these till they fall over.  The new fronts are part of the new development.  As we stood there listening to Jacek, a couple with a son in what appear to be a renovated upper floor yelled abuse at us.  We choose to ignore these and pretend that we heard nothing.  That is Praga, Jacek said.  

The cafe

We then passed another compound which did not look much better but there was a cafe in the corner – Café Galerie, it said.  Gentrification of the idea in spurts is under way.  The men hanging around there did not appear to mind us popping in to take photos.

The picture that
started it all

Jacek showed us street art next.  It all started with a copy of an art piece in the museum being glued to a corner of the wall.  These would get defaced quickly so the attempt was soon abandoned.  But the first time it was defaced, a neighbour used vodka to clean off the defacing graffiti saying that the vandals destroy art.  The locals appeared to have adopted these art pieces.  More art began to appear on the other walls.  Finally, there were sculpture of angels from plaster.

Street art

There is also a party street where Warsaw folks come to watch soccer, get drunk, listen to life music and get drunk or get cheap food in Praga.  Not far from there is the night market where all kind of local goods were sold.  The local popular street food here is potato dough meatballs with sauce.  

The deceivingly innocucous looking
ghetto street

We were then shown the ghetto street.  Located not far from the theater, we we were only permitted as far as the car park and no further.  There was a nice piece of art on one wall there and several on another.  In a corner was the art representation of a famous Polish soccer player.  Jacek first checked to make sure that no drug transaction was taking place before he would let us take any photo there. The street looked rather innocuous but Jacek said that no police would come to this street to look into any incident as it was too dangerous.

The theater that used
to be a synagogue

Praga, unlike Warsaw, was not flattened because the Nazis did not feel that it merit any action at all.  Though the building which was actually successfully held by the Polish uprising is located here.  Here as well was a synagogue that the Soviet turned into a theatre, its original intent indicated by the image of the Torah on the front.  Not far from there was what used to be a Jewish ritual bath.  It is now a special school for those unable to cope with the normal school.  Students can be observed smoking there when smoking is totally banned in normal schools.

The famed bar

We were shown the bar opposite the police station, and a stone throw from that Ghetto Street and the night market, where the Russian mafia tried to take over from the Polish mafia only to end up dead in a shoot out.  Although the event occurred opposite the police station, even the police would not participate.  

The Russian Orthodox church

Our final stop was the Russian Orthodox church.  From there, we went our separate way. We had to hurry as we had less than half an hour to get to the meeting point for the Jewish free walking tour.  We hurried to the other side of the bridge, noting the great view it offered of the Castle and the natural bank of the river.  We made a mental note that after the Jewish tour, we need to come back here to check out nature.  

We were only just in time for the Jewish tour.  Martina, another linguist is our guide.  There were quite a few Israelis in that big crowd that turned up.  Two other Australians, two Turkish, and a bunch from Canada and US, with 4 Quebecois who identified themselves as being from Quebec rather than Canada (how very odd folks these are). 

Warsaw Nike (Monument to the Heroes
of Warsaw Uprising in front of the Blue
Met building

4m Jews inhibited Warsaw prior to WWII.  Today only 600 are left.  Many had left to resettle elsewhere after the war.  Warsaw had the second largest Jewish population, after New York. 

First stop on this tour was what is now the MetLife blue crystal building.  It occupied what was the synagogue before Warsaw was leveled.  The SS Gen stationed in Warsaw wanted to destroy Judaism altogether so it was inevitable that he should himself blow up that synagogue, but from the comfort of a viewing point with a remote trigger mechanism.  Thereafter, a curse was placed on that spot of land by a rabbi who had proclaimed that it will be a prayer house or nothing at all.  Over the years, all building projects there had failed for one reason or another.  Current owner of the MetLife building took to heed the curse warning so he gave two floors of that building to the Jewish community so that it can be also place of prayer.  The small Jewish community accepted.  There is a prayer space and community spaces in the building.  Finally, the building was successfully completed.

Mark on the ground where
the wall used to be

The garden where the wall traversed

We were shown the only building that was not flattened in Warsaw - a small rotunda which now forms part of the tram station.  From there we walked to where the wall of the ghetto used to be.  It is now a garden, with the wall's position marked on the ground by bricks.  We learn that there were two parts of the Ghetto, the bigger one for all the Jews, the smaller one for the Ashkenazi Orthodox who wanted a quieter place.  Where our apartment is, was part of that elite Jewish ghetto.  But these two were separated by an important street (Chodlan) that the Germans refused to let the Jews have.  The two halves were linked by a bridge over the walls, allowing the Jews as they move from one part to another to have a glimpse of normal Polish life outside the walls.  This was the German way of making ghetto life more unbearable emotionally.

The ghetto was forced to be self sufficient.  No one was allowed to come out.  There was high unemployment and bad sanitary conditions so many died.  It also explained why when the Jews were transported to concentration camps, they did not appear to resist.  They had gotten so used to being resettled and sent into forced labour, so they thought it to be another incident of the same nature. 

We were shown what used to be a vibrant trading street in the Jewish quarter but now all that remain are parts of the original train tracks.  The place is now a parking lot for learner drivers in Warsaw.   From there, we went to the compound of the POLIN (Museum of History of Polish Jews) where there is a memorial to the Jewish uprising.  On the front, a relief picture of the actual uprising.  The same monument is erected in Israel, identical in all respects except that the woman with child is not showing her breast.  At the back of the monument, the relief of Jews in transportation.  Martina explained that around 1/3 of the Jews in the world currently have Polish connection.  The uprising was not so much to try to win a battle against the Nazis but to take back their dignity.  She also explained that POLIN has a great exhibit about the history of the Jews, with the Holocaust taking only a small part of that exhibit, as it should be.  We felt that we would have to come back to this museum after the tour.

Monument to Jewish uprising in front of POLIN

The other side of the
monument

Our next stop was where the Jewish uprising took place led by Mordecei which stood against the Nazi for an entire month despite being outnumbered and outgunned.  The entire group had elected to commit suicide once it was clear that they would not win.  They made one of them escape so that he could tell the world about the Jewish uprising.  He ended up surviving the war and lived until 2009.  After the war, Jewish survivors were perceived with disdain and suspicions as it was generally thought that they actually betrayed their families and friends just to live.  Mass suicide as a result of the Jewish uprising meant the site of the memorial is also a cemetery for all involved, bar 1.

The gathering point to transport to extermination camps

Our final destination was the assembly point where the Jews were packed into cattle rail cars bound for Trebeka.  Unlike believed, it was not a working camp but a death camp.  The sole purpose was extermination.  SS made the Jews believed that they were being requested to take a purification bath before he gassed them to their death.

It was the end of the walking tour, so we next made our way back to POLIN.  There, as we had our really late lunch of a muesli cookie and coffee, we met school children making a presentation there with their teacher.  The audio guide to the POLIN was 10 PLZ and entrance 25 PLZ.  The visit was very informative.  

History began with the Exile by King Nebuccanazer.  Apparently the Torah is the first 5 books of the old testament.  And here is where we learnt why the Jews came to be treated as they were, and how the general populace abetted through their ignorance of warning signs.  In medieval times, Jews became money lenders (they basically invented the future value of money through the concept of usury, which back then frowned on even by the Catholic Church!)  The same nobles who originally borrowed monies to save face with their families and their peers, subsequently begged their kings to expel the Jews from the community and deprive them of their rights to property and assets just so that they do not have to repay the loans.

Attitude to the Jews were mixed throughout history.  The Jews were great book keepers and had good economic sense, so their involvement was always desired by the noblemen who collected taxes.  Some kings even had Jewish mistresses.  But when their egos / face were threatened, it was Jews that they blame for strange events.  There were not few accusations that the Jews abused the Host after the 12^th Century after Trans-Substantiation became part of the Catholic Church's Holy Canon.   Jews were prolific propagators.  In less than two hundred years, their population grew 10 folds.  Through early history, Jews always had the alliance of either patrons of the Catholic Church or kings and rulers. 

The greatest population of Jews over time in Europe was in Poland.  There they had enjoyed the best terms.  But when the throne of Poland became empty, and it was broken into three administration regions of Prussia, Russia and Austria, the tide of fortune turned for the Jews.  Things deteriorated fast.  At the same time, within the Jewish community schisms began – first the orthodox, then the intellectuals, and then there was Yiddish vs Hebrew.  These contributed to more issues.  The Zionist was not something old but something rather new that arose after the Soviet liberation of Poland.  Jews had preferred to pay rather than fight wars.  During the Soviet dominance, they were consequently more heavily taxed.  Both Austria-Hungary and Russia were anti-Semitic. Anti-Semiticism is a creation of the 19th Century.

POLIN is relatively new.  It opened in 2013.  What is nice about this museum is that it gives just the facts, but not conclusions that could be considered propaganda.  It shows the thousand year of history of the largest Jewish community in the world before the Holocaust with a small single section dedicated to the Holocaust.  Photography was not prohibited nor did it incur any additional charges.  Allocate at least half a day to do it properly.  

After the museum, we went back to the Old City with the help of Map.Me app.  Initially, we walked the wrong direction so had to retrace our steps.  POLIN and the Jewish memorials were often not in retail part of Warsaw.  We went back to the same restaurant we ate at the day before and ordered pork knuckles.  We requested this young lady from Hong Kong to help us watch our bags as we went to the bathroom.  When we came back to our seat, two young Polish ladies were telling us that we should watch our bags in the kindest of ways.  It was nice of them to care about strangers.  My travelling companion shared with the young lady from Hong Kong and her presumed very domineering mother some of her life experiences.  The young lady was very thankful.  My travelling companion wished that someone had done the same for her when she was as young as this young lady.

Sunset over Vistula River

After dinner, we hurried to catch the sunset over the Vistula.  We had not been able to make it back to the bridge earlier as desired.  There were some fishermen on the Warsaw bank of the Vistula and they were a little surprised when we turned up.  When we got back to the top of the bridge again, we found this gentleman who was super friendly there.  He really wanted to help my travelling companion take a picture, but she took a photo of me instead.   He tried to teach her a little Polish.  She kept an ear for him but continued to make pictures of the sunset.  He left shortly thereafter to catch the bus. 

Fire jumping folk dance

As we headed back towards the old town, we saw people making their way through the Warsaw Castle gardens and wondered whether it be possible to make a short cut through there.  When we got to the gates, the guards invited us in : "mademoiselle, please", they said.  We thought it was a private party but it was actually a community event.  We managed to catch the fire jumping ceremony performed by the folk dancers at the end.  My travelling companion was making night picture of the Castle when a fellow photographer appeared from nowhere and said, "you were late. you missed these and these". Marek and her chatted for a bit before we took leave of him to do some night photography of the old city.

Warsaw Castle - east facade

As planned, we took the bus back to the Central Station.  It was close to midnight.  The area was still busy with folks moving around.  We took another wrong turn on the way home but got there in the end.  Not much sleep that night as we were bound for Denmark the following morning.