Post Six- Transportation in Warsaw

Many ways to get around in Warsaw.  Below are some pictures of how.  See descriptions under each. 

The Metro (Subway) is one I used most often.  I live close to metro stop therefore making it easy to get on and go almost anywhere.

The Metro runs North to South and has 21 stops.  If you are wondering how to get East and West keep reading.

Taxi cabs are also very popular.  But, I have not ridden in one yet, so I am not sure the fare costs.

Bus is probably the second most mode of transportation I use when getting around the city.  They help connect you to a metro stop or sometimes they are nice to ride if it is a good day outside and you want to ride above ground.  You also can get closer to the place you are wanting to go with buses because they have many more stops than the metro. 

Trams run both North and South as well as East and West.  They will not get you quite as close to your stop as buses, but they go more places than the metro.  They can be tricky to find the place to stand for them too, because the stops are not marked as well as Metro stops.

You can also get around by car, but not quite as many people use this method of transportation.  However, those who have a car tend to want to drive everywhere so there are a good amount of cars around.  Problem is finding a place to park your car. 

Thank you for reading.  There are two methods of transportation I did not include in this post and that is walking and city trains.  I will have to put that in another post on a later date.

Peace,

Ben 

Post Four- American Things in Poland

One question I think that is on many peoples minds is whether or not there are many American things in Poland.  Many of you will probably not be shocked by the fact that we have many American things.  However, I am often shocked with how many American things there are around.  Below I have a few picture of some of the American things.

                                         I am not sure why some pictures post this way.  The picture is turned the other way on my computer.  Anyway, if you can't tell this is our coke buidling (everyones favorite contribution from Georgia)

This is the large Marriott in the Center of the City. 

                                          I saw this sign at a metro stop it is a quote from The New York Times

A quote from Nicolas Cage-he is real popular here.

I saw this clock at the Economics University here.  It was in the cafe there.  They also had one for Oxford (but only those two schools?)

Apparently this is an expensive place (more than in the states I hear, but I have not eaten there yet)

This Hilton is not in quite the central location as the Marriott, but it is still in a good spot

We already have multiple Pizza Huts, KFCs, BKs, and Starbucks but here is a sign for even more coming soon.  KFC is probably one of the most popular American places to eat.  It is always crowded.

There are many other American things, but there are many things that have not caught on here (not yet, but maybe one day) such as:  Chick fil A, boiled peanuts, Moe's, and Waffle House are some of the things that are very popular where I come from that are of course not here, but hey I enjoy Polish food so I will survive. 

Ben 

Post Three- Warsaw Film Festival

So, I thought I would dedicate a whole post to the Warsaw Film Festival.  This year was the 27th Annual and it lasted from October 7th-16th.  Each year they have it around the 2nd Week in October because that is when many of the 200,000 thousand University Students come back to school, but not all have started class.  The Festival attracts Film Producers and Directors from all over the world.  Below our some pictures.  Then I will share more.

The Kinoteka is in the Palace of Science and Culture that the Russians built.

The other theater that participates in the Festival is the Multikino at Zlote Tearsay.  Here are some links to videos I made about the festival:

             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QxYnOuAp9A

             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qmWuqVVE8

             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UayUK3SJoQI

There are many other movie theaters in Warsaw.  Movie advertisements are all over the place as well.  Films are important to the people of the city and are a way of starting conversations with locals.  My favorite film I saw at the Film Festival was the 100 Voices Film that I mentioned in the video clips.  It is a film produced and directored by two guys from Hollywood and most of the Film was in Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, and Auschwitz). If you want to know more about the movie here is the website: http://www.100voicesmovie.com/   I actually met the director and the producer after the film and I saw them again the next day at a short film series that we were both attending about a Danish referee and a film about a Bulgarian guy who changed his name to Manchester United because he is such a big fan of the Club.  Next year I might apply to be a volunteer at the Film Festival because I think it would be a great way to meet people I might not otherwise have a chance of meeting.  I talked to a couple of the volunteers and they said it was well worth the experience. 

Post Two- Some Common foods

Last post I talked about some famous places (see http://bmwages.blogspot.com/2011/10/post-one-some-famous-places.html if you have not read that one)  .  This time I thought I would talk of some common foods. 

 
                                        Ok so this is not actually a picture of food, but this is the first place in which I was taken to Lunch.  MG are initials for a lady who has a show on Polish TV and this is one of her places to eat (there are others including a more upscale/expensive one).

Here I am making pierogi.  We went to a restaurant one day that taught us how.  Pierogi is a dumpling that is stuffed with someting. There are different kinds of pierogi.  The kind we made are called Russian Pierogi and they have potato filling with onions and spices.

Here is a finished product ready to be eaten pierogi we made. They are good!

We walked by this place one day and smelled the delicious bread being made. I got some bread with some type of blueberry/blackberry jam filling.  It is a place I will have to walk by at least 2x a week in order to get to my language school.  I am going to have to walk fast in order to not fall into their good smelling bread trap. 

This is one of my favorite foods so far:  nalesniki.  It is kind of like a pancake stuffed with cream cheese and some type of cream sauce on top.  There are different kinds of this as well.  We ate this at what is called a milk bar and they are really cheap.  Granted it was not that much to eat what is in front of me, but this with the coke cost less than two american dollars (5.35 Zlolty).   

And of course you have kielbasa (Polish sausage).  We stumbled upon this event one day in a park which included a welcome to new students, a career fair, and a graduation all overlapping each other.  It was interesting. 

And finally I included this picture to show there are many different American restuarants here including TGIF.  I will probably do several posts on places to eat because there are so many.

I hope that wherever you are, you find Peace.  I right now am finding peace in the wonderful country of Poland. 

Peace be with you all,

Ben

Post One- Some Famous Places

So, each post on my blog I am going to try to highlight one (maybe two) topics around Poland.  The first topic will be famous places in Warsaw. Below you will find some pictures and describtions of some of the famous places in Warsaw (there are many more to be highlighted). 

                                    I promised this building was rotated right on my computer, but not sure why it is not rotated right on here.  It is the Palace of Science and Culture.  The tallest building in Warsaw.  It has a movie theater, exhibitions, offices, and many other things.  It is at the Center of the Downtown area.  A "gift" from the Russians. 

This is a view of Old Town from on top of the Palace. More on Old Town later, just wanted you to get the idea of how far it is from the Palace and what it looks like from above.

                                               Here is a picture of the Castle in Old Town.  It, along with most of the city, was destroyed durin WWII, but it was built back to look just like the original. Many buildings share a similar story. 

                                             Music is well loved in the City including music by famous native composer Chopin.  Here is a view of the museum dedicated to his memory.  It is a beautiful, peaceful museum that plays Chopin music throughout and displays the history of his life.

If you have ever seen the movie "The Pianist" this is the radio station that the main character played the piano for Pre and Post War.  If you have not seen the movie I highly recommend it (just be mindful it has some graphic realistic death/killing scenes that may be hard to watch, but it is stuff that really happened in Warsaw).

And finally a picture of the National Football (Soccer) Stadium which is newly constructed for the EURO 2012 Soccer tournament.  It is Red and White just like the Polish Flag and it is just across the river from downtown (this view is from the top of the Palace). 

Many more posts will be made on famous sections of the city, new sections of the city, historical buildings, parks, etc.  You can learn a lot about a place just from looking at what places are highly valued. 

My journey has been well so far and the first week involved getting around to different key points in the city and trying new foods.  Much more to write so please read the next posts.