warsaw - trying too hard

on the train again, back to berlin. we just stopped at some station for over an hour because a train in front of us was on fire. now we're very behind and since berlin is a main connecting place, everyone will miss their connections. not a problem for me because ich wohne in berlin (i live in berlin).

[side note: i'm watching the last dragon - who was it that told me to watch this?? it's horrible!!! bruce leeroy? sur'nuff??]

anyway, poland was interesting. i stayed at a hyatt and when i checked in, he told me, "i am happy to say we have bigger room for you." i was like, "oh wow, great." and he clarifies (unnecessarily), "you will not pay for that." right because i didn't reserve the bigger room. so, the room was very nice. they had fruit and wine for me and a spa tub. i was almost as excited with the german tv stations i could watch as i was to be in poland.

warsaw was voted the 2nd worst city in europe (behind brussels, my least favorite city in the world) and i can see why. half of the houses are missing shingles. the city is half old, half being rebuilt with no rhyme or reason. and the people are ... well, i guess what you'd expect iron curtain people to be like (see posting on cabbie). some people and houses are very nice, and here are some typical polish buildings (in my mind):



the 'old' town was completely rebuilt after WWII to match original building designs. they are starting to build up the 'downtown' area, but everything has the feeling of trying too hard. here is a picture of the downtown from my hotel room.
it looks fancy, but there are no lights at night and the streets aren't organized (which doesn't really mean anything compared to boston). my hotel was in the 'nice' part of town right next to a bunch of embassys and consulates. i took a walk and walked past the russian consulate. as i turned a corner, i was greeted with a semi-automaic gun, held by a straight-faced russian soldier, pointed right at me. it was startling. i smiled to be nice, and then i thought, 'crap! what if they think the smile is mischievous and coniving??' so instant blank face and that's how i walked the rest of my walk (which, coincidentally, made me fit right in). on a side note: i can't even imagine - well, i guess i can; i dont WANT to imagine - where all the money for the russian consulate is coming from. it was one of the grandest, most opulant buildings i have seen in europe. i didn't dare take a picture of it for fear of getting shot. interestingly enough, i couldn't find a picture of it on google (didn't look SUPER hard, but other russian embassies were avail - just not in warsaw).

since i was alone, and my hotel was far from citycenter, i didn't go out. i enjoyed some delicious room service and a perfect bubble bath. this morning, i got up early to check out the gym and spa, and then i had to head back to the train station. quick trip, but definitely worth it.

[omg! william h macy is in the last dragon. lol. i'm sure this is what spawned his illustrious career.]