Thursday, June 09, 2005
Warsaw
I arrived in Warsaw, the first stop and last stop on my trip, just before 9 A.M. Today I wanted to see the city's Jewish sights. I started at Pawiak, a prison that was used by the Nazis to hold political prisoners. Next was the Jewish Cemetery. This cemetery interested me because its graves were aged, somewhat derelict and packed tightly together—not like the tidy graveyards in my hometown. Afterward I visited the Warsaw Ghetto Monument. Here I was shocked to learn that Warsaw, which used to have the largest Jewish population in Europe (almost 400,000 before World War II), today has only a few thousand Jews.
Pawiak Prison Museum
In the afternoon I walked around the center. I remember Agatha, one of the people I met in Moscow, telling me that Polish women are one of the three most beautiful in the world, but on this overcast day it was hard to find evidence for that. I stopped at a kiosk for a snack of a placki and a hot dog, Polish style. Both were tasty. Then I walked by the train station and had a kanapka. This is a flatbread wrapped around onions, pickled vegetables and meat—in this case, deep-fried chicken (or "luxor"). This delicious meal was topped with a Chinese-style chili garlic sauce. I noticed a lot of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern eateries in the station, which were much busier than those of other cuisines. I had heard a lot of good things about Polish soups, but I did not get a chance to try any.
Jewish Cemetery
At the airport I did some duty-free shopping. I bought a couple of spirits that were marked down drastically for Americans and other non-European citizens. One was Zubrowka vodka, a Polish brand that is flavored with a blade of grass. The other was Berentzen, a German vodka (distilled from corn) that is available only at duty-free stores. Vodka is the most heavily discounted spirit in this store, which is strange considering its growing popularity in America.
Warsaw Ghetto Monument
On the flight back to the States, I sat next to a twelve-year-old girl named Amanda. She talked a lot to me despite not knowing any English. She grew on me after a while. There was a folksy way about her—her passport was totally clean (she had never left Poland before) and she held a postcard of the Virgin Mary. I assumed her family was sitting in the row in front of ours. But when we landed and got off the plane, she left by herself and was greeted by a representative from the airline. I was impressed by the courage of this young traveler, flying alone to a land whose language she didn't know.
