Rosz ha-Szana (Rosh Hashanah) at the Kibbutz

Yesterday was the closing of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  Here in Warsaw, there happens to be a Jewish 'kibbutz' (kibuc) located on Jazdów called Kibuc Warszawa.  It's in an old 'Finnish' house, as are all houses on Jazdów.  (The Finnish Houses will actually be the topic of another post).  I say "kibbutz" because it's really not an agricultural collective, more of collective 'camp' (that's how I see it, anyway).  The kibbutz is run by ZOOM, the Polish Youth organization.

The Rosh Hashanah celebration was an open invitation to Jews and Gentiles alike.  The whole thing kicked off at sunset around a heavily laden table with food and wine (there was a cash bar too that it was pretty cheap).  One who was 'the Rabbi' gave a lecture about Rosh Hashanah, the Sabbath, and the High Holy Days.  He performed the ceremony and said the proper prayers (he did, however, omit the hand washing).  Few men in the crowd wore their yamulkas (I totally rocked mine as I take advantage of the few opportunities to do so), but enough were able to recite the prayers in Hebrew.  Challah (chalka) was blessed and passed around for all to tear off a chunk.  After the blessings and prayers, we toasted each other with slices of apple and pomegranate for a sweet new year.  The table was then opened up for all to feast.

There was no blowing of the shofars, which disappointed me, because I was looking forward to a good horn-blowing concert.  But, there was an unexpected feast, so I can't complain.

The table with fruit, cakes, hummus, fish, bread, chicken, and much more.

Luckily, it happened during a mild Indian summer.  The night was cool, but not cold, and one warmed up quickly while dancing (though the DJ could have been a little bit better).  A good way to ring in new year.

Pleasant Surprise in the Mail

Recently, I ordered a slew of books of Amazon's UK site, amazon.co.uk.  I picked up three packages today and found a little note on the packing slip.  See below:

Pozdrowienie z Gloucester ;)  (Greetings from Gloucester ;) )

Some poor Polak must be stranded working in a book depository in Gloucester (or just some Brit who knows some Polish).  I can't make out the last little mark, but it seems like it's a winking face.

It really made my day ;-)

Jarmark Warszawa

It seems that Plac Defilad is getting some use this year.  It's usually an eyesore of a parking lot and bus station, but the Fan Zone and now the Jarmark Warszawa (Warsaw Christmas Fair) have actually put it to some use.  Last year, the jarmark was on the south side of the PKiN.  This year, it's a little bigger (still smaller than the one in the Old Town Square), and sports a small bar, a ferris wheel, some other rides, crappy Christmas techno, and the wooden stalls selling gloves, food, scarves, and knickknacks.

The 'Warsaw Eye' and the Palace.

The entrance.

I'll ride this some time and write about the views and whether it was worth it.

 I actually like Christmas markets.  I like buying the overpriced mulled wine (not much mead for sale) and hearty bread with smalec and ogorki kiszone.  The music could be toned down (really, it's terrible.  It's almost offensive how bad it is).
It's worth fifteen minutes to ramble through.

Independence Day

November 11th is Poland's Independence Day, celebrating the reversal of the three partitions of Poland and the return of the Polish State.  It started as a beautiful fall day.  The air was warm, the last of the golden fall was fading, and I ran a 10K.

Early afternoon, I decided to head to the center.  Upon arriving (and exiting the metro) I found the entire center shut down, and battalions upon battalions of riot police cordoning off Aleje Jerozolimskie and the Palac Kultury i Nauki.  There were fleets of police vans and police armored personal carriers with white "gun" turrets on top (I actually think they were non-lethal guns, probably shooting pepper spray or something).  There was a march, a protest, apparently, and things were looking to get hairy.  There were people carrying Polish flags, but also flags I hadn't seen before, and one or two that were most definitely white power neo-nazi type.  I whipped out my cellphone and snapped a few pictures of the police spectacle and went about my business.

Police van after police van driving around.

A wall of riot police marching down Marszalkowska.

The riot police coming into towards Rondo Dmowskiego.

Being in the northern latitudes, the sun sets pretty early in Poland this late in the year.  As the beautiful fall day faded into what would be a fair autumn night, blaring sirens, firecrackers, and loud speakers would fill the air.

I made way down Chmielna, and everything seemed normal.  Parents were strolling down, pushing strollers, couples walked arm-in-arm and went into the many cafes, and bohemes clustered around each other in their shabby clothes.  I exited Chmielna and came on the Nowy Swiat, right as a troop of riot police led a long line of chanting anti-facists.  The protesters waved flags, held banners, and chanted after some lady yelling over a loudspeaker.  They were protesting another protest that was evidently held by fascists.  They started blasting some dance music towards the end of it.  The line of protesters and police (most of whom looked bored) continued on their angry, yelling way, and I headed down to Rondo de Gaulle'a.

I waited at Rondo de Gaulle'a for a bus or tram, or anything to carry me on my way.  Nothing came.  People stood patiently for a bus that never appeared, and the majority of the traffic on the road were police cars flashing their lights.  The sun dipped down below the horizon.  After waiting around and not knowing what the hell was going on (I didn't have any foreknowledge of these marches and protests), I decided to go back to Centrum and go to the metro.

That didn't quite work out as planned.  I found that Aleje Jerozolimskie cordoned off and guarded by barriers and riot police.  The police were letting in people who lived on the street, but everyone else was not allowed.  Saying "Shit!" to myself, I hooked a left (south) and hoped to go around another way.  I hadn't put much thought in walking down the Politechnika, so, I just walked around some side streets and tried to cut back to Marszalkowska…  …and right into a situation that seemed like it was about to explode.  There were explosions (firecrackers, flares, and tear gas).  There were yet more lines of police, and many sketchy looking folks wearing face masks and scarfs.  The ground had some broken glass, as well as shattered paving stones, and the air was thick with tear gas. Someone was angrily yelling over a microphone, and I didn't know if it was someone from the police telling the crowd to disperse, or someone in the march making an angry speech to his followers.  It turned out that it was the latter.  There were also a crapload of people recording everything on their smartphones.  The patriotic music was turned on, and many people standing around starting singing in angry, croaking voices.  The police line made a move and closed in on part of the crowd, so I took it as high time to skedaddle and get out.  I again turned south, and then tried cutting in back to Marszalkowska.

Police barricading a side street.

I walked into a situation very similar to the last one I had left.  Though, I did find the source of the voice endlessly ranting over the loudspeaker (it seemed to becoming from some truck or float or whatnot.  Here, photographers of all sorts were shooting pictures.  There were press photographers wearing ballistic helmets, face masks, and vests that said PRESS on them.  The police stood, blocking off Marszalkowska, but also any side streets.  I finally whipped out my big camera and started taking pictures.  It was more of the same, people shouting, waving flags, menacing the walls of police, etc.  I took pictures until my camera's battery died.  Having enough of the commotion (also, the police started clearing Marszalkowska and started marching down the street), I decided just to walk all the way to Politechnika.  I strode down to Plac Konstitucji, easily leaving the big angry mess behind…

Where paving stones had been dug up to be thrown.

Über-nationalists clamoring around an open bus or truck of some sort,  which was blasting noise.

The police blocking off any way to get in or out.

Damage done by hooligans.

The police clearing the way down Marszalkowski.

Shattered paving stones that had been heaved.

The police clear the way down the street.

And I walked into another goddamn demonstration!  People waving flags, loudspeakers, people yelling and chanting, not so much police though.  Oh, all the kebab places were doing killer business too.  Seriously, I'm talking huge crowds standing outside them (and it was only 5 PM).  I cleared Plac Konstitucji, not even bothering to slow down or care what these people were angry about, and made it to Politechnika.  I loitered around and asked if the buses were coming.  Someone said, yes, one had been by, but they were coming very rarely.  I waited (the roads were empty and silent) and just as I was about to carry on, on comes a full regiment of riot police at the head of some march.  This one had motorcyclists, two armored hussars on horses, and elderly folk dressed as Home Army combatants.  Then, there came the people waving flags, yelling, causing a ruckus.  I vacated the area as quickly as I could, and made my way to Plac Na Rozdrozu.

Would you believe me if I told you there there was another demonstration there?  Because there was.  People waving flags (Polish and otherwise), praying, some loudspeakers blaring some man ranting.  Not even bothering to check this one out, I simply continued on my way and finally cleared all the rabble.

So… my afternoon turned out to not be what I thought it was going to be.  One question (still hasn't been answered) that was hanging around was: why is everyone so angry?  It's supposed to be a joyous holiday of coming together and celebrating all things Polish (at least, that's my ignorant, backwards view of it).

You can read more about what was going on here.  I highly suggested, if simply to see the picture of some poor schmuck about to get his shit fucked up by the police.  Seriously.

Winter's Early Entrance

It's not even November yet, and Warsaw got a healthy dose of winter.  It started out as wet flurries swirling about, but by the end of the day, the fat flakes transformed the whole city into a winter wonderland.  I love snow and I hope this a glimpse of what is to come.  I do have feeling that it will all melt in a few days and turn everything into a slushy, muddy, wet mess.

It's coming down pretty hard.

Early in the storm: snow on the bushes.

It's supposed to snow again on Tuesday.  With the start of the snowing season, it means that Poles can resume their on-going war on tire treads.  But, I am looking forward to sledding and snowball fights.

I haven't seen this in a long time: a tree falling onto a car.  The car escaped relatively unscathed.

A Little Trip to Kampinoski

To the north of Warsaw lies Kampinoski National Forest, a national park that spans to the west of the Vistula.  For comparison, it's about the size of the Petrified Forest in California, or almost exactly twice the size of Acadia National Park in Maine.  One can easily drive or bike there, and there are city buses that go pretty much into the heart of it.  It's a touch of nature a few miles from the outskirts of Warsaw, and offers a little more wilderness than Mlociny or Kabaty.

One of the red signs announcing an entrance to the park.

A map of the park.  No horn blowing.

A colleague and I decided to make the day of it biking up to the forest.  We started out from Metro Mlociny and biked along the winding rural roads until we reached an entrance to the park.  It started raining just as we reached the cover of the trees, (hauling ass down a bumpy dirt road to beat the shower), but the rain and storms passed so we could enjoy a sunny picnic.

Taking shelter from the rain, and having a beer.

Our first stop (besides MarcPol to get some food and drink) was a small, dirty lean-to.  As we cracked open some luke-warm ones, some wasps decided to pay us a visit (it maybe a mostly Catholic country, but there are a lot of Brits coming here in the summer, and they can be quite pesky.)  OK, stupid joke.
Yeah, but seriously, we had to kill a bunch of those buzzing bastards.  Not so many mosquitos though.


The thing about Masovia is that its mostly sand.  Really, like beach sand.  This is not Ukraine with its rich, dark loam that makes it a suitable bread basket.  Kampinos is a mixture of swamps and sand-filled forests.  I don't know how plants grow in such poor soil, but pines and birch are everywhere to be found.  There are even some very pretty meadows (one of which offered extremely soft grass for us to park on while we had our picnic.)  The trails are beaten sand that can be hazardous for bikes.  There were plenty of times we had to stop and simply walk our bikes because the sand was too soft and unsuitable for bikes.

A sandy path through the forest.

A small meadow with soft grass to lie in.

Same as above, but with a hot cuppa' on the seat of me bike.

Time restricted us, and we could only spend a few hours in the park before turning back.  A good portion was spent drinking and eating and talking, but we did try to doodle around on bikes on the sandy hills and paths.

A sign at the beginning of a trail at the bus stop.  It reads: Return (or Turn Around)  On the nearest trail, you will find that the terrain is not intended for tourists.

On the way back, we committed a rookie mistake of riding too closely to one another side-by-side.  We got tangled up, and I basically almost ran over my friend's face after he had fallen to the ground.  He was bruised a little, and his hand hurt, but no scrapes or gashes.  Later, it came out that he had broken his wrist.  Lesson learned on that one.  Luckily we were on a tiny side road with zero traffic.  Had we been on a larger road, both of us would have been smashed to pieces by some speeding car, roaring down the road.

Overall, it was a smashing trip.  Next time, I'll go earlier in the morning and explore deeper into the park.

Travelin' Blues

A recent trip took me to Warsaw's Chopin Airport.  It was the height of the Euro 2012 championship, so I expected it to be mobbed, with lines snaking this way and that, and an extra layer of security checks just to make the whole thing that much hellish.  I was greeted by a near-empty terminal.  Waiting in line to check in?  Nope.  Going through security?  A breeze.  I actually arrived to the airport way to early, and had to burn off some extra time wandering around the building wondering where everyone was.

LOT E170s and E190s with a special Euro 2012 livery on their winglets and fuselages.

Getting those visitors off on the right foot.

In both terminals, it was kind of eerie the way that there were so few people.  I have never seen them this empty, except maybe when I had some 6:00 AM flight, and I got to the airport at 4:30.
I had heard about how some 500,000 fans were supposed to come through Warsaw (or something like that, I dunno').  Tourism was supposed to pick up, partly because of the weak zloty, and partly because of the beautification of the country.  Well, I saw no immediate effects.  We're just about in the middle of the tourist season, and they're just trickling in.  I chalk it up to the problems with Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France (oh yes, they too have problems), but I don't have reams of proof to throw at you.  But, there have been several articles noting the downturn in travel within the Euro Zone.

No lines or crowds here.

There are a few people milling around, but everything is just about quiet.

By the way, the traffic in Warsaw isn't too bad, even on game days.

New Metro Line Work on Swietokrzyska

Work on the second metro line in Warsaw is well underway.  Swietokrzyska has been closed down and turned into a construction site.  Every so often, they'll also close the Swietokrzyska stop, effectively splitting the metro line into two.  A Z bus is then used to take the long way around the Palac Kultury i Nauki, linking Metro Centrum to Metro Ratusz Arsenal.  It can turn a simple trip to the other side of the city in a 2X long affair.

The construction site at night.

Euro 2012: Poland-Russia

As we all know by now the game ended in a 1-1 draw.  It was also the site of massive protests.

Watching the game atop the metro station. 

The riot police lining up in case of trouble.

At the metro entrance of the strefa kibica, trouble has started and security is starting to crack down.

Inside the strefa kibica most everyone is calm and watching the game.

The police clear the area outside the entrance.

Burning the Russian flag. 

No need for porta-potties!  The wall serves just well enough.

The line clearing the street. 

The palace all lit up.

Cheering from atop the metro.

This guy don't give a fuck.  He's picking up crushed cans for cash.

Ale Jerozolimskie full of people.