181 JOURNEY: He’s an Englishman in Warsaw

12/16/20 • 47 min

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WITAM Z WARSZAWY

I think I said the latest episode that it was 2 weeks in Kraków and one week in Warsaw. It was not totally accurate: 22 days in Kraków and 4 days in Warsaw. But that’s how much I enjoyed my time there. Still, I also wanted to get a taste of the capital of Poland, and this is where we’re going in this episode.

I’m going to meet an Englishman that has lived here for many years. I’m interested in hearing how and why he chose to live here and hear about the city and the country with western European eyes. I’m also going to the hospital because I discovered that my blood pressure was through the roof.

But we start in Kraków where I’m heading to the airport – named after Pope John Paul II, chatting to the Uber driver.

FLYING TO WARSAW

And then it was off to Warsaw. It’s actually not that far – only around 300 kilometres, and I would be able to do that in a bus overland. But LOT Polish Airlines had a cheap domestic flight at only 100 €, so I decided to do that and save a bit of time. I landed at 1 pm and headed straight into the centre of the city – and didn’t know where I was going. But I managed to get my host on the phone, and he came rushing from work to let me into the apartment.

6 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WARSAW

The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw was a gift of the Soviet dictator Stalin to the Polish nation. At 237 meters tall, it’s the tallest building in Poland, and at 165 meters, the clock tower is considered to be the tallest in Europe.
When it comes to air pollution, Poland is the China of Europe. According to the World Health, a staggering 33 out of the 50 most polluted cities in Europe are in Poland. The capital is one of those.
But Warsaw is also a green city. Its Lazienki Park is one of the largest parks in Europe, and pre-pandemic hosted free Sunday concerts from May to October. Probably again in 2021.
Traffic jam is a thing in Warsaw. It’s the most congested city in Europe: Poles spend an average of 106 hours per year stuck in traffic.
With around 1.8 million people Warsaw is the 7th Largest capital cities of the European Union.
The oldest evidence of cheese production was found in the vicinity of Warsaw, apparently being produced here around 7,500-8,000 years ago.

BLOOD PRESSURE WAS SKY HIGH

For a few weeks, I’ve had a funny feeling that my blood pressure was high. I’m not sure how, but I felt a ringing in my ears and just that something was not right. I went to a pharmacy to get it tested and sure enough, it was much higher than it should be. So, I decided to get a check-up at a hospital, and my private insurance company gave me an address. When you’re Danish you are covered health-wise in most of the world. But I’m not a resident there anymore, so I’ve taken out a private insurance that takes care of me anywhere. Also, here in Poland.

First, they did a quick test and then I was presented with the prospect of spending a long time in a dreary Polish waiting room. But then the nurse found another option – just around the corner was another clinic. In fact, this is just the Emergency Room. Half an hour later, I was consulting a doctor, who said that it wasn’t that bad – in my age. So, she asked me to test myself three times a day for the next three weeks and go see another doctor then, and maybe get some medication.

Stay subscribed to hear what happens in a later episode.

MEETING AN ENGLISHMAN

If you keep an open mind when you travel you meet people. In this case we met at the sports bar back in Kraków where I was helping the English singing “It’s coming home”. Well, as you heard in the latest episode, the FIFA World Cup Trophy didn’t come home to England for the first time since 1966. In fact, England also lost the bronze match – and then against the small country, Belgium and finished fourth. But still, they did much better than they’ve had in a long time.

I met Mark who was in Kraków to hang out with some friends from England, that took a trip there to have a break, watch football together over pints.

Mark and I connected and when I heard that he was from Warsaw, I basically invited myself to visit him. I punched his number in my phone and wrote the name “Matt”... but it turned out that his name is Mark. He’s an alien. He’s a legal alien. He’s an Englishman in Warsaw. It almost sounds like a Sting song.

What’s he doing here? How did he land here and what does he think of the country, the language and its people? Listen to the episode to find out.

FREE WALKING TOUR OLD TOWN.

I also went in a Free Walkative Tour in the old town of Warsaw. But in fact, it’s not that old.

During the occupation of Poland, The Nazi Germans had a plan for a long time to destroy the city. Warsaw had been selected for destruct...

WITAM Z WARSZAWY

But we start in Kraków where I’m heading to the airport – named after Pope John Paul II, chatting to the Uber driver.

FLYING TO WARSAW

6 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WARSAW

The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw was a gift of the Soviet dictator Stalin to the Polish nation. At 237 meters tall, it’s the tallest building in Poland, and at 165 meters, the clock tower is considered to be the tallest in Europe.
When it comes to air pollution, Poland is the China of Europe. According to the World Health, a staggering 33 out of the 50 most polluted cities in Europe are in Poland. The capital is one of those.
But Warsaw is also a green city. Its Lazienki Park is one of the largest parks in Europe, and pre-pandemic hosted free Sunday concerts from May to October. Probably again in 2021.
Traffic jam is a thing in Warsaw. It’s the most congested city in Europe: Poles spend an average of 106 hours per year stuck in traffic.
With around 1.8 million people Warsaw is the 7th Largest capital cities of the European Union.
The oldest evidence of cheese production was found in the vicinity of Warsaw, apparently being produced here around 7,500-8,000 years ago.

BLOOD PRESSURE WAS SKY HIGH

Stay subscribed to hear what happens in a later episode.

MEETING AN ENGLISHMAN

I met Mark who was in Kraków to hang out with some friends from England, that took a trip there to have a break, watch football together over pints.

What’s he doing here? How did he land here and what does he think of the country, the language and its people? Listen to the episode to find out.

FREE WALKING TOUR OLD TOWN.

I also went in a Free Walkative Tour in the old town of Warsaw. But in fact, it’s not that old.

During the occupation of Poland, The Nazi Germans had a plan for a long time to destroy the city. Warsaw had been selected for destruct...

Previous Episode

180 JOURNEY: Contrasting Emotions in Kraków, Poland

Cześć again from Kraków, Poland!

Welcome to the second instalment of my visit to one of my new favourite Eastern European cities. If you missed Part I of my time in Kraków then go back and listen to get up-to-date with what I am doing and why I am here.

I pick up where I left off, speaking with my new friend and Walkative! tour guide, Thomasz – a giant among tour guides here in Kraków. Literally... he’s more than 2 meters tall.

DENMARK AT FIFA WORLD CUP

Before I let him go, we had to talk a bit about the FIFA World Cup that was taking place in Russia at the time of my visit. Poland had already been eliminated and now it was time for my own team to play an all or nothing match. Thomasz sympathised with me about how tough Croatia will be for Denmark to take the win. The nerves were kicking in!

I found a great sports bar close to Kraków Square that was showing the match between Denmark and Croatia. The first minute of the match saw Denmark score a goal to take an early lead. But my elation was quickly abated 3 minutes later when Croatia equalised. The tight game remained drawn at 1-1 until the end of regular time, so the two teams had to go into extra time...

My heart was racing as Croatia were rewarded with a penalty kick...but thankfully the Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel saved it. And when extra time was up, the game had to be decided by a tense penalty shootout.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be for Denmark. We lost the penalty shootout which meant we were eliminated from the competition, but it was so close that it could have gone either way.

The bar was full of English supporters, who were all helping me cheer for Denmark in between their now infamous chants of “It’s coming home”. So, I told them I would be back every time England would play to repay their support...which I did.

KRAKOW’S JEWISH QUARTER

To heal my footballing sorrows, I took another Walkative! Free Walking Tour to hang out with ‘Big Tom’ again, this time to visit the Jewish Quarter.

At the beginning of the tour, Thomasz tells us something I’ve heard in many places in the eastern portion of Europe: Polish people like to be referred to as ‘Central European’ and not ‘Eastern European’. I’ve heard this in many countries, from the first stop on my journey in Estonia and all the way down to through the other Balkan countries. Maybe because it has a Soviet Block ring to it?

Thomasz asked the group to come closer as he says in a quieter voice (so no Polish person would hear him) that he feels it’s a bit of bull crap. In his opinion, Poland is Eastern Europe. I felt that this is something he didn’t want to have on tape, so obviously, I had to speak to him about this as we were walking to the next spot.

“As a historian and guide, I consider Poland to be part of Eastern Europe. But some ‘proud’ Poles like to say otherwise. I understand where this idea comes from, and it shows just how upset we are as a nation about how we feel nobody cares or knows about us. It is a common Polish pastime to be sad” he jokes. “We were treated as a satellite country of the Soviet Union for decades and I guess this is a way for Polish people to regain their independent identity. But, as an educated man, I believe that the border between Germany and Poland is the border between Central and Eastern Europe”.

AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

The next day, I decided to take a tour of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps - a must-do item if you ever find yourself in Poland. I knew it was not going to be an easy or delightful tour, but sometimes the most important things in life are difficult.

All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established by Germans in 1940, a bit more than an hour’s drive from Kraków. The direct reason for the establishment of the camp was to accommodate the high number of mass arrests of Poles that were increasing beyond the capacity of the existing local prisons.

It functioned in this role throughout its existence, even when it also became the largest of the extermination centres used to persecute Jewish people in the Nazi’s ‘final solution’ campaign of terror, beginning in 1942.

DIVISION OF THE CAMP

The first and oldest structure was the so-called "main camp," later also known as "Auschwitz I" which was established on the grounds and in the buildings of pre-war Polish barracks. The number of prisoners here was around 15,000 at one time, sometimes rising above 20,000.

The second part was the Birkenau camp which held over 90,000 prisoners in 1944, also known as "Auschwitz II" situate...

Next Episode

182 JOURNEY: Good Things About Having a Dictator?

At the time I went from Warsaw to Belarus, they issued a 5-day visa on arrival. So, I decided to spend 4 days in the country, since my flight out would have been a few hours too late. This five-day visa on arrival was changed one day after my visit to 30 days. It must have been because I made such a good impression on the government that they changed it.

Belarus It has borders with Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia – and is a fairly unexplored corner of Eastern Europe. The population of Belarus is about 9.5 million people, which puts them on the 93rd place in the world. So somewhere in the middle when it comes to population. But the land mass is quite big so it’s not that densely populated. Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is about 2 million, so Minsk is the 11th most populous city in Europe.

After an hour bus ride from the Airport to the city, I met my Airbnb host, Svetlana. She let me in to a wonderful apartment with a huge bathtub.

TOURING MINSK WITH A COUNTRYMAN

I have a Danish friend of a friend who lives here permanently. I’ve been in contact with him for a while. And it was actually my plan to go to Belarus in the very start of my journey in 2016... but only because he wasn’t in the country at the time, I decided to go there later.

As we both are Danish, we obviously speak Danish, so you probably won’t be able to understand much. If you – on the other hand do speak the language head over to the Danish version of this podcast.

While we’re walking, we pass the building where the president is working. It’s not the White House of Belarus. He doesn’t live here.

LIVING IN A DICTATORSHIP

Belarus is a dictatorship, and a few days before my visit, I shared a YouTube clip with President Lukashenko where he said these words... and I kid you not... “I think it’s better to be a dictator – than being gay”. Yes, he actually said that.

Lukashenko has run Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, and Belarus is often referred to as the last dictatorship in Europe. It’s a country where gay rights are almost non-existent, a country where there’s no free press.

But according to Carsten, it’s not as bad as people think. Yes, there’s no freedom of speech, and the elections might not be totally fair. But it’s not North Korea, he says. There’s still a nice quality of life here, and it’s not something he feels in his daily life.

When I posted the video on Facebook and was appalled by the statement about it being better to be a dictator than being gay, someone commented:

” Oh .. how judgmental and prejudiced you are Palle Bo. When you are so biased and negative, I don’t understand at all that you choose to travel to Belarus.”

This was something I also heard when I went to North Korea. But I don’t see it that way. Going to a country doesn’t mean that I support the leadership and the way things are run.

I’ve also been to the USA during the Trump presidency – even though I’m not a big fan of him. I know, you can’t compare USA to a dictatorship. Not at all, but when I go to a country, it’s to learn things and hopefully make some local friends along the way.

I try to educate myself before, during and after my visit to a country, and I do feel that I also try to keep an open mind. I speak up about the things that I feel is wrong and also talk about the things that are good about my visit. I also did that in my North Korea episode, where I spoke highly of the people.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this... Is it wrong for me to travel to a country like this?

Make a comment on Facebook.com/theradiovagabond, drop me a line on [email protected] or record a voice message by clicking on the “talk to me-banner” on theradiovagabond.com.

CARSTEN’S VIEWS ON LIVING HERE

They do have elections here, but according to Carsten the result is more or less decided before. And they do have a parliament but all the people in it are in Lukashenko’s pocket.

When I ask him if he’s afraid to speak out loud about this he says.

“No, as long as I’m not protesting with a megaphone and a sign in the city, nothing will happen. Sometimes I’m a bit tired of the way western media are describing the country. Yes, it is a dictatorship, but many of the countries that we (quote-unquote) are “friendly with” ... like Saudi Arabia, The Emirates and China... are also dictatorships.”

Some things are good in Belarus. Compared to many of the other former Soviet countries, he’s cracking down on corruption – maybe except for himself. Other good things, Carsten mentions are that it’s quite clean here in the city and then it’s safe. There’s no need to be afraid of walking around even at night here. And in the 90’s he came down ha...