Mission: Warszawa Centrum
One of you politely wrote and asked why we haven't gone North, into the center of Warsaw itself. The answer is relatively simple: I'm not fond of the urban landscape. I'm aided in this general dislike by admonitions from locals and my own observations of traffic, pedestrian and commuter bike congestion, construction zones, not to mention city noise, pollution, and road debris--all of which raise the possibility of bodily harm--something we wish to avoid at all costs. Kościuszko himself may not care, but truth be told, he was built for speeding on open roads and for climbing, not for the tight quarters of city streets, dodging obstacles at every turn. In that sense we are made for one another!
Still, for you Dear Readers, in the spirit of exploration I decided to undertake a "mission" north, into the Warszawa Centrum. OK, not really. I'm going to skirt the real center and cruise along the river. I knew there were bike lanes and a bike path there and if I left early enough, I could avoid some of the aforementioned downsides to urban travel. Also, this would give me the opportunity to reconnoiter the bridges over the Vistula, finding ways across to the other side. And so, bright and early this morning we headed out, just a bit apprehensive, but hoping for a marvelous adventure. We would not be disappointed. Soon after leaving and getting out onto our main route north into downtown, we discovered that construction projects had destroyed much of the cycling infrastructure needed for a safe and comfortable ride. We stopped and adjusted our route a bit, and had smooth cycling thereafter.
As we traveled North along Solec Road, we noticed a few cyclists peeling off to the East and headed up towards the roadway above. This was the Łazienkowski Bridge (Most Łazienkowski). We availed ourselves of the opportunity to follow them to the other side and, on returning, stopped mid span for a view down the Vistual River (looking North). How exciting! We had crossed the Vistula! For the climbers among us--this is funny--there was a "warning" (uwaga!) that the grade of the road to the cycle deck was steep. 6%.
Continuing northward we came to a complex of roads, bike and pedestrian paths. It seemed possible here to cross the river again, and so we did! This was the Holy Cross Bridge (Most Świętokrzyski), visible in the background of the shot from the Łazienkowski bridge, above. The Holy Cross sports two lanes of traffic in each direction and a combined bike and pedestrian lane in each direction, as well. This appears to be the fastest way (for bikes) to get into the Praga District on the right bank of the Vistula. We'll save a visit to Praga for a group ride another day.
Once we had come back across the Holy Cross Bridge, we were at a crossroads, and an interesting one at that. Road signs indicated I could proceed either along the Kościuszko Embankment (Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie) or drop down to the General George Smith Patton Boulevard. Now this was a choice! Kościuszko doesn't know Patton, and what self-respecting bicycle would not want to go down a road bearing his or her name? A brief discussion ensued and we opted for the General on the northbound leg, returning home by Kościuszko Embankment.
We were not disappointed. Along this route were all sorts of shops and kiosks, access to the Copernicus Planetarium and other interesting landmarks (all closed, thankfully). I did take a picture of the planetarium, for those interested. If you go to the Cycling Activities page and look at the Strava summary for this ride, you'll see the picture. In the meantime, for those doubting me, to the right is the road sign proving our location. Behind the cobble wall is the Kościuszko Embankment.
You must be asking, though, why Patton? It is a thoroughly interesting story, of course. Patton, for all his negative attributes (which I choose not to speak of here), had a great relationship with the Poles. He held the Poles who fought for the Allies during the war in the highest regard and at one point even said they were better soldiers than either the British or Americans! Naturally, if you've seen the movie Patton (1970) starring George C. Scott, you may think that Old "Blood and Guts" wanted to roll across Eastern Europe and attack the USSR, liberating Poland along the way. The Poles would certainly have loved that! There is some truth in this story, but in point of fact Patton wasn't in charge and his outspoken views often got him in serious trouble. Without debating the merits of the actual idea, know that it was actually none other than Winston Churchill who crafted just such a plan for a surprise attack on the USSR scheduled for early 1946 (or thereabouts).
Let us speak no more of Churchill, however, and return to Patton. It's important to have heroes and connections to heroes, and in real life--you may not know this--Patton's driver throughout the war was a man named Leon S. Niemczyk (1923-2006), a famous Polish actor born here in Warsaw, who, over the course of his career, starred in hundreds of movies. One of them--not to belabor any particular point raised in other blogs--was a 1974 Polish historical drama called The Deluge (Potop). In a quirky oddity, in that movie, Niemczyk actually plays the Swedish king, Charles X Gustav. I find this connection to Patton, Patton's driver, and my own Swedish heritage compelling. If that weren't enough, my own grandfather fought under Patton in the Third Army's famous dash across France. Papa served in Company "F", 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th "Red Devil" Division and was, regrettably, wounded severely shortly after the Moselle River crossing in late September 1944. So, in any case, to have Patton "pop up" here in Warsaw is just another sign that I'm in the right place.
Leaving Patton and his boulevard and resuming our northerly journey, we passed Warsaw's Old Town (Stare Miasto). Old Town dates to before the 13th century. The key features are the surrounding wall, the Town Hall, Royal Palace and the two squares: Market Square and Castle Square. World War II was not kind to Warsaw, nor to Old Town in particular. It took heavy damage during the initial German invasion in 1939, but was intentionally razed by the Nazis in 1944 after the Warsaw Uprising. By the way, the destruction of Warsaw in 1944 was the implementation of a plan (the Pabst Plan) that was in development before Nazi Germany even invaded Poland! German anger and agitation over the uprising merely accelerated the timetable.
After the war, Old Town was rebuilt, brick by original brick in some cases. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just last week, we (my wife and I) stayed in Old Town to commemorate the two August 15th holidays (Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary and Polish Armed Forces Day). We stayed at Castle Inn and ate a filling, home-style dinner at the Polish Flowers Restaurant. I've marked their locations on the map below should you get to Old Town and want to try them out. The map is from 1945, so it is black and white. I apologize that things have changed a bit in the interim.
You can't see much of Old Town from the path Kościuszko and I took today either, but from down below, on the Gdansk Embankment (Wybrzeże Gdańskie) here is this morning's view:
Stunningly beautiful. I see now that this post has gone on for way too long, but we have one more stop to talk about. Shortly after leaving the vicinity of Old Town, we cruised into the Żoliborz District. The district name is from the French, Jolie Bord (beautiful embankment), given to the area by the Catholic Order of Piarists, who built a monastery there. The district has an interesting history and there are many things to see here, but from the road the most prominent sight is the Warsaw Citadel (Cytadela Warszawska). The Citadel is interesting for those of you keen on history.
Imperial Russia was in control of Poland in 1793 after the Second Partition (I call it the Second Annexation, but let not my political views affect you.) Our famous Kościuszko led an uprising, called, appropriately, the Kościuszko Uprising, to gain Polish independence. The uprising failed. Undeterred, in November, 1830 there was another attempt to throw off the Imperial Russian yoke, but it also failed. Tsar Nicolas I built the Warsaw Citadel in response to the November Uprising and permanently stationed 5000 Russian troops in Warsaw. To build the citadel required that a monastery (guess whose?) be torn down, along with scores of Polish homes. The structure was never quite complete by the time of the 1860s, when the Poles tried again. In the January Uprising (1863), then-Tsar Alexander II increased the garrison to 15,000 troops and the number of canon to over 500. Much of the city could be commanded from this location and with this artillery. By the turn of the century, however, fixed fortifications such as these were falling into obsolescence and the citadel ceased to be used as a fortification, per se. Instead, it became an armory, housing for military personnel, and functioned also as a prison.
We meandered north for a while longer ending our ride at the verdant and beautiful Park Kępa Potocka (it's a park), but the city had come alive with traffic and pedestrians, making it much less peaceful than when we first set out. We turned about and headed home, making sure to ride the Kościuszko Embankment on the way home. There you have it, Dear Readers. We have dutifully explored in a new direction, cataloged some new tidbits for you about Poland and have added scores of new sights to our memories. Until next time, do widzenia!
Still, for you Dear Readers, in the spirit of exploration I decided to undertake a "mission" north, into the Warszawa Centrum. OK, not really. I'm going to skirt the real center and cruise along the river. I knew there were bike lanes and a bike path there and if I left early enough, I could avoid some of the aforementioned downsides to urban travel. Also, this would give me the opportunity to reconnoiter the bridges over the Vistula, finding ways across to the other side. And so, bright and early this morning we headed out, just a bit apprehensive, but hoping for a marvelous adventure. We would not be disappointed. Soon after leaving and getting out onto our main route north into downtown, we discovered that construction projects had destroyed much of the cycling infrastructure needed for a safe and comfortable ride. We stopped and adjusted our route a bit, and had smooth cycling thereafter.
Once we had come back across the Holy Cross Bridge, we were at a crossroads, and an interesting one at that. Road signs indicated I could proceed either along the Kościuszko Embankment (Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie) or drop down to the General George Smith Patton Boulevard. Now this was a choice! Kościuszko doesn't know Patton, and what self-respecting bicycle would not want to go down a road bearing his or her name? A brief discussion ensued and we opted for the General on the northbound leg, returning home by Kościuszko Embankment.
You must be asking, though, why Patton? It is a thoroughly interesting story, of course. Patton, for all his negative attributes (which I choose not to speak of here), had a great relationship with the Poles. He held the Poles who fought for the Allies during the war in the highest regard and at one point even said they were better soldiers than either the British or Americans! Naturally, if you've seen the movie Patton (1970) starring George C. Scott, you may think that Old "Blood and Guts" wanted to roll across Eastern Europe and attack the USSR, liberating Poland along the way. The Poles would certainly have loved that! There is some truth in this story, but in point of fact Patton wasn't in charge and his outspoken views often got him in serious trouble. Without debating the merits of the actual idea, know that it was actually none other than Winston Churchill who crafted just such a plan for a surprise attack on the USSR scheduled for early 1946 (or thereabouts).
Let us speak no more of Churchill, however, and return to Patton. It's important to have heroes and connections to heroes, and in real life--you may not know this--Patton's driver throughout the war was a man named Leon S. Niemczyk (1923-2006), a famous Polish actor born here in Warsaw, who, over the course of his career, starred in hundreds of movies. One of them--not to belabor any particular point raised in other blogs--was a 1974 Polish historical drama called The Deluge (Potop). In a quirky oddity, in that movie, Niemczyk actually plays the Swedish king, Charles X Gustav. I find this connection to Patton, Patton's driver, and my own Swedish heritage compelling. If that weren't enough, my own grandfather fought under Patton in the Third Army's famous dash across France. Papa served in Company "F", 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th "Red Devil" Division and was, regrettably, wounded severely shortly after the Moselle River crossing in late September 1944. So, in any case, to have Patton "pop up" here in Warsaw is just another sign that I'm in the right place.
Leaving Patton and his boulevard and resuming our northerly journey, we passed Warsaw's Old Town (Stare Miasto). Old Town dates to before the 13th century. The key features are the surrounding wall, the Town Hall, Royal Palace and the two squares: Market Square and Castle Square. World War II was not kind to Warsaw, nor to Old Town in particular. It took heavy damage during the initial German invasion in 1939, but was intentionally razed by the Nazis in 1944 after the Warsaw Uprising. By the way, the destruction of Warsaw in 1944 was the implementation of a plan (the Pabst Plan) that was in development before Nazi Germany even invaded Poland! German anger and agitation over the uprising merely accelerated the timetable.
After the war, Old Town was rebuilt, brick by original brick in some cases. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just last week, we (my wife and I) stayed in Old Town to commemorate the two August 15th holidays (Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary and Polish Armed Forces Day). We stayed at Castle Inn and ate a filling, home-style dinner at the Polish Flowers Restaurant. I've marked their locations on the map below should you get to Old Town and want to try them out. The map is from 1945, so it is black and white. I apologize that things have changed a bit in the interim.
You can't see much of Old Town from the path Kościuszko and I took today either, but from down below, on the Gdansk Embankment (Wybrzeże Gdańskie) here is this morning's view:
Stunningly beautiful. I see now that this post has gone on for way too long, but we have one more stop to talk about. Shortly after leaving the vicinity of Old Town, we cruised into the Żoliborz District. The district name is from the French, Jolie Bord (beautiful embankment), given to the area by the Catholic Order of Piarists, who built a monastery there. The district has an interesting history and there are many things to see here, but from the road the most prominent sight is the Warsaw Citadel (Cytadela Warszawska). The Citadel is interesting for those of you keen on history.
Imperial Russia was in control of Poland in 1793 after the Second Partition (I call it the Second Annexation, but let not my political views affect you.) Our famous Kościuszko led an uprising, called, appropriately, the Kościuszko Uprising, to gain Polish independence. The uprising failed. Undeterred, in November, 1830 there was another attempt to throw off the Imperial Russian yoke, but it also failed. Tsar Nicolas I built the Warsaw Citadel in response to the November Uprising and permanently stationed 5000 Russian troops in Warsaw. To build the citadel required that a monastery (guess whose?) be torn down, along with scores of Polish homes. The structure was never quite complete by the time of the 1860s, when the Poles tried again. In the January Uprising (1863), then-Tsar Alexander II increased the garrison to 15,000 troops and the number of canon to over 500. Much of the city could be commanded from this location and with this artillery. By the turn of the century, however, fixed fortifications such as these were falling into obsolescence and the citadel ceased to be used as a fortification, per se. Instead, it became an armory, housing for military personnel, and functioned also as a prison.We meandered north for a while longer ending our ride at the verdant and beautiful Park Kępa Potocka (it's a park), but the city had come alive with traffic and pedestrians, making it much less peaceful than when we first set out. We turned about and headed home, making sure to ride the Kościuszko Embankment on the way home. There you have it, Dear Readers. We have dutifully explored in a new direction, cataloged some new tidbits for you about Poland and have added scores of new sights to our memories. Until next time, do widzenia!
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