When I was about three or four years old, I remember my mother playing the Warsaw Piano Concerto. For years, it didn't occur to me that there was actually a town called Warsaw, nor, for that matter, a country called Poland.
Warsaw was the name of English composer Richard Addinsell's concerto and I loved the drama of the piece, the way my mother's hands ran up and down the piano creating these wonderful sounds.
It was at school that I learnt about Warsaw, Poland. Naturally, for the history of Europe and World War 2 was an important part of any school curriculum. With typical schoolgirl abandon, I dismissed World War 2, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition and concentrated on more important things such as boys and hockey.
Over the years, the historical canvas changes. This is especially true of Poland in modern times. Adolf Hitler marched into Poland in 1939, thereby starting World War 2, then came Communist rule. It was only in 1989 that, as Cambridge historian A Kemp-Welch writes in his definitive book Poland Under Communism: A Cold War History, "Poland became the first country to leave Communism peacefully."
And so the Iron Curtain was lifted. But even so, Poland is not high on the travel list of most visitors to Europe, West or East. A pity, especially in these times when the rand is dropping through the floor.
For Poland offers incredible value for money, some of Europe's oldest history and culture that will titillate the most jaded of palates.
A small group of South African journalists was invited to visit Poland. That's how I found myself walking across Rynek Starego Miasta, Warsaw's Old Town Square with Andrzej Sawa, one of SA's top photographers and also, luckily for me, Polish by birth. It was like having my own guide book on legs.
"It's so old," I said in awe, gazing at the narrow townhouses ringing the square.
"No," said Andrzej, "it's not. It was flattened during the war. It's all been rebuilt."
Stare Miasto, the Old Town, was built in the 13th century.
Today, seven centuries later, the medieval layout remains as it was.
Medieval walls surround this ancient area. Just a short walk away is the Nowe Miasto, the more modern New Town, built in 1408, a mere 600 years ago. During the war, the Old and New Cities were flattened, but the city has been rebuilt and restored to its former glory.
And glory it is. Poland is famous for its palaces and should you travel through the countryside, you'll find them peeping through the trees, on the crest of hills, on the banks of rivers. Everywhere.
Warsaw has its own Royal Route (Trakt Krolewski) which is lined by former palaces and residences.
Krakowskie Przedmiescie, perhaps Warsaw's loveliest street, is lined with palaces, squares and trees, not to mention intimate restaurants, bars and street cafes. Walk along it and you'll find the whole of Europe sitting at a cafe enjoying a cup of coffee.
It is also the home of Poland's most important university, the University of Warsaw and the internationally famous Academy of Fine Arts. Of course, the University of Cracow is older and equally famous, possibly even more so, but then, inter-university rivalry is mandatory everywhere.
Look at Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard and Yale.
But here's a thing. Tertiary education institutions abound in this cultured country and most of the Poles we met had attended university or college or art school or music academy The list was endless.
In fact, one of our guides, who looked perhaps 15, had a PhD in history. Another thing, the Warsaw Concerto, that modern piano concerto filled with turbulent sounds that I so loved as a child, is regarded as almost "pop". Polish babies teethe to the sounds of Chopin (naturally), Penderecki (another fine Polish composer), Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and Haydn and Kurpinski. And, as early as the 15th century, Mikolajz Radomia was composing glorious classical music.
Interestingly, today, of all the European countries, East and West, Poland is the most active in rock and hip-hop. Clubbing goes on throughout the night and the young Poles (and older ones too) can hold their own worldwide.
Our hotel, the historically important Bristol was magnificently situated and we walked and trotted everywhere with ease.
Another thing. Even in the middle of the night, Warsaw is safe.
On so many occasions we'd find ourselves walking through parks or down narrow, winding streets and not once did I feel unsafe.
The language is a tongue-twister, but once you work out the pronunciation of the seemingly impossibly-placed consonants, it's really not that difficult. Within days, one of my colleagues, Katy Chance, was speaking a basic Polish and delighting all the Poles with whom we came in contact.
Recent history has been harsh to the Poles. First came the Nazis and then and equally repressive regime, Communism and to say that Poland was a place of gloom and doom during Communist rule is not an understatement. Because most of Warsaw's places of interest are situated centrally, it's a relatively easy city to get around. In a few days, we'd walked through the Old and New Towns and the Royal Route.
The Palace of Culture and Science, to give it its full name, built by the Communists, towers over the new city centre. A quite monstrous building, it houses offices and an information bureau.
Poland is a Catholic country but before World War 2, it had the largest Jewish community in Europe. During World War 2, most Jews were murdered in death camps built by the Nazis. However, Jewish visitors to Poland will be able to worship and visit the original Nozyk Synagogue. Built in 1898, it amazingly enough was not destroyed by the Nazis. Pragmatic, they used it as a warehouse. Over the years, and with circumspection during Communist rule, it has been lovingly restored and today is in use by the much depleted but vigorous small Jewish community.
The Nazis herded the Jews of Warsaw into the notorious Warsaw Ghetto on November 16 1940, and from there, hundreds of thousands were deported to Nazi extermination camps. A museum commemorating the Warsaw Ghetto is a sobering memorial to one of the saddest of times in human history. Barbed wire and brick walls surrounded the ghetto and over 300 000 people were placed in cattle trucks and deported to German death camps such as Treblinka and Auschwitz.
On April 19 1943, the clandestine Jewish Fighting Organisation led an uprising that lasted for one month. After the Uprising, the Nazis razed the ghetto to the ground.
There are two monuments in Warsaw that will make your heart cry. One is the Monument to Those Fallen and Murdered in the East.
It depicts a railway wagon filled with crosses and a Star of David symbolising the hundreds of thousands of Poles murdered in Soviet prison camps. Another equally moving is the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto.
Created when Warsaw was in ruins in 1948, it is symbolic of the courageous defence of the Ghetto Uprising.
Carved in stone, the men, women and children fleeing the fires of the burning ghetto, are a sorrow to see.
Andrzej Sawa and I are both silent as we contemplate these sad monuments. Andrzej's two Catholic grandfathers, both anti-Nazi, and my Jewish grandmother, were all gassed at Auschwitz. This history, by generation, is part of our core.
But Warsaw is not sadness today. It is a place of glorious churches and architecture, squares where people mingle and meet, and palaces that are splendid. We visit the Royal Castle, the symbol of Polish independence, and stroll into the Knights Hall past the beautiful statue of Chronos with the world on his head. Created by Le Brun and Monaldi, it is magnificent. But God, that globe is heavy and I feel for the luckless Chronos.
From ornate room to room we walk, past the Rococo panelling in Prince Stanislaw Poniatowski's apartment, through the Canaletto Room with walls painted by the legendary Canaletto. The ceilings are exquisitely painted. There are thrones and marble halls, indeed, the Marble Room, which, as you might imagine, has a fair amount of marble, is filled with portraits of Polish rulers. Then there's the ballroom where photographer Andrzej asks me if I'd like to waltz. I would have accepted had the palace guards not looked so eagle-eyed.
The Castle is filled with treasures to be savoured, so spend time here. Later, wander around Warsaw and enjoy the architecture and old (often rebuilt) sights such as the distinctive Barbican built into the City Walls. Wherever you look, there is something to see and it is a city filled with museums too.
Of course, one can become "museumed out", so mix things and balance your touring.
The Old Town Square is always buzzing with people, dancers, activity and it is, of course, surrounded by superb architecture. Here you'll see Zygmunt's Column, one of Poland's most important and oldest secular statues. It is more than 22m-high and depicts the ruler Zygmunt III.
It wouldn't be fair to depart from Warsaw without mentioning food. Sausages to kill for including a smoked garlic sausage called Wiejska that made me smell like a delicious clove of garlic for at least a week. Warsaw has some fine restaurants and there are three things you cannot miss. Barszcz (beetroot soup flavoured with lemon and garlic), poppy-seed rolls and pierogi - Polish dumplings stuffed with meat, sauerkraut, mushrooms, cheese or fruit.
Finally, Poles are the most informal and hospitable of people, just like South Africans really.
How would you describe Warsaw, a friend asked. Surprising, I replied. An absolute treat of a city.
If you go...
- VISAS: South Africans need a Schengen visa to enter Poland.
- GETTING THERE: You can fly to any European city and then connect to Warsaw. Getting around Warsaw is easy. Local transport is good, but everyone walks as there is so much to see.
- ACCOMMODATION: The Bristol is remarkable and five-star, however there are many hotels, lodges and B&Bs making it an extremely affordable destination for South Africans.
- FOOD: Polish food is good, hearty and affordable. Polish beers are good, but their vodka is out of this world and comes in many delicious flavours. Beware, two glasses of cheery-flavoured vodka and you'll be plonked.
- INFORMATION: Warsaw is a fascinating city with much to offer. Architecturally, you will be visually delighted; historically, you will be overwhelmed. Do yourself a favour and read up about Polish history before you go. It's well worth the effort and will enhance your insight of this fascinating country.
- For further information you can contact Andrzej J Morstin at the Polish Embassy, 012-430-2631, email: [email protected] or check out the websites: