After my busy Saturday in Łodz (read part I, part II, part III), I had set aside Sunday for a fuller exploration of Warsaw. First on the agenda was a highlights / overview tour with one of our Warsaw partners. I'd be getting orientation in the Old Town, some additional perpective on the Muranów neighborhood, and also a quick pass through Praga. Our agenda was not necessarily the typical tour, but something of a hybrid and a chance to meet Marcin.
I had some concerns that doing a tour in one of these would be corny or really make me stand out as a TOURIST. But what I experienced was that people love the Zuk. Or are at least fascinated by the Zuk. Old timers seem to have a warm nostalgia for it. Younger folks were curious about it. And I did not see any others driving around Warsaw. It seemed unique, unlike the dozens of classic car tours you see rolling around Lisbon, for example. The vehicle was definitely an ice breaker / attention getter, but not in a crazy disruptive way. Just every time we parked there would be one or two people commenting and others doing double takes and smiling. I'd say it is maybe akin to the effect that a VW van has (had?) when you'd see one in the wild. But with more working class vibes than flower child energy.
Functional space in the back for tours up to maybe 6-7 people. I rode shotgun for my personal tour.
First stop, Sigismund's Column and the entrance to Old Town. Took a few establishing shots, including the prime location McDonald's (more to acknowledge the interesting juxtaposition than as a scouting shot for lunch later).
Our timing coincided with the trumpeter , so I snagged a video with some awkward audio as Marcin got self-conscious mid recording.
As we walked around Marcin explained how the area was destroyed in the war and rebuilt by the communists (who leveraged the reconstruction in propaganda illustrating how pro-Poland they were). He pointed out some elements here and there where you can see if something is original or was rebuilt. Honestly I don't remember those tips. But in the bottom two pictures below you can see how the bricks around the foundation are distinctly different than those further up the wall.
We maneuvered through the streets of old town and I took some of the obligatory pictures. I'm a sucker for tidy symmetrical scenes like this.
Also a fan of elevated walkways between builings. Bonus for the peek out to the Vistula river.
After a spin through the old town we took the Zuk to the Muranów neighborhood, which was where much of the Jewish Ghetto was during WWII. My Friday tour covered some of the more traditional elements and sights related to the Jewish Ghetto. With this tour Marcin wanted to show some of the less obvious, perhaps overlooked aspects. We stopped on Nowolipki street, between Smocza and Jana Pawła II, near the church of St. Augustine (pic below).
The area is now residential flats, with some murals honoring local figures, some of whom participated in the Uprising, like Irena Kwiatkowska.
Marcin flipping through his materials
The detail that Marcin wanted to emphasize was how this area was built right on top of the demolished buildings of the ghetto. And that thoughout the area the bricks of the old buildings are still just under the surface. To make his point, he kicked through some dirt and turned this up.
The demolition was so vast and the resources to rebuild so scarce that they mixed the ashes and debris of the old buildings with cement and raised the apartment blocks right on top of the old ghetto ruins. So as you walk around what is now a peaceful seeming residential area, literally right under your feet are reminders of the absolute horror that took place 85 years ago.
After that soaked in for a moment we hopped back in the Zuk and made our way over to Praga. On the way I took a few scenery shots.
I liked this guy's hat
A glimpse down Przyrynek from Wojtowska. Marcin noted it's a very nice street for people who have more money than he does.
A shot over toward the old town while traveling on Wybrzeze Gdanskie
And then we entered into the Praga side via Most Slasko-Dabrowski. The intersection of Targowa and Aleja Solidarnosci had vibes of some big ol' Chicago intersections.
Maybe Western and Diversey or something like that. Maybe Fullerton and Ashland. On the edge of interesting neighborhoods but with a gritty/grim mundanity. The necessary 'vialidades' as we call them in la CDMX, that connect one part of a city with another, more practical than charming.
We only did a quick spin through a small slice of Praga, with the point being to illustrate how uneven the redevelopment is as a result of the very complicated issues related to determining ownership and accountability. Block by block, building by building, lot by lot, you saw how 80 years later this part of Warsaw is still wrestling with the weight and complications from the war.
Our time was winding down so Marcin pointed the Zuk back to my apartment where I'd grab a coffee to fuel up for the next stage of the day (next post).
Been a little while since I posted about local life here in la CDMX. This past Sunday was a nice little outing with the wife. Had some good weather and some things to do, so we headed to Coyoacán. We lived in the Del Carmen / Santa Catarina colonias of Coyoacán between 2017 and 2022. Judy gets back at least once a month I think for errands. And I pass through there every couple of weeks on my errands as well. For a while walking through the center was an every weekend activity. But we don't head there together as often now, so it was nice to get out there for afternoon.
Coyoacán is generally great and charming, of course. But one of the things that Judy misses is the top notch La Comer that we had in the neighborhood. And one of Judy's favorites times of the year here is Temporada Naranja. As I recall it first hit our radar 8, 9, maybe 10 years ago when it was a sale that ran in June with many things offered 2 for 1 or maybe 3 for 2. Specifically I recall giant costco-sized packages of toilet paper stacked to the ceiling in our old market over in Del Valle Sur (formerly La Comer, now a Soriana). Over the years it has grown into a monster promotion that spans multiple months with waves of promotions and huge displays at the grocery.
(Correction: a little googling reminds me it was originally "Julio Regalado", which of course ran in Julio)
We do have a local Sumesa within walking distance of our condo, but since we had other things to do in Coyoacán anyway, we stopped by our old favorite grocery store for a shopping run. This foto below is not staged. Judy was indeed taking a pic of the sign to share her excitement with local friends.
We had a productive run, savoring a full lap of both levels. I noticed the the Cafe Britt coffee and took a shot as a benchmark, since I'll be in Costa Rica next month. I'm curious to see what kind of premium they charge here in México.
We stocked up on various things, including our staple Peñafiel and some non-Britt coffee, which should last me a few weeks.
From there we parked the car on our old street and walked into the center of Coyoacán, heading toward the Mercado, but stopping first for lunch at Maratea.
Judy had been before with friends, but it was my first time. It's nice. Feels a bit like an oasis from all the activity outside on a busy Sunday (aka, a typical Sunday) in Coyoacán. That's a common phenomenon in la CDMX. You can't always see beyond the facade of a place, whether it's a house or a restaurant or even a Notaria. But then you step into a courtyard and a whole other experience from what you were just walking through on the other side of the walls.
It was a relaxed, traditional Sunday lunch with family and friends kind of vibe. Orange trees, water feature, garden pebbles. Very tranquil.
We got a margherita pizza and their version of a caprese salad.
Solid and hit the spot. Their reviews are semi mixed, but we had at least a 4.5 star experience. Pizza, caprese, Topo Chico, una naranjada, and a double espresso for about $650 MXN pre-tip.
During our walk over to the Mercado we passed by the Jardin del Arte Allende where they are still having their weekend dance gatherings.
Stopped by the stand of a contact Judy buys decorative tiles from. She'll be restocking her shelves in Paskwarho with them this coming weekend.
Our final stop was over at Viveros, or, more specifically, within the Mercado de Plantas, where every 2-3 weeks we pick up another 3-4 linear meters of pasto cuernavaca for our balcony (aka, el jardin de perros, aka, our version of an outdoor litter box for the hounds). It's a little bit of a trek and not a small amount of effort, but it's always a nice garden-y vibe there.
After my time exploring Piotrkowska street I headed down to the south side of Łodz, where you find two museums dedicated to the city's 19th & 20th century industrial history.
First was the Herbst Palace - Historic House, which is a restored 19th century compound that illustrates how well the empresarios of Łodz lived. After that I had to check out the Central Museum of Textiles which focuses more on the source of income that allowed those industrial titans to build their palaces and live that lifestyle.
I made my way down there by a combination of tram and Bolt scooter, so I will start with some scene-setting shots of the tram stop
I once again failed to take any pictures from the outside. I think it is because my Bolt scooter was running out of battery and I was distracted by trying to find a place to park it. But you can of course check out the exterior via Google Street View.
I did take a couple of pics once I was inside the gates.
The guard was very welcoming and helpful, as we communicated with gestures and fragments. He pointed me in the right direction.
Snapped a pic of the family tree, in case I decide to do any further investigation of the principals in the story.
Some lovely garden shots ...
There were a few other people visiting the palace on this mid-April Saturday afternoon. The staff's english was not extensive, but it was better than my Polish of course. One nice woman made sure I got the self-guided tour card. Smart, low-tech, effective.
Checked out the dining room ...
Passed through the 'middle parlour' ...
And stopped to take in the 'hunting room', which seemed more like a study, or perhaps a 19th century man cave of sorts with a hunting theme. Probably nice to relax here in front of the fire some late 1800s winter Sunday.
Had my cheat sheet ready for the second floor.
Not going into detail of every room. But a few things caught my eye. First, the Herbst-Scheiblers shared my impulse to display animal-related knicknacks in their home.
Then, while this display case was pretty groovy ...
The real stars of the show for me were the ceramic fireplaces.
I love these things. Think they first hit my radar like 15 years ago during some House Hunter International episode in Sweden. I've now seen them firsthand in a few European palaces. Really should bring them back. Fantastic.
Snapped a couple more shots out in the gardens before heading over to the Textiles Museum, as I was on the clock to get there before they closed.
At the entrance of the Textiles Museum I spotted more of these gnome things at ground level. I had seen some here and there and actually learned the day before in Warsaw that they were to keep the wheels of horse drawn carriages from crashing into the walls. Clever.
Once inside I was told that the Machines in Motion demonstration was going to start in a few minutes and the guy at the desk advised me to make sure I saw that before heading off to explore the rest of the compound. With the couple minutes I did have before the demo I slipped off to take some pictures of the park that is right alongside the museum grounds. Lovely looking spot that would be nice to have in anyone's neighborhood.
Soon enough it was time for Machines in Motion. I took a few establishing shots of the scene.
And then these fellas came in and I guess they explained what was about to happen.
And then they turned on the machines ...
Kinda underwhelming if I'm honest. I don't know exactly what I was expecting. Maybe some more obvious production of woven fabric. To my eye it all looked the same, just louder. If that is what the production experience was like in the late 1800s / early 1900s, then I guess my takeaway is wow, that was some pretty monotonous work that must have made for some long days at the factory.
I had about an hour left before the museum closed, so I ducked out to see the main exhibit hall.
This was pretty cool. Somehow cooler to see the Machines at Rest.
Some educational displays about various fiber types.
And then you can walk through the evolution of the looms over 100+ years from the 1860s to the 1970s.
Surely would have been some value in having a knowledgeable guide with me to talk through the context. But I got the point.
The museum has a number of exhibits and areas to explore. You can get an idea of them on the website by checking out the permanent exhibitions. I saw a little bit of what they promote as City-Fashion-Machine.
Examples of what the stylish people in Łodz were wearing in the 1920/30s and 1970s
The slices I remember were interesting enough, but not sure how I missed what they feature in photos on their site. I feel like that would have been hard to miss. There is also the Microhistories. Łódź and its People exhibit. Unfortunately I didn't have time to fully absorb this, but it seemed well done and interesting.
With limited time I was drawn to the summer home, looking extra appealing in the golden hour light.
There is more on this "Last Summer' exhibit on the website, including more pics. These were a few of my favorite slices.
Having now ticked off my list everything I wanted to cover in my day trip to Łodz, I headed back to Manufaktura to (a) eat something and (b) get a sense of what it is like early on a Saturday evening. Whipped out the Jakodjade app and saw I had a straight shot tram ride. Easy enough.
After a lap of the food court I once again went with the reliable McD's chicken sandwich.
Outside it was becoming more lively.
Including the lines at the donut and pretzel kiosks.
Again, easy enough to navigate my way over to the train station by tram.
Train station looking sharp illuminated for the evening.
Seats on the train had a sweet 80s video game type of vibe.
And I enjoyed a smooth, quiet ride back to Warsaw.
