ctenidae
Active member
That's the question my brother asked, and since I wrote a lengthy reply, I thought I'd put it here. Some interesting (to me, anyway) things I saw. It's not the trip report, I know, but I'm getting to that.
Real good. Lots (and lots) of food, many beers, good skiing at Zakopane (and the biggest plate of roasted meats you've ever seen. Seriously, 10-12 sausages, a rack of ribs, 4 lamb chops, 2 ham hocks, 2 pork loins, and I'm not sure what else. Fed 4 of us. The open grill they have was 10 feet long by 6 feet wide, probably 150 pounds of meat on it at a time.)
Spent 2 days in Warsaw, which, in my mind, is one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen (except for the Soviet-era grey concrete housing blocks, but they're working on those).
Got to see the Paula's Mom's old apartment in the "historic" district of downtown (it's the New Town, since it was built in the late 1500's, as opposed to the Old Town, which was built in the 1300s and 1400s), which would still be hers, and worth about $3 million, if she'd signed the papers when her mother (Paula's grandmother) moved to the US 20 years ago.
Interesting beer observation- there is no "microbrewery" industry- there are 6-8 big breweries (Warka, Okocim, Zyweic, Tatra, and a few others), but they all make, essentially, the same beers- basic midweight pilsners/ales. They have started to make some others, like porters, and they all make Mocne (Strong) varieties, at 11%-13% ABV, but there are no small-batch quality focused brews to speak of. However, they do import a fair amount from the rest of Europe, but nothing that would be called specialty. I think their beer industry was impacted by communism much the same as ours was by Prohibition, but for a much longer time. The "you will all drink the same beer" mantra drove out creativity much more than "you will drink no beer" did.
Incredible amounts of building going on, almost all of it residential. Construction is actually pretty cool- no wood frame houses at all, except for in the southern mountains. Everything is built of what looks like cinder blocks with a stucco finish. The blocks are different, though- they're about 40% lighter than our cinder blocks, and instead of a big hole, they're filled with air channels, making them very efficient insulators, so the buildings are very warm and extremely quiet. The technique cuts down on architectural options, though, so almost everything is reminiscent of the Soviet blocks, but townhouses instead of high rises.
Highways still need a lot of work- main road between the two largest cities is reminiscent of driving on the River Road outside Stuttgart, complete with tractors. A few bends in the road are, literally, to go around a tree. They're building a 6-lane highway, though, that should be done early next year (if the contractors don't steal all the materials to build houses).
Biggest problem I see right now in Poland is the deep seated unshakeable distrust the Poles have for everything Polish. They immediately assume someone is out to screw them over, and since they expect it, it happens, so they grouse about and carry on. They trust foreigners, but not each other. Odd, that.
Real good. Lots (and lots) of food, many beers, good skiing at Zakopane (and the biggest plate of roasted meats you've ever seen. Seriously, 10-12 sausages, a rack of ribs, 4 lamb chops, 2 ham hocks, 2 pork loins, and I'm not sure what else. Fed 4 of us. The open grill they have was 10 feet long by 6 feet wide, probably 150 pounds of meat on it at a time.)
Spent 2 days in Warsaw, which, in my mind, is one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen (except for the Soviet-era grey concrete housing blocks, but they're working on those).
Got to see the Paula's Mom's old apartment in the "historic" district of downtown (it's the New Town, since it was built in the late 1500's, as opposed to the Old Town, which was built in the 1300s and 1400s), which would still be hers, and worth about $3 million, if she'd signed the papers when her mother (Paula's grandmother) moved to the US 20 years ago.
Interesting beer observation- there is no "microbrewery" industry- there are 6-8 big breweries (Warka, Okocim, Zyweic, Tatra, and a few others), but they all make, essentially, the same beers- basic midweight pilsners/ales. They have started to make some others, like porters, and they all make Mocne (Strong) varieties, at 11%-13% ABV, but there are no small-batch quality focused brews to speak of. However, they do import a fair amount from the rest of Europe, but nothing that would be called specialty. I think their beer industry was impacted by communism much the same as ours was by Prohibition, but for a much longer time. The "you will all drink the same beer" mantra drove out creativity much more than "you will drink no beer" did.
Incredible amounts of building going on, almost all of it residential. Construction is actually pretty cool- no wood frame houses at all, except for in the southern mountains. Everything is built of what looks like cinder blocks with a stucco finish. The blocks are different, though- they're about 40% lighter than our cinder blocks, and instead of a big hole, they're filled with air channels, making them very efficient insulators, so the buildings are very warm and extremely quiet. The technique cuts down on architectural options, though, so almost everything is reminiscent of the Soviet blocks, but townhouses instead of high rises.
Highways still need a lot of work- main road between the two largest cities is reminiscent of driving on the River Road outside Stuttgart, complete with tractors. A few bends in the road are, literally, to go around a tree. They're building a 6-lane highway, though, that should be done early next year (if the contractors don't steal all the materials to build houses).
Biggest problem I see right now in Poland is the deep seated unshakeable distrust the Poles have for everything Polish. They immediately assume someone is out to screw them over, and since they expect it, it happens, so they grouse about and carry on. They trust foreigners, but not each other. Odd, that.