St Tropez? Miami? Dubai? No.Warsaw.

Oh yes, there is a palm tree in the centre of Warsaw.  The trick? It's not real.  So the story goes that it was meant to be a temporary fixture on the roundabout Rondo De Gaulle but the people of Warsaw fell in love with the leafy structure and from then on it sits in the middle of a busy intersection.

I think it is quite a funny tree (sculpture?) and makes me laugh whenever I see it. Hey and it never needs watering.

Known locally as SGH, Warsaw School of Economics is a very highly regarded school of business and economics.  The school has a long and interesting history with building on the site closest to Metro Pole Mokotowskie dating back to the 1920's.  The picture below shows the building built between 1951-1955 (project from 1924).
The whole campus houses more building in the same Art Deco architectural style.

The buildings are a must see for any Art Decohead.

Website

An extensive park near the centre of Warsaw is Pole Mokotowskie (Mokotow Fields).  (Use Pole Mokotowskie Metro stop to get there).  It's a great place to walk, jog or hang out.  There a few bars in the park, most famously,Pub Lolek, a place where many a good night has been spent by expat communities and Poles alike.

The park was originally an airfield, where many of Poland's early aviation records were set.  Even giant airships took off from here.  Unfortunately, there is no real evidence left that it was an airfield as the park was reconstructed in the 1970's.

The park can be enjoyed in any season, so here are a few autumnal pics...

The CTD (Smyk) Department Store was built in 1948-1952 and designed by Zbigniew Ihnatowicz and George Romanski on Aleje Jerozolimskie.  It was built in the Modernist style of the pre-1920s and was an outstanding example of this kind, certainly in Warsaw, in its day.  Today, unfortunately, you would hardly notice it, unless you were an architecture buff that is.  It is draped in the over-the-top Smyk advertisement (see picture below) and is also in need of a renovation.

According to wikipedia, the building is going to be renovated and redeveloped.  Here's hoping the future looks bright...

Read the full article here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDT_%27Smyk%27_Department_Store

Here's a photo of the building at night:

I thought it was about time to write a piece on the Marks and Spencer branches in Warsaw.

It seems that they have become lifesavers for Brits, expats and people with a liking for British delicacies.  When they first opened in Poland there were no food sections.  Now you can find dry, frozen and even a bakery in some of the branches.  For example, it was the only place to buy mince pies at Christmas and hence they sold like hot cakes (quite literally!).

There is a going back to childhood feeling when you walk into the food department.  An eclectic range of sweets with old favourites like liquorice allsorts, drinks from the gastropub range like gingerbeer and salt and vinegar crisps.  Of course these are not the original brands but the M&S version, which (mostly) hit but sometimes miss (the baked beans are NOT like Heinz baked beans but brown sauce is pretty authentic).

You can also buy different kinds of flour, powders, creams and sauces for cooking and baking.  For people who cook, like myself, it's great.  All of the packaging is in English apart from a small label in Polish.

Two other points worth mentioning:1.  When the sell by date is getting close on their products then M&S will reduce the price of those products.  This is where you can really get some good bargains (look out for the orange labels).  This is due to the fact that 2.Some products are highly (over) priced that you would never want to pay full price for unless you were a.very desperate or b.very rich.

As with all M&S products it's the quality that shines through, coupled with their unique sense of Britishness, that makes their food departments in Warsaw such a winner.

M&S with food departments in Warsaw:

ul. Złota 59 (Złote Tarasy)
ul. Jana Pawła II 82 (A-1, Arkadia)
Al. Jerozolimskie 179 (Blue City)
ul. Marszałkowska 104/122 (Wars & Sawa) (includes bakery)



http://www.marks-and-spencer.pl

I would like this question answered - Is the Palace of Culture in Warsaw the highest clock tower in the world?  This was the general impression for some time but now I'm not sure. 

BTW you can see a photo of it on the blog sidebar

Please enlighten me.

Just stumbled across this story.  The world's narrowest house is to be built in Warsaw.  Madness or genius.  What do you think?

Read the full story here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2011438/Polish-architect-building-worlds-narrowest-house-Warsaw-tower-blocks.html

I say why not.  If house prices remain as they are then it's the little bits that count.  It is not uncommon to find a 5 million zloty (1 million pound) house in Warsaw now.  They say house prices are declining i.e it is a good time to buy but even so, some people are paying silly money for property here.

These are photos from a LEGO exhibition that was at Warsaw's Chopin airport last April.  It was fun for the kids and you could observe adults chuckling at one or two exhibits too. 

A pleasant way to pass the time in an airport.  Who says nothing funky comes to Warsaw, anyway?

This year the snow hardly fell.  In fact, it has been the mildest winter for a long time. 

A very long time.

There is, of course, less of that Christmasy feeling when there's no snow.  Mind you, the city of Warsaw made an effort - in places.  Nowy Swiat street was decked out in the usual bright Christmas neons and the old town had its Christmas tree.

In the centre of town though it was hard to spot a decoration.  A few huts selling souvenirs like in Krakow and Wrocław but come on city folk - make an effort!

A lego Christmas tree would do very nicely thankyou - like the one in London.  Come to think of it, why does London get all the glory?

I live very close to the Polish Radio building (also known as Polskie Radio) and it's quite a well-known building in Mokotow (not architecturally mind you).  It is the HQ for the national Polish radio channels.  The address is Al. Niepodległości 77/85 in Warsaw.  

Website is:http://www.polskieradio.pl/