One bridge too far

(Photo of a Swietokrzyski Bridge in warsaw, by Arkadiusz Ziółek)
There’s a new Warsaw tour guide in stores. Written by three journalists set in Warsaw, it’s supposed to be an alternative to the boring Pascal-style “Warsaw at night” kind of a book. I didn’t get it in my hands, but read a review in Wyborcza, written by a guy whose opinions I respect, though not agree with most of the time. The guide is called “Warsaw – looking for downtown”. And from what I read, it’s got something to it – yet again, “something” very similar to New York – because obviously there’s no “downtown” in Warsaw. Most of the European cities have a distinctive “center” – call it downtown if you will – that is “it” – everything interesting, culturally, socially, and what have you, is going on in this part of town. In Warsaw, there’s downtown but, just like in New York, it’s a financial center, or a shopping mecca, not “the scene”. Where is the scene then? Nowhere, and everywhere, spread around in spots. Just like there are cool neighborhoods in New York, and not-so-cool tourist areas. What is downtown though? For some – East village, for others – Greenwich Village, yet some other others would choose Chelsea, with its Meatpacking district. Spread around, huh? Nobody in a healthy state of mind would say that Times Square is “the” place to be – most of people living in NY, hate it – just like nobody would risk calling the square of Jerozolimskie Ave and Marszalkowska St in Warsaw “downtown”, nor would they call it the Old Town.

New York is a city of neighborhoods (some say, disappearing neighborhoods – but isn’t it significant for NY to be changing all the time? I remember a couple looking for a church on Elizabeth Street, where their parents got married good 40 years ago. They were walking back and forth, checking the numbers on the buildings million times, and there it was – a huge apartment building, that replaced the Italian church) – when you cross the Vistula River (smaller, but dare I say it, prettier and dirtier than East River) you enter another world, old school, typical Warsaw, known for its character, and its pickpockets. Parts of Brooklyn seem like the old New York – parts of Praga seem like the old Warsaw. In some places in Praga, when you don’t know your way around, you can expect to get killed, or at least robbed, just like in parts of Brooklyn. There is a huge difference in the amount of bridges of Warsaw vs NYC - 8 against 28 – pretty big, I must say. But on the other hand, New York’s got two rivers, my lost city – only one, narrow in comparison.

I would love to get the tour guide in my hands – thanks to the authors for making an effort – and pay no attention to the critic – you write as you see it. Somebody will always bitch about it, especially when it’s not written by his friends ;-).
(to compare: Williamsburg Bridge, one of the 28 bridges in NYC)