Awesome Thing About Living in Europe # 3

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #3:  Fresh Milk Vending Machines

While walking through the farmer's market Tom and I stumbled upon this vending machine.  It took us a minute to figure out that it was in fact, an actual fresh milk vending machine.  We stood and watched a couple of folks purchase their bottle (1/2 or 1 Liter Size) and then fill it up under the dispenser with fresh milk.  It seemed like a pretty cool concept to us.  My dad and Tom have a theory that there is an actual live cow inside the machine dispensing milk...guess we'll never know the truth.  ; )  In the interim, we can always get cold, fresh milk.

Now that We are Settled...

More reasons to come and visit us!

Warsaw, Poland: an up-and-coming European museum destination

by Meg Nesterov on Mar 16th 2011,   link to article on the web

As an EU member with a good exchange rate and low prices, Poland is becoming a popular tourist destination in Eastern Europe. Most of the love goes to Krakow, with its original architecture and "new Prague" charm, but capital city  Warsaw has plenty to offer as a European museum destination. While much of the old town was leveled in World War II, the restorations have been painstakingly done and the tumultuous history makes for a great basis for museum exhibitions. Like Berlin, Warsaw has embraced its past and given the visitor plenty to learn from and new investments mean state-of-the-art attractions and exhibitions.

Given all of the places to see, Warsaw could easily fill a week (or two) on a Europe trip. Here's a look at some of Warsaw's best museums.

Only-in-Warsaw

Warsaw (Up)Rising Museum - Warsaw's proudest museum is a hi-tech interactive experience detailing the events of the two-month rebellion of the Polish people against the German forces as well as what preceded and followed. It borders on being overly comprehensive, the hundreds of artifacts can overwhelm, as can the crowds who line up daily. Be sure to follow museum signs as you walk through, as the chronological exhibit doesn't necessarily follow the logical path.



Gestapo Headquarters and Pawiak Prison - Two of the city's most unassuming buildings were once the most feared. Not as flashy as the Rising Museum but equally effective, the former Gestapo HQ contains a few stark cells that once held prisoners to be interrogated and often tortured before being taken to the prison, along with very professionally-done interactive displays telling the experiences of the poor souls held there. Most of the prison in the former Jewish ghetto has been destroyed, but dozens of artifacts and exhibits explain the prisoners' conditions and attempt to describe the horrors that happened there.


Fryderyk Chopin Museum - Another hi-tech, multimedia extravaganza, this brand new space dedicated to Poland's most famous composer goes beyond the usual exhibition with a fully customizable experience. Sample sounds from a rare score, read letters to the important women in Chopin's life, and see a recreation of his Paris drawing room.

Palace of Culture and Science - Not so much a museum as a gift Warsaw can't hide away, the tallest building in Poland was a gift from Joseph Stalin and it's hard to go anywhere in the city without seeing the Soviet beast. Though the building is enormous, not much of it is open to the public. It's worth a trip to the terrace for panoramic city views (see above photo) or spend an afternoon making sense of the bizarrely curated Museum of Technology.

Want more history? There are also museums dedicated to the Polish People's Movement and Polish Independence, plus the many churches and monuments of the restored Old City and Krakowskie Przedmiescie street. Warsaw's Jewish culture is also well-documented at the new Jewish Museum and Wola district historical museum.

Well-done in Warsaw


                          Culture Center Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle - A few blocks away from the Gestapo Headquarters, the building has a history as a royal residence, medical hospital, and now modern art museum. Some of the most innovative artists in Poland and Europe are showcased here: November saw a show focused on Internet-shaped culture such as a scrolling display of Twitter results for the phrase "Best day ever."


Warsaw Zoo - In addition to being a nicely-maintained habitat for animals, this zoo has a fascinating and heroic past. Diane Ackerman's bookThe Zookeeper's Wife tells the story of the zoo director who aided in war efforts and saved many Jewish Poles from the Nazis by hiding them in the animal cages.


Royal Castle and Wilanow Palace - Just outside the Old City, the Royal Castle was also rebuilt from scratch and houses a slew of antiques and artwork, as well as excellent temporary exhibitions such as Leonardo da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine" and other treasures from other museums. If you visit in good weather, it's worth a day out of town to visit the grand Wilanow Palace and gardens, the Polish Versailles.

Not exhausted yet? Small museums also specialize in collections of cars, trains, military weaponry, horse-riding, caricatures, and Polish physicist Marie Curie. See the In Your Pocket Warsaw guide for more info

Home Sweet Home...

It's official, we have a new home in Warsaw.  Tom and I spent the weekend moving into our new apartment.  It is so so so nice to be reunited with our furniture, clothes, and personal belongings....specifically our king size bed.  After 6+ weeks of sleeping on an air mattress and in a hotel we could not be happier to have our own bed. 

The move went really smoothly.  Not having been through one of these international moves we weren't sure what to expect.  Fortunately, one of the movers in the crew spoke English which was very helpful.  Not only did the movers bring our items from the truck into the apartment, but they also helped us unpack everything.  It was super helpful!  We were also able to get our cable and internet installed on Friday as well.  I did have to sit on hold for 45 minutes to get someone from the cable company who could speak English, but that was a small price to pay for having cable/internet the same day we moved in.

Since a lot of folks have asked here's the scoop on our place.  It is in a great location right in  the city center.  Tom has a 15 minute walk to work from our apartment and the metro and bus lines are all a 5 minute walk away.  Behind our building we have a great park, called Saski Park, where we can take Charlie for long walks.  We also have a very large farmer's market, called Hala Mirowksa, in our backyard which is open 6 days a week with fresh produce, dairy, meat and eggs.  It's great to be able to go and get produce multiple times a week.  Our apartment itself is quite large for European standards....it's 170 square meters (about 1650 square feet).  It has 3 bedrooms....i.e. plenty of room for visitors, 2 bathrooms and a great sun porch.  It is on the 5th floor of the building, which is technically the 6th floor since the Europeans count the ground floor as 0.  A few interesting things that folks have asked about.....yes, our fridge/freezer is smaller than in the states...in fact much smaller.  We have a dishwasher in our kitchen which really surprised me.  Our washer/dryer is one machine that handles both functions and it resides in the master bathroom, which is typical of most European houses.  I know that people are eager to see pictures.  It is still a bit messy around here, but we will take some soon and post them to the blog.

We spent most of the weekend unpacking and getting settled.  It took me 4 tries to figure out the washer/dryer.  It is an Italian brand so I used google translate to figure out what the settings were but was still having trouble.  Fortunately, I was able to find the user's manual on the internet.  It also took us some time to figure out how to work the cook top stove and oven.  The only thing we have made on the stove is tea, so we will see if we have it right later this week when we make dinner.  ; )  

Of course, getting settled for Tom meant making sure we had a fully functioning television.  We could not bring our TV from the states because it doesn't work here.  So, we went to the Polish equivalent of Best Buy and got ourselves a European TV.  We even got the sales guy to come over after his shift and set everything up for us!  And, our Polish basic cable include about 25 stations in 

English.

Moving into our apartment has also shifted our perspective slightly on Warsaw.  While we were staying in the Westin it still felt like vacation or something temporary.  Now, there is a sense of permanence and a feeling of home.

Since we have a home...we welcome you all to come visit!  : )

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #2

Since awesome thing #1 was picked by Tom, I decided that #2 could be my pick.

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #2:  Chivalry

Men in this country are incredibly chivalrous.  A man always opens a door for a women and makes sure that she walks ahead of him into a doorway, elevator, etc.  While some people might find this bit of "awesome" surprising coming from me, I have to say that I do enjoy it.  While riding the train in Chicago a man would rarely get up for a women unless she was older or visibly pregnant....and even that wasn't always the case.  So, thank you Polish men for holding open the doors for me!