Rick Steves' Europe
Travel Bites 911: Warsaw, Poland’s Leading City
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Destroyed in World War II and rebuilt since.
Destroyed in World War II and rebuilt since, today Warsaw balances its sobering Holocaust and Nazi history with the music of Chopin, jelly donuts, and an endearing post-industrial vibrancy.
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Distributed nationally by American Public Television
Rick Steves' Europe
Travel Bites 911: Warsaw, Poland’s Leading City
Clip | 9m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
Destroyed in World War II and rebuilt since, today Warsaw balances its sobering Holocaust and Nazi history with the music of Chopin, jelly donuts, and an endearing post-industrial vibrancy.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[music playing] Warsaw is an energetic metropolis, offering a fascinating foray into urban Poland.
It comes with both a hard fought history and a modern vibrancy.
Today, Warsaw, pronounced "Varshaba" here, is Poland's biggest city, with close to 2 million people.
It's muscular and sprawling-- broad boulevards, imposing buildings, and glittering glass office towers.
Today's Warsaw is a thriving European center of business, banking, and politics, with a cosmopolitan energy.
Warsaw's glory days peaked between the world wars, when it was one of Europe's most genteel capitals.
That spirit survives along its rebuilt main drag, the sweeping Royal Way, with its elegant facades and its popularity with local strollers.
Just being out and about, you feel the youthful confidence of this society.
Stately hotels and government buildings-- this is the president's residence-- add to the Royal Ray's grandeur.
The Blikle Bakery is every Pole's favorite for paczki, jelly donuts.
When locals here go out for donuts, they go out for paczki.
My favorite's the classic.
It's filled with wild rose jam.
But it's not all jelly donuts.
Vast squares with memorials remind all of Poland's hard fought history.
Here, the eternal flame honors war dead, with numbers almost incomprehensible.
As the city was totally destroyed by Nazis in World War II, nearly everything you'll see-- palaces, churches, and fountains-- was painstakingly rebuilt from the rubble of 1945.
I keep having to remind myself that in this city, hardly a building standing is over 80 years old.
Consequently, Warsaw is an architectural jumble-- rebuilt, both old and new.
Warsaw's meticulously rebuilt old town is dominated by its meticulously rebuilt royal castle.
The castle, a symbol of Polish sovereignty now for over 400 years, boasts some of this country's most lavish halls, gilded and glittering with chandeliers.
The palace reflects how Poland was independent and strong for centuries, starting in the Middle Ages.
When the homegrown dynasty died out, Poland's nobility elected foreign kings at gatherings like this.
Many of those imported rulers squandered Poland's resources on their own selfish agendas.
They weakened the country until it actually ceased to exist in 1795.
For over 100 years, Poland disappeared from the map, partitioned by three empires-- Prussia, Austria, and Russia.
But the Poles succeeded in preserving their culture until their country was reborn in 1918, after World War I. Today, back out on the streets, the atmospheric old town entertains the tourists.
Here, the 21st century seems to rule these cobbled lanes.
In the center of the beautifully constructed market square is a popular sculpture.
The Mermaid, a symbol of Warsaw, serenades the townspeople, still welcoming friends while keeping out foes.
To me, this fountain, always energetic with kids playing, feels like a celebration of life.
Polish life.
[piano music] And Polish life comes with music, especially the genius of favorite son Frederic Chopin.
On summer Sundays, Chopin concerts pack the park.
It's an expression of this city's pride in its culture and its enduring appetite for community.
[piano music] Poland's great romantic composer sits under a willow tree.
Though he lived and worked mostly in Paris, locals cherish the thought that Chopin's inspiration came from memories of the breeze blowing through the willow trees of his native land, Poland.
[piano music] Warsaw museums work hard to explain its complicated history, and much of Poland's story is a Jewish story.
The Museum of the History of Polish Jews celebrates 1,000 years of Jews living in Poland.
A winding route traces their experience.
With the relative tolerance of medieval kings, Jews became established in Polish society, but because they still suffered through pogroms and other persecution, few actual artifacts survive.
Many Jews lived in market towns called shtetls, with richly decorated wooden synagogues.
Above the traditional elevated prayer platform is a colorful ceiling, a humble canopy rich with symbolism.
When Poland regained its independence after World War I, Jewish culture blossomed, especially in the 1920s, when for the first time Jews had full citizenship and voting rights.
And Warsaw was the biggest Jewish city in Europe.
Tragically, this flourishing of Jewish culture was crushed when fascist Germany invaded in 1939.
Jews were then corralled into a miserable ghetto, subjected to unlivable conditions, before being shipped off to Nazi death camps and killed.
A monument captures the desperation of the ghetto's last days.
Realizing they were all doomed anyway, the haggard and hungry who remained staged a desperate uprising.
Nearly all were killed.
This was just one city's experience in a Europe-wide Holocaust.
In this attempted genocide, Hitler tried to rid the world of Jewish people.
Of the 6 million he killed, half died here in Poland.
With its Jewish population decimated.
Warsaw's next chapter was a second valiant, but doomed, uprising.
This time, by the non-Jewish Poles who remained.
Under Nazi occupation, Poles had formed the biggest underground Resistance Army in history.
Late in the war, as the Nazis began to falter and the Soviets advanced, Poland's home army mobilized to liberate the country.
But the Nazis regrouped and brutally put down the Warsaw uprising.
Hitler then ordered that Warsaw be destroyed to its foundations.
The Soviet army sat here, across the river, and watched and waited.
Finally, when the Germans were gone, the Russians marched in to claim the wasteland that was once Warsaw, kicking off over four decades of Communist rule.
Like a phoenix, the city has risen from the ashes.
And today, Warsaw is filled with a happy and youthful populace that has no living memory of those hard times.
Today's Warsaw is hip and trendy.
Hulking old buildings, no longer fascist or Communist, are filled with a rainbow of global food choices.
Post-industrial architecture is all the rage.
Old red brick factories and power plants have been transformed into convivial hubs for dining, drinking, and shopping.
For more information, visit RickSteves.com.
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Clip | 3m 59s | Join Romans for the beloved evening passeggiata. (3m 59s)
NewTravel Bites 970: Jewish Rome and Monti
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Clip | 5m 6s | Rome’s ancient Jewish community shares its extraordinary story of endurance and resilience. (5m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 969: Rome's Colorful Trastevere Neighborhood
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Clip | 4m 23s | Across the river, Trastevere invites travelers into intimate lanes. (4m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 967: St. Peter’s and Vatican City
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NewTravel Bites 966: Borghese Gallery’s Baroque Masters
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Clip | 3m 2s | Rome’s fabulously wealthy patrons transformed collecting and commissioning art into dazzling display (3m 2s)
NewTravel Bites 965: Art in Rome’s Churches
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Clip | 2m 45s | Step into Rome’s often unassuming churches to discover masterpieces in their original settings. (2m 45s)
NewTravel Bites 964: Rome’s Back Street Riches and Piazzas
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Clip | 4m 4s | Rome’s public spaces transform an ordinary morning stroll into a memorable sightseeing adventure. (4m 4s)
NewTravel Bites 963: Testaccio: A Roman Food Tour
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NewTravel Bites 962: Catacombs and Early Christianity
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Clip | 5m 29s | A bike ride along the ancient Appian Way leads underground into Rome’s catacombs. (5m 29s)
NewTravel Bites 961: Pantheon: Rome’s Perfect Temple
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Clip | 1m 33s | The best-preserved temple of ancient Rome showcases engineering genius. (1m 33s)
NewTravel Bites 960: Imperial Rome in Art
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Clip | 3m 18s | Trajan’s Forum, the Circus Maximus, and Rome’s National Museum reveal the empire at its peak. (3m 18s)
NewTravel Bites 959: Colosseum and Caracalla Baths
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Clip | 3m 28s | Rome’s colossal engineering comes alive at the iconic Colosseum. (3m 28s)
NewTravel Bites 958: Eating Like a Roman
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Clip | 2m 23s | A convivial Roman meal celebrates seasonal ingredients and regional specialties. (2m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 957: Capitoline Hill’s Ancient Treasures
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Clip | 3m | Rome’s historic Capitoline Hill brings ancient Rome vividly to life. (3m)
NewTravel Bites 956: Its Birth Story
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Clip | 4m 4s | Tracing the story of Rome in a nutshell. (4m 4s)
NewTravel Bites 955: Paris: A floodlit tour
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Clip | 2m 10s | The fabled “City of Light” is also the city of flood light. (2m 10s)
NewTravel Bites 954: Paris’ Other Great Museums
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Clip | 5m 35s | After Versailles, the Louvre, and the Orsay, Paris’ less famous museums are also worth a visit. (5m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 953: Versailles, Europe’s Palace of Palaces
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Clip | 3m 40s | This ultimate royal palace is Louis XIV’s lavish explosion of baroque bling. (3m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 952: The Orsay Gallery
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Clip | 3m 8s | The paintings of the Orsay take you from 1848 to 1914. (3m 8s)
NewTravel Bites 951: Paris's Louvre Museum
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Clip | 5m 38s | The Louvre—with masterpieces from Ancient Greek to Renaissance and Romantic—is a must to visit. (5m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 950: Paris: Boulevards, Les Invalides, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees
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Clip | 5m 38s | Grand boulevards like the Champs-Élysées connect great sights with edible memories. (5m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 949: Paris: Haussmann buildings and grand boulevards
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Clip | 1m 37s | The elegance of Paris is no accident. Broad boulevards, grand monuments, people-friendly greenbelts. (1m 37s)
NewTravel Bites 948: Eating French Cliches at a Parisian Bistro
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Clip | 3m 55s | Grab a seat for lunch to enjoy a kir, French onion soup, escargot, croque madam, steak tartare. (3m 55s)
NewTravel Bites 947: Paris’ Marais neighborhood
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Clip | 4m 6s | The Marais is a hub of Parisian history and culture—with its Jewish Quarter, and Bastille prison,. (4m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 946: Shopping for Dinner on Paris’ Rue Cler
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Clip | 4m 6s | Paris’ most inviting market street is Rue Cler. (4m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 945: Two Grand Parisian Churches: Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle
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Clip | 2m 28s | Paris’ two most popular churches are the beloved Notre-Dame and the exquisite Sainte-Chapelle. (2m 28s)
NewTravel Bites 944: The Eiffel Tower
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Clip | 2m 15s | Paris’ Eiffel Tower, a muscular symbol of France’s Industrial Age, has been entertaining since 1889. (2m 15s)
NewTravel Bites 943: Paris’ River Seine
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Clip | 4m 35s | The Seine River defines Paris’ Right and Left Bank. (4m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 942: The Regeneration of London’s Industrial Heritage
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Clip | 6m 23s | London’s once abandoned industrial corners have morphed into popular people and culture zones. (6m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 941: The British Library
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Clip | 2m | London hosts the national archive with 12 million books and one Treasures Room. (2m)
NewTravel Bites 940: A Proper Afternoon Tea
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Clip | 2m 6s | Afternoon tea is a great British tradition and London does it with style. (2m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 939: London’s East End Food Tour
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Clip | 4m 40s | London’s happening East End survives and thrives just beyond a tsunami of skyscrapers. (4m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 938: London’s Victoria and Albert Museum
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Clip | 4m 34s | “Albertopolis” is the corner of London built by and celebrating the vision of Prince Albert. (4m 34s)
NewTravel Bites 937: The Tower of London
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Clip | 2m | The Tower of London entertains and inspires. (2m)
NewTravel Bites 936: St Paul's Cathedral, London’s Pride
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Clip | 2m 37s | St. Paul’s Cathedral is architect Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, the greatest dome in Britain. (2m 37s)
NewTravel Bites 935: The City of London
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Clip | 3m 34s | London’s historic core is called “The City.” (3m 34s)
NewTravel Bites 934: Britain’s National Portrait Gallery
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Clip | 2m 35s | The National Portrait Gallery is the perfect place. (2m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 933: London’s Westminster and Whitehall, Home of Britain’s Government
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Clip | 8m 40s | The core of royal London. (8m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 932: Istanbul's Grand Main Drag, Istiklal Caddesi
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Clip | 4m 38s | The best way to feel the pulse of urban Istanbul is to explore its teeming main boulevard. (4m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 931: Whirling Dervishes
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Clip | 2m 24s | Mystic Sufi monks whirl themselves into a meditative trance as they embrace the poet Rumi’s wisdom. (2m 24s)
NewTravel Bites 930: Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar
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Clip | 3m 27s | Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar remains enchanting, perplexing visitors with its maze-like network of lanes. (3m 27s)
NewTravel Bites 929: Istanbul, the Great Port on the Bosphorus
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Clip | 5m 53s | Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe and Asia. (5m 53s)
NewTravel Bites 928: Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace
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NewTravel Bites 927: Hagia Sophia, the Great Church of Constantinople
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NewTravel Bites 926: Islamic Art, Ramadan, and the Blue
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Clip | 4m 57s | Istanbul offers a chance to better understand Islam. (4m 57s)
NewTravel Bites 925: A Turkish Bath in Ottoman Splendor
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NewTravel Bites 924: Istanbul when it was Constantinople
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NewTravel Bites 923: A Leisurely Day on a Burgundian Canal
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Clip | 3m 3s | France’s famed Côte d’Or, or “Golden Slopes,” is all about fine wine. (3m 3s)
NewTravel Bites 921: Barging: A Barge Cruise in Burgundy
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