I am in Warsaw, Poland this weekend for international school meetings.I flew overnight directly from Tashkent to Warsaw via LOT Polish Airlines. I slept OK during the six-and-a-half-hour flight and it was convenient not to have to transfer planes in Istanbul. It is a sign of the developing economy of Uzbekistan with more flights opening out of Islam Karimov International Airport.
My room was not ready when I arrived early Thursday morning so I went for a long walk down to and along the Vistula River. The Vistula is the longest river in Poland (1,047 kilometers) and originates in the mountains of the border region with the Czech Republic and Slovakia and flows through Krakow and Warsaw. It is one of Poland’s national symbols “Country upon Vistula” (Polish: kraj nad Wisłą) and would be somewhat similar to the Mississippi River in the USA or the Magdalena River in Colombia. It flows north and empties into the Baltic Sea between Gdansk and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. I remember the last time I was on the Vistula, ten years ago in Krakow. Ollie and Ocean were angels!
We always eat well during these meetings! Warsaw has great restaurants We ate last night at the Pod Gigantami. The Polish cuisine was delicious and I noticed an interesting looking maître d’ who turned out to be a popular television host and journalist, Piotr Kędzierski. After dinner we went for a drink at two bars close by and enjoyed a bit of dancing and camaraderie. Warsaw has a good vibe to the city! People were friendly and interesting.
I have mostly been working for the first two days and am looking forward to seeing more of the city today on a tour organized by the American School of Warsaw.
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