Warsaw, Poland

Every two years Nancy's department at work gets everyone together from all corners of the globe for a week-long meeting. This year it was held in Warsaw. There were lots of meetings, speakers, dinners and team building, but the last evening out we were treated to a bus tour of Warsaw to learn a little bit about the sites and history of the city. Warsaw's population is 2 million and is considered the largest polish city - interestly, Chicago is the next largest polish city with 1.6 million Poles. It was home to two very famous people: Frederic Chopin and Madam Curie. Warsaw was 85% destroyed during WWII and much of it is now built up in three different styles: social realism, modernism and neo-gothic. You can easily point out which buildings were built under communist rule, which were 'recreated' from former times and which ones are new - 25% of the city is green space and parks. The main square downtown is the only reconstructed area in the world designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Poland also boasts the second oldest constitution signed May 3, 1791 (the U.S. has the oldest constitution). We were able to visit several WWII monuments and the former location of the Warsaw ghetto (which is now a park). They also talked to us about Esperanto - a constructed language. It was a great pleasure to visit such an interesting city - many people suggested that Krakow is even better and worth a visit. I almost forgot the two most traditional things from Poland: pierogi and grass vodka! See the pictures here.