Half twelve in the Rynek Starego Miasta .... thinking about history ... and talking about Polish food

Now it was just past midday and after a morning in Warsaw’s old town we were hungry.

In the square, 2026

And as you do, we wandered into the Market Square which was laid out at the beginning of the 14th century at the start of the city’s story.

Since then, it has experienced heaps of history. At one time it was the capital of a superstate which as the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Helping the tourists, 2026

But those glory days were marred by Poland’s partition in the 18th century at the hands of Prussia, Russia and Austria, the moment of freedom while the brief period of independence after the Great War was ended by the dark days of the Nazi occupation, and Soviet dominance.  During that Nazi occupation the Market Square was pretty much destroyed in the Uprising.

Today the square is a bustling place full of locals and tourists and because everyone needs to eat a selection of restaurants occupy part the open space.

There wasn’t much to choose between any of them, so we joined the queue which looked to be the shortest and it turned out to be ok.  

Like its rivals the menu was heavily orientated to fish and meat, which came in enormous portions of which schnitzel seemed the most popular choice.

I feared as one of the veggies in the group I would be at a disadvantage but there was pierogi which is a traditional Polish dish of dumplings which were filled with cheese, and mushrooms and topped with sour cream. They came with a salad of shredded carrot, cabbage and beetroot.

 Schnitzel in the square 2026 

And were the choice of our neighbour who interestingly started their meal with a platter of cheess and fruit.

The conversation drifted from that starter to the different pierogi I had already encountered and settled on schnitzel which as everyone knows is a thin slice of meat which is breaded and then fried.  My Wikipedia tells me that “it is popular in many countries and is made by using veal, pork chicken, mutton, beef or turkey”.*

And here the discussion took a turn because a few years ago our Saul found some very large mushrooms in the forest and Julia never one to waste food transformed into a meatless Schnitzel.

Giant mushroom, 2025

Mushroom Schnitzel, 2025

Alas I was not there to share the cooking of the wild mushrooms, but I wish I had.  But there will always be another time.

Location; Rynek Starego Miasta, Warsaw

Lunctime in the Square, 2026

Pictures, of the Market Square, the restaurant and the customers, 2026, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and that mushroom and Schnitzel, 2025, Julia ICE Czajkowska

* Schnitzel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnitzel

Electronica Powiśle …… stories of past glories …… and a solution to the question what to do with that power station?

 It’s an interesting question and makes for a lively debate about what we do with old and redundant buildings.

Industrial relic, 2026

Of course, in the past and sometimes even now the simple answer is to knock’em down and start again.

Old and new Whitworth Street, 1979

The Victorians, and Edwardians no less than their 18th century predecessors had no compulsion but to demolish the old in favour of the new.

And arriving in Manchester in the late 1960s I watched as the same policy was carried through with furious abandon, from stately office blocks, and grand warehouses to heaps of terraced properties.  

What Mr. Hitler didn’t do, a collection of speculators, investors and city planners did, culminating with the Arndale Centre and the destruction of that warren of little streets, dark alleys and closed courts, with more than a few surprises . 

It was an event that the Manchester novelist Harold Jacobson described as the elimination of an “expanse of eight city blocks, a wealth of secret alleyways, and the associations of all our lifetimes". *

Now it is easy to be sentimental about the loss of some of these buildings which were long past their sell by date but others with a bit of imagination, money and taste can be saved and given a new purpose and lease of life.  

It might be a conversion into apartments or a public venue like Tate Modern in a former London power station, or the use of the old Pump House at Spinneyfields, to house The People’s History Museum or the stunning theatre in the Royal Exchange.

The past and present, looking towards London Road, 1979

All of which brings me to the rejuvenated Electronica Powiśle in Warsaw. The clue is in the name and its original use as a power station.

As its site says, here is “a unique space where history and modernity meet in one place. Choose what you truly enjoy – enter a world of exceptional brands, be surprised by the original flavors of our restaurants, or relax in one of our Day Spa & Wellness salons”. **

The history is pretty straightforward and began in 1904 with the construction of the power plant, “which was expanded in subsequent years, becoming one of the largest and most modern power plants in Poland”. ***

During the wartime occupation it “became the backdrop for the dramatic events of the Warsaw Uprising. [where] members of the resistance movement, primarily plant employees, worked tirelessly to maintain the city's power supply”.**

Industrial legacy, 2026

It closed in 2001 and its second coming started in 2016 when plans were developed to repurpose it into a Food Hall and retail venue.

Our Saul and Julia were keen to introduce us to the place and like other outlets in the city it was clean, interesting and busy.  And as they say the quality can be judged not by the tourist trade like us, but the number of local residents who dropped in for a meal. 

Later in the week we visited the amazing vegan Peaches restaurant in the Old Town but on that Friday we were out looking for a bit of fun and novelty and Electronica Powiśle supplied it.

Eating at Electronica Powiśle, 2026

And knowing we were getting some traditional Polish food later in the evening I went for a selection of Greek inspired food and given the sheer variety of what was on offer others in the group settled for everything from noodles, chips, and burgers to fish balls and rice.

But the real attraction for me were the left-over bits of industrial hardware which had been restored and gave a sense of what had once been here.

They are randomly distributed and offer a reminder to a building with history which has been saved.

Location; Elektrownia Powiśle, Dobra 42, 00-312, Warsaw

Pictures; Electronica Powiśle, Warsaw, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Jacobson, Harold, My Manchester, The Independent, December 30th, 1999

** Electronica Powiśle, https://elektrowniapowisle.com/en/

*** Electronica Powiśle, History, https://elektrowniapowisle.com/o-elektrowni/

Trams across Warsaw

I like trams.  

And that affection stretches from the old tall and stately looking Corporation trams which for over half a century trundled across our towns and cities to their modern sleek counterparts.

Here in Britain, we did away with trams and instead embraced the motor-driven bus and that hybrid which was the trolley bus.

But many European cities and towns retained their trams and while the ravages of the last world war destroyed the cars and the rail network when peace returned the authorities turned back to them.  

In some cases, investment was slow but today they are an essential part of the transport scene.

All of which is a lead in to my visit to Warsaw and my opportunity to explore its fleet of red and yellow trams.

My Wikipedia tells me that "The Warsaw tram network is a 146.2-kilometer (90.8 mi) tram system serving a third of Warsaw, Poland, and serving half the city's population. 

It operates with 726 cars and is the second-largest system in the country. 

There are about 25 regular lines, forming a part of the city's integrated public transport system organized by the Warsaw Transport Authority. 

Since 1994, the system has been operated by the municipally owned company Tramwaje Warszawskie sp. z.o.o.*

Now I can well believe that there 726 cars travelling the 25 lines, because where ever we were in the city we encountered them with our Josh happily opting to use them in preference to taxis.

That said he did take the occasional bus but preferred the trams.

At which point I could write about the history of the service which began in 1866, and which had its ups and downs, with low investment, it’s almost total destruction during the war, and the ill advised post war policy of relying on oil from the Soviet Union to power a fleet of buses so that Polish coal could be exported for hard currency and not used to generate electricity.

Even after the collapse of communism, investment was slow and it was not till 2005 that real money was spent to purchase new rolling stock and modernize the system.

Happily, today the trams whiz across the city.

Location; Warsaw

Pictures; Warsaw trams, 2026, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Trams in Warsaw, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Warsaw

Postcard from Warsaw

Now, sometimes you just get lost in a story.

It seemed easy enough, or so I thought.  

The German on the picture postcard would be easy to translate.

But not so.  

The translation, if I have got it correct reads “Germans innocent in World War”.  The message on the back is undecipherable but I guess will not shed much light on the words on the front.

The post card was sent in the June of 1916 from Warsaw which had been occupied by the German army since the August of the previous year.

And would remain in German hands until November 1918.

I suppose we a dealing with a piece of propaganda but whether this was the message that was intended by the person who sent it is now lost.  

It may be that they were attracted by the lilies which according to one source “portray love, ardor, and affection for your loved ones”.*  An idea reinforced by the words above the portrait of the you women which reads, “Flower language: Lilies”.

Until I can work out the message on the back I am left with  the post marks, one of which appears to be a military one, referring to "Landstr Juf Batl. Burg IV 85", and the other carries the location “Warschau” with the date June 28th, 1916.

There is one last clue and that is the name of the picture postcard company who are listed on the back as R&K, and that this one was 2654/1.  But I fear trying to find information on a German/Polish company a century and bit after the event will lead nowhere.

Location; Warsaw

Pictures; message from Warsaw 1916, from the collection of David Harrop

*Lilies, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium#Symbolism

The picture ….. the school …… and a forest

So, when two of your kids own and run a school in a forest outside Warsaw, there are always pictures.

“Pines is a British Forest School based on the Scandinavian all weather school model and pioneered by British OCN trained Forest School practitioners. 

Our ethos is bred from the belief that risk taking and independent led learning are necessary to successfully support the development of young people. 

Our core principle places community at the centre of everything we do. 

We focus on the relationship between our learners and the natural world whilst promoting holistic learning. 

This approach guides our learners toward becoming knowledgeable, creative, intelligent, independent, confident, resilient and compassionate individuals who care for the world around them.

Pines offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to themselves and the environment, safely at our inclusive Forest site. 

We use a range of learner centred processes to create a base for development and learning. 

We spend 100% of our time outside, working closely with individuals across a range of abilities and age groups, creating a community that cares for environment as well as each other.”.*

Location;  Gmina Żabia Wola, Poland  

Picture; Fire, 2023, courtesy of Pines Forest School

*Pines Forest School, https://www.pinesforestschool.pl/

**Pines Forest School, https://www.facebook.com/pinesforestschool/

The Warsaw Ghetto: History as Survival ....part 1...Oyneg Shabes ... one to listen to

Yesterday, today and all week.

"The extraordinary archive that secretly recorded daily Jewish existence in the Warsaw Ghetto – brought to life 80 years on from the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

Umschlagplatz Memorial on Stawki Street, Warsaw, 2006

Through the Warsaw Ghetto's short, terrible life, historian Emanuel Ringelblum led a group of writers to secretly chronicle life for its inhabitants. 

The project became history as survival. Anton Lesser narrates this new 10 part series. Episode 1-Oyneg Shabes. How the archive began. With Elliot Levey as Emanuel Ringeblum.

In the middle of Europe, in the middle of the 20th Century, a half million Jewish men, women & children were herded into a prison city within a city. Walled off & surrounded by the German occupiers. 

How do you tell the world about your life and fate? Historian and activist Emanuel Ringelblum devised & directed a clandestine archive- codename Oyneg Shabes (Joy of the Sabbath) chronicling every aspect of existence. 

He recruited over 60 'zamlers' or gatherers to write, collect & compile thousands of pages-diaries, essays, poems, photographs, statistical studies, art, ephemera -a historical treasure that was buried even as the Ghetto was being extinguished so that the world might read and understand. Listen to their stories

Episode 1-Oyneg Shabes. In 1943, with most of the ghetto's inhabitants already murdered historian, Emanuel Ringelblum looked back on the history of the history.

And Markers in remembrance of where the Warsaw Ghetto wall used to stand 2018

Narration by Anton Lesser with Elliot Levey. Featuring the voices of Lily Fair, Leah Marks, Alfred Molina, Andy Nyman, Carl Prekopp & Tracy-Ann Oberman Translation by Elinor Robinson. Historical adviser Samuel Kassow. Written & produced by Mark Burman.

For more information on the Oyneg Shabes/Ringeblum archive go to the website of the Jewish Historical Institute,  https://cbj.jhi.pl/ *

Pictures; Umschlagplatz Memorial on Stawki Street, Warsaw, Cezary Piwowarski, I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: GNU head Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License. 

And Markers in remembrance of where the Warsaw Ghetto wall used to stand in German-occupied Poland, 2018, Samotny Wędrowiec, I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: w:en:Creative Commons attribution share alike. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

*The Warsaw Ghetto: History as Survival ....part 1...Oyneg Shabes, BBC Radio 4  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001l94l

Snow ….. more snow ….. and rain pretending to be snow ….four pictures …. four places

So, even the blog can be both topical and silly.

Real snow, in the forests outside Warsaw March 9th, 7.53 am 

Now, if the snow were falling out of a Manchester sky in lumps there would be plenty of pictures, but so far it isn’t.

Driving through snow, Leicester, March 9th 8.15 am

On the other hand outside Warsaw, it is coming in heaps, on the way out of Leicester it is respectable, in Knighton there's enough for snow balls,  while in Chorlton it’s just rain pretending to be snow.

Rain pretending to be snow, Beech Road, March 9th, 8.30 am

Location; Warsaw, Leicester and Chorlton

Snow balls before school, Knighton, March 9th, 7.25 am

Pictures; in the forest outside Warsaw, at 7.53 am, Leicester at 8.15 am, and Beech Road at 8.30 from the collections of the Simpson’s and Child's

One family …………. three locations

Berries in Chorlton, snow in Warsaw and sunshine in Salford.

So, Chorlton at midday, Warsaw, at 8.48 am and Salford 2 minutes later.

Location; Chorlton, Warsaw, Poland

Pictures; Berries in Chorlton, snow in Warsaw and sunshine in Salford 2022, from the collections of Andrew, Saul and Ben Simpson

When the lad from Chorlton made a Neapolitan Margaretta in a Polish pizza oven

We often joke that our Saul learned how to make pizza in one of those small Neapolitan pizzeria’s  you come across down a side street off a busy main road.

They are the places only  frequented by a loyal local clientele and a few tourists in the know.

We have eaten at more than a few over the years and have never been disappointed.

All of which takes me back to Saul’s pizzas which stand equal to many of those we have had, and despite my best efforts mine have never come close to his.

We were talking just the other day and out of that conversation came the news that he had bought a pizza oven.

Now, Saul lives in an apartment in the heart of Warsaw, and there is no way that even a small wood burning pizza oven would fit or pass a safety check from the local municipal authorities.

So, instead he bought an electric four-minute oven which judging by the results looks pretty neat.

Eric from Swansea will no doubt tut, but we can’t all have the luxury of a purpose-built pizza oven and a ready supply of wood.

Leaving me just to reflect on the internationalism of food which some Brexiteers would rather deny.

For here is our Saul who was born in Chorlton making pizza in a Polish pizza oven admired by the Italian side of the family who were from Naples.

Location; Warsaw

Pictures; the magic pizza oven and the pizzas, 2021, from the collection of Saul Simpson

Pictures from a backroom, on a moment of self-isolation ..... the view from Warsaw ...a Christmas tree, a balcony and nobody in sight

Now, our Saul lives and works in Poland, but the plans to go over and visit him have taken a bit of a back seat.

Warsaw is a very cosmopolitan city and along with the plans to visit the sites and take in some excellent vegetarian restaurants, there was the promise of going into the forest to sample the forest skills he teaches through his business.*

But like the rest of us, all is very quiet and with not a lot to do, but catch up on reading, and box sets, he took up the challenge to take a series of pictures from his balcony.

So, here is Warsaw, on a sunny Monday.

And yes they keep their Christmas tree on the balcony .......... after all, where would you decide to park it during the year?

Location; Warsaw

Pictures; view from a Warsaw balcony

*Pines Forest School, https://www.facebook.com/pinesforestschool/

In Warsaw on Saturday November 11 .....

We are on a street in Warsaw on what turned out to be a cold day on November 11 which in Poland is Independence Day.

Up there at the top of the picture is that pink smoke, and like all good pictures there is a story.

And the story I discover later is that the Far Right were on the march.  Over the years they have stolen the day and use it to highlight their nationalist views.*

Not good.

Location Warsaw




















*‘White Europe’: 60,000 nationalists march on Poland’s independence day,  Matthew Taylor, the guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/white-europe-60000-nationalists-march-on-polands-independence-day