Brendan Doms

Warsaw is the best example of a true metropolis I've encountered on this trip: the skyline was taller, the roads wider, and - understandably - most things had a style that belongs in the last half century. It almost felt like an American city. Cars dominated quickly moving freeways, and it was hard to walk around some parts of town due to lack of public transportation access or good pedestrian thoroughfares.

Not everything was new though. We spent one of our first nights in the aptly named historic district of Old Town, which was more pedestrian friendly, and also much more touristy than other areas. There were large crowds, lots of outdoor seating, and several street performers throughout the area.

Crowds in Warsaw's Old Town.

Of course, Warsaw is huge geographically, so there are a many different parts of town. We probably took more taxis to and fro in Warsaw than anywhere else. The positive side effect to this large size is that Warsaw is home to some gigantic city parks as a result. We had dinner in a park at a place called Pub Lolek, where they cook meat and potatoes outside on a charcoal grill. Again, it seemed like something I was more likely to find in the US than in Europe.

The parks also boast statues to famous figures that the Polish people adore. Some subjects made sense, like the famous Polish-born Romantic composer Frédéric Chopin.

A statue of Chopin in the Warsaw Łazienki Park.

But some utterly surprised me. Like the multiple statues of Ronald Reagan that we encountered. The first time I saw one it left me flabbergasted. Why would you have a statue to someone who isn't even from your country?

The answer is maybe obvious in a historical context: the Polish people see Reagan as the driving force behind The Wall falling down and therefore Poland eventually regaining its independence. However, I find this ironic, as Poland is sometimes referred to as the country "the West forgot." It was pretty much abandoned at the end of World War II to the Soviets without a fight. And when The Wall finally did fall, Poland did not fully break free of communism until 1997 - that's two Presidents after Reagan. That means that despite being the first country to be invaded in 1939, Poland was the last to regain its independence. By comparison, France was invaded in 1940, but was under its own control again by 1946.

But enough of history. In modern times, we had a wedding to attend!

We met up with some of the wedding party (bride and groom included) as well as the other international travelers the night before. This was a great opportunity to see the young, hip part of town where people would go out. Bars and restaurants featuring beer and cocktails ran the entire length of several blocks.

The wedding itself was held in a small church outside of town. It was a traditional Catholic service. And although I've been to several of those in the US I can't remember the prayers ever being sung before. It reminded me very much of the Muslim prayers when I was in Egypt.

The reception was held even farther out into the suburbs at a place called Warszawianka Hotel Wellness & Spa. This was a fully-equipped family-oriented resort. Indoor water park. Its own campus with playgrounds. Boat rental.

We danced and dined the night away in the yacht club. The biggest shocks for my first Polish wedding were probably two fold: the random singing of some song called "Sto lat," which means "one hundred years," and the fact that shot glosses were included with every place setting and bottles of vodka were at every table, to be refilled by wait staff the instant they ran low.

The yacht club where the wedding reception was held.

There were some genuinely good ideas for any wedding, particularly the photo booth with props and the nearby scrapbook where the photos were pasted in immediately after being taken. And there was a great atmosphere of just having fun and celebrating, the seriousness having been consumed in its entirety at the ceremony. We took full advantage. It wasn't until the sun was threatening to rise that we retreated outside into a rain we hadn't noticed was there.