So...Warsaw. Interesting place. It's kind of got that bombed-to-hell-during-WWII-and-rebuilt-by-the-communists-so-everything-looks-like-a-housing-project feel to it (although with apologies to mom, it's nowhere near as bad as Vilnius, Lithuania--although I liked the Old Town in Vilnius better). And there is something vaguely menacing about people coming up and speaking Polish (which sounds a little like Russian, which of course by its very nature is menacing)--do they want money? Directions? A cigarette? Advice? A friendly shoulder to cry on? Still, for reasons I can't quite describe, I kind of liked it. Maybe it's the way they've rebuilt after the devastation of the war and the communist era--the city seems to have a certain energy to it. Maybe it's because the people were pretty friendly, at least the ones who weren't menacing. Maybe it's because I was only there for two days. I wouldn't exactly plan a family vacation there, but I also wouldn't turn down another invitation to go.