Warsaw – who knew?!

I spent much of this past week in Warsaw, Poland for another business trip.  What a surprisingly cool city…..in some ways similar to Kyiv – but in more ways than not, different…..let’s compare:

Warsaw is like Kyiv because…….

EURO CUP FEVER: Poland & Ukraine are co-hosting the Euro Cup this spring.  Within Europe, this even feels like the Olympics….there is serious excitement about this & of course loads of licensed merchandise...

Both cities have also expanded their old stadiums to modernize and add bodies.  Warsaw’s was pretty cool looking…

...the red & white is meant to represent their national flag

Additionally, both are constructing roads / buildings day & night to get ready…..

OLD & NEW: Both cities have elements of old world charm, mixed with some more modern stuff.  That said, I was super excited about this example from Warsaw…

 This building looked just like the Wrigley Building in Chicago to me.  Either that or I’ve been away too long & am getting nostalgic

VALUE MINDED: A few of the Polish people I worked with told me about the days of communist rule…..of going to the store to only find vinegar & canned peas on the shelves - and trading ration coupon with neighbors & friends (e.g. I have enough petrol, but not enough meat this week – you?).  This helped explain why our Polish nanny in Chicago used to rinse out & re-use Zip-Lock baggies (as does our sitter here). 

This ‘value focus’ was visible with the 'low overhead' retailers....

As well as in the grocery store….no wasted boxes in the cereal aisle….

...and I suspect they rinse these out and use them for something else after at home!  Makes me feel a bit like a boob for a pantry full of lord knows what & thinking ‘we have nothing to make for dinner’!

RANDOM NON-PC: One of the last things you would describe Kyiv as is 'politically correct' - the abundance of fur coats is enough for any PETA member to cringe.  And it appears that Warsaw has the same appreciation for animals.....a display case in the airport....a full tiger skin, why not?!

And a nice polar bear.....

...there were many more - alligators, a brown bear, some turtles, and the most surprising...an elephant foot...(aren't any of these protected?!)

But from there, the 2 cities seriously diverge……if I had to sum it up, Warsaw ‘has its shit far more together’.  What does that look like?

MORE MULTINATIONAL RETAILERS:  So while Quincy would have been super excited to see this US born franchise…..

I was FAR more excited to see this non-US based one….

…BUT, I was totally denied.  The store was closed for what appeared to be a private event with some sort of red carpet coming out the door.  While my Polish is 0, it was clear they were not going to let me in despite my look of desperate longing.

So I continued on to another US based chain…..while I don’t really like this store anymore at home (way too much work), I thought it might be different in Poland.

But no –even despite the 1 letter difference in the name, it's still the same store - just as chaotic and hard to shop…..

ORDERLY INFRASTRUCTURE: The roads were very nice – smooth & new looking…..

Not only that, but the cars seemed parked exclusively in clearly marked Parking spots! 

OMG - it's even a handicap spot!  None of those in Kyiv.

And people appeared to actually follow the rules of the road - totally novel. 

When I told my cab driver I was surprised how rich Warsaw looked, he explained it was because it was not part of the Euro (thus still relatively cheap) so attracts a fair amount of International investment.

While the not being part of the Euro is true for Ukraine too, I think many multi-nationals walk away due to the grey rules and corruption (despite Poland having ~80% of Ukraine's population, it brought in ~4x the international investment - almost $200B vs ~$50B for Ukraine)  

Damn I wish Ukraine would behave so we could get H&M too!

LESS BARBIE LIKE LADIES:  A very noticeable difference was with the outfits on the women.  Now that I’ve become accustomed to night club attire round the clock, I was shocked to see a woman in A SKI COAT!!!!  

Gasp – you never see people going out like this in Kyiv.  And I saw far more flat shoes than heels.  While the men might be a little disappointed with the decrease in eye candy, I’ll take it as a sign of progress.

A HEALTHY EVOLUTION: I was pretty surprised to see a jogger running down a main city street (jogging is reserved for parks or the gym in Kyiv)….

...and again taken aback by the number of bikers.  I saw at least a dozen in 3 days - including bike messengers!

...but even more shocked to see a Salad restaurant!  Green as an entrée is a totally foreign concept here.

Net, net, Warsaw was a pretty cool city – lots of restaurants & shops, modern & neat old town etc.  I’d definitely go back for a social visit….

Here’s to Poland & hoping Ukraine can follow in its neighbor’s footsteps to being square enough to be attractive to the outside world!

Happy Friday