The other side of Warsaw: Praga South
Discussion with a friend, focused on real estate opportunities, inspired me to discover the city on the other side of the river, the city which, during my six years of living in Warsaw, I hardly ever visited. So, I went on a discovery mission.
Across the river there are two districts called Praga, a northern and a southern one. Perhaps it was not a perfect choice, but I started with Praga South (map courtesy Wikipedia):
Praga South contains a section that I already know, kind of, which is called Saska Kepa - this one I skipped this time. Saska Kepa is nowadays regarded as a prestigious villa area, even if a lot of buildings are neglected, often still in hands of the old people without means to renovate them.
In order to get to know the rest of the district, I decided to take Grochowska street, follow it to Wiatraczna roundabout, then come back to the bridge with Washington alley. I got out of the tram and Grochowska started:
Soon, the church, the wooden bell tower and the grave:
Just after the church, modern apartments, hidden behind the fence like a fortress in the middle of nowhere:
Professional bias - Dominet bank’s branch. Dominet = small cities:
Grochowska went on and on, with buildings mostly not higher than four floors, often devastated and separated by empty areas:
As I approached the Wiatraczna roundabout, tall and ugly apartment blocks became visible from the distance:
The roundabout is the heart of Praga South. There were some new buildings constructed there, however, the neighborhood made them rather unattractive:
I made the way back, down the Washington street. The street makes much better impression than Grochowska, with quite nice buildings, wide pavements, trees shielding them from the street:
I took a tram for the last distance, so I don’t have the photos of Park Skaryszewski, which is a distinctive advantage for the district; there are hardly any other landmarks. Well, except for the huge Stadium, now converted to the bazaar and adding little to the attractiveness of the vicinity, or rather hurting it a lot because of the mess and criminal incidents.
The tram crossed the bridge and brought me back to downtown civilization.
First trip to the other side is over, but I plan some more. Praga South doesn’t seem a very inviting place, but Praga North looks much more promising.
hi,
thanx for taking the pictures of grochowska. i lived there for 13 years. My old adress was ul. Domejki
very strange to see the city after all this years( i am now 36). and very happy that someone took the time to take pictures and put them on the net.
thanks a lot
ella