Warsaw: Silvertone.

In October, 2021, I finally managed to return to my beloved Warsaw, after an 18 month break due to the pandemic. Eager to explore, I set off to walk the city, from North to South, East & West. All along documenting the buildings, streets and details as I walked with my trusty iPhone.

The net result is this short photo-essay: Warsaw: Silvertone. So named after the retouching technique used in-camera that took elements of simple black & white and mixed this with curves of infrared to give a harsh, aged and enigmatic appearance, so befitting the city.

Walking the Wall.

The twists and turns of the ghetto boundary appear to define the city, such was the magnitude of its impact. Today, walking the wall is like stealing secrets from the past. Small original sections of the wall exist, hidden in backyards and behind tenement buildings. Exploring these hidden corners is a genuine pleasure for me. Moments to savour as modern day Warsaw collides with a vision of itself from the past.

1. Original Wall 2. Wall Detail 3. Passage in Wola 4. Bridge of Sighs 5. Ghetto Wall Stone

Away from the intriguing corners, the location of the wall is marked by bronze signs and pavement inlays across the city. As such, just when one least expects it one is confronted by the brutal truth that, in this peaceful park, once there was misery; at this vibrant intersection, once there was hunger and death.

Wola & The Old Ghetto.

The north-eastern quarter of the city occupies much of what was the original site of the ghetto. By the end of the war, following the liquidation of the ghetto, mile after mile of the city lay in ruins. Redeveloped by Soviet planners, todays Warsaw is regimented, efficient and calm.

Row after row of apartment blocks replaced the lively tenements of the past. Broad boulevards criss-cross the city and tramlines shudder through the intersections. On the site of the ghetto stands the magnificent Museum of the History of Polish Jews (POLIN) - like a beacon of hope in an otherwise bland mishmash of architectural styles.

The past is never far away. Monuments, memorials and plaques remind one of the permanent need to remember what happened here.

1. Jewish Cemetery 2. Ul. Miła 3. Umschlagplatz 4. Ghetto Plaque 5. Ghetto Heros Memorial

Stary Ochota & Mokotów.

Walk south, past the predominant Place of Science & Culture and the retail mecca of the Złote Tarasy and Warsaw shows a very different side of its personality. The traditional working class districts of Ochota and Mokotów cluster around busy tram stops and reverberate to the sounds of traffic, birds and the ever present construction work.

Old buildings, their facades crumbling surrender to rampant nature. Children play in sand pits and elderly residents sit in silence with one another.

During the uprising, resistance groups used Ochota as a base from which to attack the Germans, navigating the city from below in the sewers. A sense of history and pride emanates from every corner, every inch of pavement and crumbling red brick.

Politechnika.

Sandwiched between the leafy grit of Mokotów and downtown Warsaw lies the district of Politechnika. A district of learning, creativity and gentrification. Students drink espressos at street cafes lining the broad Ul. Marszałkowska, confidently heading North towards the main Dworec Centralna station.

Restaurants, bakeries, patisseries and galleries merge in a melting pot of Warsaw life. From the housing estates of Polna, to the arterial Aleja Armii Ludowej ones ears are assaulted by the sound of chatter, trams, skateboards and sirens.

This is an area of passion, hope and solidity - it's where I choose to stay - content in the knowledge that every time I leave my block I will receive an injection of pure, undiluted Warsaw.