Reflective Post on Day 1

Today was my first day back in Poland for the first time in over 5 years. I did not quite know what to expect because I have been there before but at the same time I know that no place in the world stands still in time. This is true and not true of Warsaw. I saw a lot of things like the palace in old town and the statue in the main square that I remembered from my previous visit. However, there were things like the Marie Curie museum and some of the brand new memorials that I don't remember ever seeing. As soon as we landed though I couldn't help but marvel at how the soviet legacy still haunts this wonderful city. As we were driving down the street we saw the old soviet style apartment blocks that didn't have a rounded edge and how the city still look depressed. I know that the polish economy is one of the shining examples from the European Union countries but the facades of the building looked dirty and dilapidated.