I first saw this place in 2006. This is the train/bus station located on the right (wild) side of the Vistula River in Warsaw. It was located next to the Stadium of the Decade. A lot of things have changed since then. The stadium no longer exists. There is a new building – The National Stadium. The station is no longer in existence either, it’s being rebuilt now.

Around the stadium and the station there were very interesting places. There was a large market place with Vietnamese, Chinese, Ukrainians, Chechens, etc. Trade flourished around the clock.

When I first saw this place it was winter. It was late evening. I had just come back from The Ukraine. It was a cold cold night. I remember I grabbed the phone and wrote to a friend: “This is the real Heart of Darkness!” (title of Joseph Conrad‘s novel.) It was the first time I felt fear inWarsaw.

I’ve been back there many times for the best Vietnamese PHO, to check out all the stalls, buy cheap socks, and take some photos. The station stopped being terrible place. I became accustomed to it. And now I miss it.