Warsaw’s main railway station ugly beyond repair, no white eggshells for American soldiers and old factories no longer a waste of space.

Presented by Alicja Baczyńska

First, let’s look at a report on the state of Poland’s railway stations done by Gazeta Wyborcza, which is, rather predictably, scathing. It may come as no surprise that Warsaw’s main railway station features as one of the worst in Poland in the newspaper’s ranking. Let’s face it – not only is it an eyesore, it is also dirty and it stinks – hardly a flagship of the capital city. The newspaper lists impolite, non-English-speaking service, frequent delays, and long queues as just some of the station’s ills. But Warsaw is not the only city with appalling reviews. The daily presents a rather gloomy picture of the Polish railway stations, where very often no toilets are in sight, and if they are – you may expect a high price for pretty low standards; some train stations are locked for the night and even if you manage to get there to wait for a night train, you are unlikely to feel safe with homeless people and shady characters loitering in the area. As Gazeta Wyborcza writes, no overhaul of the Warsaw’s main railway station is to be expected anytime soon. This means that the 100 million zlotys in EU funds, which will solely go to revitalising the facility, will be used to simply patch and sweep things up, leaving the citizens to face crowds flocking for the Euro 2012 with a blush and cringe.

Redzikowo will be like America, writes Dziennik about the quaint little out-of-the-way town in northern Poland, which will soon host a US anti-missile base. The complex will have its own power supply, hospital, lodgings, and cafeterias, which will basically make Americans self-sufficient. Local authorities are therefore concerned that the town residents will not profit from the base in any way. The shield agreement, however, includes the provision that the Americans will make use of services rendered by Poles, if they find them competitive. With over 1,000 soldiers stationed at Redzikowo, there will surely be demand for new bakeries, grocery stores, restaurants and other facilities, says Defence Minister Bogdan Klich. They will, however, need to adjust their products and services to official norms established by the United States. The task might be no small feat, as the soldiers have a long list of no-nos, such as a ban on white-shell eggs, which are inferior to the more nutritious brown-shelled ones.

Artists are taking over abandoned factories, writes Rzeczpospolita. After all, it’s cheaper to revitalise old buildings than construct new ones, explains the daily. Also, their non-standard architecture, austere interiors, open space, and old machinery all lend to a unique artistic atmosphere and inimitable style. The recent years have seen artists shifting away from sterile, white-cube galleries, as modern art nowadays requires a more crude backdrop, writes the daily. The ambiance of the place lets the artists’ imagination run wild and very often inspires them to do extra work. Such an art center has already been opened in Poznań, and more post-industrial buildings are being adapted for artistic purposes in Łódź, Białystok, and Radom.