Because I didn’t have the chance to give you all a rundown of New Years parties as they were happening in Poland last week on New Year's Eve (please forgive me, I was ill), I decided that it’s still not too late.

Presented by Magdalena Jensen.

Now, since you never have the privilege of seeing my face, you probably do not know that I am in my twenties and, as such, I enjoy a lively social life… and let me tell you that Warsaw seriously caters to any kind of partier. There is a scene going on here that I haven’t been a part of in any of the places I have ever lived before… and it’s a scene that is blossoming so rapidly! Just four years ago, when I first moved to Poland, very little of the crazy, hipness that exists now existed then – even six months ago, when I moved back to Warsaw, the scene was not as raging as it has become.

Now, while I could regale you with tales of parties ‘til five a.m. (and I will add that in too), I want to tell you first a little bit about the culture scene that is seriously slammin’. There’s a street in Warsaw, Hoza Street, that used to carry the reputation of being the street where a lonely schmuck would go for a bit of luck. Well, today, this street, and the area around it, has become, effectively, gallery row. There is locale after locale bursting with art – and showcasing some amazing work by Polish painters, photographers and sculptors – in really hip surroundings. For example, a few weeks ago I attended my friend’s opening at a tiny little gallery – or what I considered tiny. But, lo-and-behold, there was a second room to the gallery that was located some four flights of stairs up and under the eves of the pre-war building – a truly unique location.

Not only is the right bank of Warsaw blooming with galleries and artistic endeavors, but the left bank, the district known as Praga, is following in the footsteps of it’s Parisian counterpart and swiftly becoming painfully cool. There’s a place called Koneser – a former vodka factory – that has been converted into a series of artsy-fartsy, hipster hotbeds. Walking through the gates of the factory is like walking into, well, a factory, only there are wall paintings and Banksy-style grafitti and larger-than-life outdoor sculptures littering the grounds. Wandering under large pipes that, I assume, carried potatoes mash into one building and distilled vodka into another in years past, one stumbles upon what I would consider to be Warsaw’s coolest store – Magazyn Praga. They carry artisanal hipster goods from Poland and beyond – and when I say hipster goods I mean wallpaper that is actually a maze and ceramic deer antlers that are actually coat hangers. Not only does Koneser house a store, but also several galleries, a restaurant and a government-sponsored music stage. I have seen many a Polish hip hop artist or indie band on the outdoor stage there in the summer, not to mention the king of funk, George Clinton himself played there too. And, what’s more, the back of the grounds is home to a free, summer-evening cinema – old couches are scattered on the pavement as people cozy up and watch movies under the stars.

Praga is loaded with other cool places… from an eco-clothing design collective to a former mechanics courtyard that is now the home to four clubs that range from your typical (though nothing in Praga is typical) drum-and-bass fare to Klezmer concerts by candlelight. Oh, and how could I forget to mention one of my favorite little bars – if only for it’s absurd appearance from the outside. It is actually called W Oparach Absurdu – translated as ‘In the Realm of the Absurd,’ which is oh-so-appropriate when one approaches the place from the outside. There is the largest, furriest, blackest spider you can imagine above the door – and I mean huge – at least one and a half metres across!

Now, I want to tell you a little bit about the party scene in Warsaw… and while I could spend a whole broadcast listing off my favorite parties of the past few months, I will only highlight the most important see-and-be-scene occasions that have been available to Warsaw’s twenty-somethings on recent Friday and Saturday nights. One thing to note – and I have been discussing this with all of my friends – Warsaw has become outrageous in the past four months alone. There are new DJ collectives crawling out of every apartment building and just enough places for them to spin sets until 8 am (and plenty of people besides to jump and jive ‘til that hour).

To give you just a little taste of what Warsaw’s young twenty-somethings who love to party til dawn several nights a week have to chose from, let me just give you a list of the DJ collectives that have popped up in town: AM Radio, V/A Team, Hungry Hungry Models, God Save the Queen, Club Collab, Sorry Ghettoblasters, Pop the Glock, and oh-so-many more! But, if you’re looking to taste a little bit of Warsaw’s hipster heaven, I would say it’s a must to check out the Sorry, Ghettoblasters party.

This is a monthly event – and an even it has become. The duo – DJ Sekta and DJ Kosakot – have started pulling in some big-name DJs from London, New York, Stockholm, etc to spin for us lowly Varsovians. They two DJs are also starting to get gigs abroad and sponsors for their monthly residency at the Sorry, Ghettoblasters! hipster fest where there’s a fine line between dressing to impress and not trying too hard and getting wild on the dance floor while not breaking a major sweat.

And, my point it, Warsaw has become a hotbed of creativity. From photography to DJs, it seems that my generation of Poles has gotten this burst of energy to create for themselves what has really been missing in Warsaw, that is, a hipster scene that is ill enough to rival Brooklyn’s Williamsburg or Stockholm’s Sodermalm!