WARSAW ON THE UP

One Warsaw building you can't overlook even if you want to – and most Polish people seem to want to – is the 42-storey Palace of Culture and Science in the centre of the city. Presented as a “Gift to the People of Poland†from the “People of Soviet Russia,†it was perceived as a stamp of Stalinist authority and a reminder that Big Brother was watching.

Variously known as Stalin's Tooth, the Russian Wedding Cake, and several other less quotable tags, the building was erected between 1952 and 1955 by a contingent of 3,500 Soviet workers who were housed at Poland’s expense in a new suburban complex. Originally dedicated to Stalin, the dictator's name has been revoked from the title of the building, removed from the lobby and chiselled off a book held by one of the sculpted figures. The building has 3,240 rooms and holds, among other things, a university on two floors, the largest swimming pool in Warsaw, cinemas, the Museum of Technology, a 500-seat concert hall and a 2,800-seat congress hall.

The building’s most interesting feature for the tourist, however, is the observation deck on the 30th floor. To access it, enter the building from Plac Defilad, turn right on the mezzanine at the top of the flight of marble stairs and buy a ticket from the small shop. A lift takes you up to the roofed but windswept terrace. In clear weather you will see all over Warsaw.

The new National Stadium, built on the far shore of the Vistula River for Euro 2012, stands out like a crown on the flat landscape. The viewing terrace is open daily from 9.00 to 18.00. Admission is 20 PLN. The Museum of Technology is almost domestic with its lace curtains and unsmiling lady attendants. I wanted to see its copy of the “Enigma Machine,†whose code was cracked by Polish cryptologists, but although I searched diligently on the museum's several levels, I never found it. I did wander through a model of a coal mine, a room full of mechanical music makers, and an exhibition of antique washing machines. For information, visit: www.muzeum-techniki. waw.pl.

Entrance to the museum is on the left hand side of the Palace of Culture. Open 09:00 to 17:00, Tuesday through Friday and from 10:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday. Admission is 12 PLN.

Warsaw loves shopping malls; there are more than 20 in the city. Though it’s not the biggest – that’s the Arkadia with 230 shops – the most interesting is Zlote Terasy, or “Golden Terraces,†which rises just behind the Palace of Culture. Designed by an architectural partnership based in the American state of California, the mall opened in 2007. In addition to a couple of high-rise office and residential buildings, it incorporates a leisure complex, cinema, restaurants and more than 200 shops under an undulating glass roof.

The wavy roof pays homage to the trees in Warsaw's parks, the only elements of the city that escaped the devastation of World War II. ZÅ‚ota 44, the city's first unabashedly luxury residential tower is rising near the Zolte Terasy. It's a skyscraper designed by Polishborn American Daniel Libeskind, the master architect who rebuilt the World Trade Center site after 9-11. At 54 stories high, ZÅ‚ota 44 bends in a graceful glass and steel ark to 192 metres.

The building itself is four metres higher than the “Palace†building, but 45 metres shorter than the tip of the spire that sits atop the Palace. Projects by other famous architects such as Chicago's Helmut Jahn and Iraqi-born Zaha Hadid are in various stages of development in the city. With no pre-war buildings to preserve, Warsaw is making the best of a clean sheet, architecturally speaking.     

Invitation to play

Europe’s newest Science Museum, the Copernicus Science Centre, is deservedly popular, attracting about 2,500 visitors a day. It’s a massive three-storey building that swallows up the opening-hour queue efficiently, but long lines develop within the hour, especially at the weekend. There are over 450 interactive experiments to enjoy, not to mention a theatre where the actors are robots. You activate the activities with the electronic card that comes with your ticket. You could easily spend a day here, breaking off for lunch or a quick snack at the inviting, inexpensive restaurant on the ground floor. The gift shop is full of scientific toys and unusual souvenirs. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 to 18:00 and on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00. Last admission at cash-desk is one hour prior to closing. The museum is closed on Mondays. General admission is 22 PLN. For more details, visit: www.kopernik.org.pl/en/

Praga, over the river

Praga, across the river from the Old Town, did not share the devastation visited on the West bank in 1944 nor has it been much refurbished since. So, the bullet-pocked tenements, crumbling warehouses, gritty streets on the East side of the Vistula River remain much as they were. Artists and craftsmen looking for cheap studios are moving in to disused factories and Praga is on its (slow) way to becoming Warsaw’s artists’ quarter.

A disused redbrick Vodka factory is home to a theatre, “Teatr Wytwornia,†and a cultural association, as well as an art gallery or two. ul. Ząbkowska 27/31. If you don’t have the time to get utterly lost, see Praga with a guide. Mine was the knowledgeable Hubert Pawlik, who showed me everything from a mechanised musical band to the inside of a Russian Cathedral. Visit, www.warsaw-guide.waw.pl.  

Journal Watch

Myopia and daylight exposure
The incidence of myopia appears to be increasing significantly among children in some regions, particularly in parts of Asia. A link between lack of outdoor activity and increased risk of myopia has been suggested in previous studies. A recent study took a different approach to this issue, seeking to determine whether conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence (UVAF), a biomarker of outdoor light exposure, is associated with myopia. The cross-sectional study recruited 636 volunteers aged 15 years and above. All completed a sun-exposure questionnaire and underwent non-cycloplegic autorefraction.

The researchers measured conjunctival UVAF with a novel system, a specially adapted electronic flash system fitted with UV-transmission filters (transmittance range 300–400 nm, peak 365 nm) as the excitation source. They measured temporal and nasal conjunctival UVAF in both eyes using computerised photographic analysis. The analysis revealed that the prevalence of myopia decreased significantly with an increasing quartile of total UVAF. Median total UVAF was significantly lower in patients with myopia.

Even after employing a multivariable model that adjusted for age, sex, smoking, cataract, height and weight, UVAF was independently associated with myopia. The analysis also revealed that UVAF was significantly associated with myopia when analysis was restricted to subjects younger than 50 years of age, and in moderate-severe myopia. n JC Sherwin et al., Invest Ophthal Vis Sci, 20212;53(8):4363-4370.