Warsaw from a distance

From a distance Warsaw looks like other cities in northern Europe. But the closer you come the more Warsaw looks only like Warsaw, a city that feels quite different from the other cities once you get inside.

No matter how many bright lights are shining on the buildings in Warsaw at night the buildings look all the same. There's something missing about them, not something structural like a roof or a door, but something that can't be explained. And because what's missing in them can't be explained they can't be rebuilt, though they have been rebuilt, most all of them. In fact, many people in Warsaw and elsewhere believe the buildings that are missing have been rebuilt better than before.

The people of Warsaw can't help but be a little sad, even though they're happy now, eating in the cafés, drinking good Polish beer, taking shots of Bison Grass Vodka, having an ice cream or two while walking through the old town.

But no matter how happy the people of Warsaw are they're not like people in Tallinn or Riga or Vilnius. There's something missing in them that can't be explained.