Combining Warsaw’s commercial reality with its artistic spirit, Dobra Street pervades a buzzing bohemian
vibe that makes for a perfect place to hang-out and meet the locals.

by Anna J. Kutor

While the life and soul of most European capitals lie
in their bustling riverside promenades that boast a string of bustling
restaurants, café, stores and recreational facilities, Warsaw’s
Vistula River is famed for its wild and
unregulated riverbanks that only offer entertainment for environmentalist and
adventurous adolescents. But what the city lacks in direct waterway activity,
it more then makes up for in its neighboring streets and districts – like on
Dobra, a street long and straight in geography, but certainly not straight in
scenery. Stretching between Średnicowy and Śląsko-Dąbrowski bridges on the
eastern side of the river parallel to the four-lane Wisłostrada, Dobra (literally meaning good) is eclectic
epicenter of the capital’s Powiśle
precinct that offers diverse opportunities for cultural and social activities.

Coffee and
Culture

A great place to jump start the day for
breakfast, coffee and book browsing sessions is Czuły Barbarzyńca (The
Gentle Barbarian), the capital’s first café-bookstore named after Czech author Bohumil Hrabal’s novel of the same name. A red
neon sign on the corner of Dobra and Zajęcza streets marks the location of the
Barbarian. Founded by art
aficionado Tomasz Brzozowski in 2002, the store has carved itself a place in
the hearts of caffeine and culture devotees, standing as a composite cultural
institution that combines a cozy coffeehouse with a book publishing house. Books
on sale are mostly in Polish, but foreign visitors will also find a good
selection of titles in English and a few other languages, as well as a range of
books and albums about contemporary art and design. Beyond books, the literary
watering hole also hosts a large selection of cultural programs from movie
screenings, literary discussion and theater  productions to art expositions and
fun events for children. The latest exhibit (up until April 16) shows the prized
works of a design competition focusing on new-age souvenirs from Warsaw. Objects on
display include Maja Kaczyńska’s colorful squishy toys shaped in the form of
the Palace of Culture
and Science, stickers with various tourist attractions and a body warming
sleeping-suit resembling Warsaw’s
Mermaid-Syrenka designed by Marcela Kawka.

Literature
lovers will also enjoy Arkady Bookstore just across the street from the
Barbarian (on Dobra 28), that stocks a wall-to-wall collection of books on
Poland covering everything from the architecture and culture to science and
economics in addition to sections on philosophy, history, literature and art.
If you still have problems finding an ideal book, the bookshops in the
University Library down the street will surely answer your needs – but more on
that later.

From
this location, take a stroll down Zajęcza
street to see the streamline steel suspension
structure of Świętokrzyski Bridge,
the city’s youngest bridge crossing the Vistula
that was completed in 2000. One of six car-traffic bridges and the first
cable-stayed construction yoking the two parts of Warsaw, the structure carries a 90 meter high
concrete pylon with 88 connecting cables. More then just an architectural work
of art, Świętokrzyski Bridge is one of the most
photogenic places to take some stunning shots of the city’s developing skyline.

Learning and Leisure Center

The
turquoise-tainted Warsaw University Library building on Dobra 56/66– erected in
1999 – is a stand-out, singular institution containing a number of sites worth
exploring. Designed by architects Marek Budzyñski and Zbigniew
Badowski, the building exudes an environmentally-friendly aura and beautifully
balances student-friendly locales with upmarket office spaces. Besides the
university facilities – that include a vast library as well as teaching,
reading and computer rooms -, the building houses several bookstores,
advertisement and employment agencies, a Spanish and French language school,
the Café Team Bar, as well as the Hula Kula bowling center. Also on the
premises, the upscale Italian winery-cum-restaurant Biblioteka (Library)
features a menu with smart, creative and well-articulated flavors that pair
well with their extensive grape nectar offerings hailing from various wine
regions.

In
the face of all in-house facilities, the Library’s main attraction is the roof-top garden terrace, a two-leveled
green landscape that was opened in 2002. A scenic meeting point and chill-out
area, the garden features grassy spaces, benches, interrelated footpaths, a
fish pond, a small labyrinth section with trees and flowers and even a water
cascade. The gardens are open from April 1 to late September from 9 am to 8 pm
and the entrance is free of charge. 

Another must-see element of the
Library include the eight massive copper plates on the façade of the building
(facing Dobra street) that depict writings from ancient Arabic and Indian
classics, a Russian chronicle, mathematical and chemistry formulas and a sheet
music segment by Karol Szymanowski. The four concrete sculptures created by
Adam Myjak showcasing Polish philosophers in the entrance of the library, the
bronze bust of Indian spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi – sculpted by Guatam Pal,
and the three pink illuminated deer statues standing in the park behind the
building are all sights worth seeing.