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 Poland 2002 - Warsaw - The ParkOn a Saturday night, Ewa took us to The Park, a huge club in Warsaw that boasted the most incredible music selection of any place we visited in Poland. Kylie Minogue, Crazy Town, Daft Punk, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Galleon, Nelly, Atomic Kitten, Limp Bizkit, Tatu, Sugababes, and the freakin' Village People were just a few of the varied acts featured in the DJ sets. This is why I love the discotheque; the emphasis is not on worshipping a genre of music—it's just about getting your rocks off. No pretension, no "it's about keepin' the scene real" bullshit. The joy I have experienced in places like The Park is why I seldom venture into Atlanta's clubs anymore.  While standing in a long line to get in, we were told of a sinister group of hooligans called "The Rockers" who are the reason why athletic wear is now prohibited at The Park. The Rockers apparently wore baggy sweat pants, in which they concealed bats. But wouldn't the bats just fly out of their pants? No, silly, we're talking about baseball bats. They used them to smash people and stuff. We heard a lot of dubious stories in Poland, but unlike the one about how, like, these gypsies? They, like, gassed a train car? And they picked everybody's pockets? this one sounded somewhat plausible. I mean, there have been stranger things than scumbags hiding baseball bats in their sweat pants. Although I was amused by the mental image of hapless, stiff-legged Rockers with bats in their pants attempting to flee security.
The careful reader will recall from another section of this Poland report that I carried a baseball around with me. So, I felt prepared for the Rockers. Maybe we could have played some baseball right in the club. The Park's security is pretty tight—wands were used to detect metal on our persons (once again that plate in my head caused a lot of trouble), and men in suits and walkie-talkies wandered about to ensure that things ran smoothly. But the security guys were amicable and chatty, and despite the long line they moved us relatively quickly into the club.  Once inside this warehouse-sized facility, we checked our coats and stepped into an enormous room graced by a gigantic bar on one side and seating on the other. But sitting at the Park was hardly an option, it was so packed. After a few shots we pushed our way through to their huge dancefloor, which was filled with reveling kids. The lighting was good, and a stage peopled by aspiring Polish Idols overlooked the dancefloor.
I tried cutting through a circle of dancing girls, who in turn sneered and pushed me away. It turned out I had unwittingly threatened their pile of purses in the center of their circle. There were also plenty of girls who glared when a person was jostled into them, or glared if somebody looked like they might jostle them, but on such a crowded dancefloor collisions were inevitable—everybody was bumping somebody else. Many good-natured people were in force, too, including a guy who pulled exaggerated, silly faces in time to the beat; his tall, beautiful girlfriend seemed to be delighted by his display. In most American clubs, I don't think you'd see that sort of thing going on. American clubbers are so serious about their clubbing; even ecstasy is taken ritualistically in the U.S., and that stuff quells one's ability to spontaneously pull, say, a Three Stooges routine on the dancefloor. Hell, DJ Cyberian Tyger and Ewa even did some ballroom dancing. So, if you're in Warsaw, obviously you should go to The Park. Aside from the part where I was grouchy from being out until four AM the night before and yelled at everybody, I had a great night! Visit their Web site here. Introduction to our Poland trip Krakow (1) Kryjowka, Krakow Auschwitz Lublin (1) Lublin (2) Warsaw The Park, Warsaw Some interesting information Some useful information
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