I am ashamed writing this but whenever I arrive to Łódź I cannot belive what I see. Maybe at first sight you could think it is a city like many other cities
a bit neglected and a bit dirty. The worse is the fact that the deeper you go the worse you see. Uncomplete sidewalks und gutterpipes torn up are drop in an ocean.
Even the main "Boulevard" for pedestrians leaves much to desire while the front elevations are quite acceptable (after being repainted and restored) the brief
looking into the courtyards just behind the gate are usully appllaing just as if you be instantly transported from Paris to Bangladesh. The walls are hardly painted
or in very unskilfull manner; paint and wall structure are falling apart and coming off. Two different worlds. Taking look to the neighbouring streets leaves
you even more perplexed unveiling their post-war lookout. Uncared of, dirty, und repelling; I have never seen any other Polish city with so many caution plates sayin:
"caution, risk of collapsing ! access forbidden". The apartament houses are in deplorable condition - and belive or not it all refers to the 100-year buildings or
older - all of them should be listed in national registry of historic monuments; but who cares - the houses in very bad condition are supported by some
wooden constructions or just pulled down. It all happens in the center of Europe. Łódz could be the most beautiful city of Poland if only we could force ourselves
to help it. There are building of XIX and XX century - Art Nouveau, ARt Deco and Eclectism - it is all we have left after II World War and what Hitler and Stalin
did not manage to finish we are trying to complete by commiting architectural suicide. Staircases are pissed all over, open for onlookers and drunkards, beggars.
The precious architectural elements disappear stolen by smugglers who try to pass them off or just sell it as raw material. People flee from there. no wonder -
the city is poor and dangerous. It's the worse augury for a city. The courtyards
are empty and look abandoned - only the poorest people stay here. The thing I am most afraid of is that foreign emigrats start to settle here
and they just care for nothing. Sorry to say that but look-for-bread-incomers never care for the surroundings. łódź is the treasure but becomes the nestle of devil.
