After my post about Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a reader commented: "Surely there must be a Polish poet who captures the spirit of the BQE..." Polish poets seem to be better with trains than autostradas, but it's a good point and I will keep looking. In the meantime, another kind of artistry, and a weekend diversion from the Kosciuszko Bridge series. When the new Wschod-Zachod (East-West) thoroughfare--popularly known as the W-Z or "Wuzetka" [voo-zet-ka]--opened in Warsaw 1949 it was celebrated as one of the first great rebuilding projects in Poland after the devastation of WWII. Naturally, a Warsaw baker created a cake to commemorate the event. Though not my favorite (that would be szarlotka), W-Z cake is still popular in Poland. Check out how those layers mimic the lanes of traffic. Could no Queens or Brooklyn baker have favored us with a "BQE Bon-Bon"?For film footage of the W-Z and postwar Warsaw check out this film:
EVERYDAY LIFE ON THE W-Z (THE GENERAL SWIEREZEWSKI AVENUE) aka DAILY LIFE IN POLAND
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