flying back home

Flying is always exciting, even if it’s only an hour long flight. Excellent visibility allowed us to see almost everything down there! That’s the flight from Frankfurt back to Bydgoszcz.

Frankfurt am Main

This is Frankfurt am Main, where I spent last week. Not for travelling, it was a business trip. My company had an exhibition at Automechanika 2016 – a big deal for producers from automotive industry. Yet, I still found some time to explore the city.

Here you are: some photos. Great city! A bit of tradition, a bit of modern touch. I like it.

Kazimierz Dolny

Oh, I do like traveling. Another weekend, another place! Where to this time? A wonderful small town called Kazimierz Dolny. You can easily find some information about it, but it’s so much better to go there and see it by yourself.

It’s located in the south-east of Poland, on the right bank of the Vistula river. In the past it used to be one of the most important cities in that region. According t Wikipedia, it is a considerable tourist attraction (truly is!) as one of the most beautifully situated little towns in Poland. Since the 19th century it has become a popular holiday destination, attracting artists and summer residents. It’s an art center in Poland. You can meet many painters painting and selling their works. Galleries can be found in almost every street. It’s so nice to go there for a weekend, maybe a little longer…

What’s there to see? Old Market Square, castle ruins, Jewish cemetery, churches, Three Crosses Mountain and Roots Gorge. And finally the river cruise! Awesome view of the whole town. Love, love, love.

Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia

As my younger brother lives in Gdańsk, it’s so easy to have a weekend at the sea-side. Wonderful! I visited the Tricity again, and not the last time!

Gdynia – the cliff in Orłowo District, Sopot – Monte Cassino Street, a famous pedestrian street, too crowded in summer! And Gdańsk – Westerplatte Peninsula, a place where World War II began, there’s a monument of defenders and the slogan reads “No More Wars”. Very meaningful place.

Toruń again

I went to Toruń, again. It’s just lovely. But that wasn’t the only reason… I just didn’t want to stay at home for the whole day. It makes me feel miserable, depressed. That feeling when minutes and hours slip through my hands.

I took my bike on the train and rode on the old streets. Wonderful. So many memories. I visited my campus, I rode my favourite street (Bydgoska St.), I sat down on the bench, read a book about Chopin. I rode along the new bridge across Vistula River, very long and picturesque! The only bad thing was… loneliness. Just me, myself, alone with my thoughts.

Iława

Last week I went to Iława county in the north-east of Poland. With my colleagues – that was a weekend organized by the heads of our department to get us closer. Nice, although there was a bit too much drinking! Not everyone could manage! Anyway, look at the view: very peaceful, there’s a lake called Łabędź (Swan), there’s a meadow with … I want to say dandelions, but their season was 2 months ago! – still beautiful…

I love being in nature. I don’t need much, just a little bit of sunshine and quietness.

Instagram contest

I enjoy taking photos! I take my camera everywhere and sometimes publish my photos on Instagram. Not too many, I try to limit myself and post only the good ones. Flowers, sunsets, cute friends, trains. Not food. Sometimes selfies.

We were standing on the platform in Sopot railway station waiting for the train back to Gdańsk and I noticed a rather beautiful composition worth taking a shot. Just a platform, nice light, darkness outside, people waiting, no train – I thought it looked great. I immediately posted that photo adding some hashtags (including #sopot). What happened next is that my photo was found by some town representatives and chosen as the photo of the day. Later it received the highest number of likes in the whole week, thus I’m going to receive an award! Ha, so happy! And here is the winning photo:

Hel

Anther weekend, another trip! How lucky I am that my brother lives in Gdańsk (north of Poland) – I can visit him freely and save the acommodation cost.

I arrived at Gdańsk on Friday evening and we had a short walk on the beach in Sopot, a resort town right next to Gdańsk. Some beer? Why not! The streets were full of people and the time went by very quickly. We went back home after midnight. I’ll go back to that moment in my next entry – it’s kind of important!

Because my brother had to work on Saturday, I was on my own. I decided to take a train to the tip of Hel Peninsula; there’s a small town called Hel. Really small but nevertheless very picturesque: with beautiful harbour, nice beaches and the Oceanography Institute where seals are kept. I spent some time laying on the beach, however the sun was a bit too strong. Later I even got a headache and lost appetite. Some blisters also appeared on the soles of my feet. Too much walking! Let’s have a look at some photos, shall we?

my Chopin

So basically it was my idea. I love travelling and getting to know new places and when the weekend comes, I just want to go out. I’ve been listening to Chopin for years but until last Sunday I hadn’t visited the place of his birth. I took my mum and we went to Żelazowa Wola, in Sochaczew County, not very far from Warsaw. Wonderful experience, beautiful park and timeless music. Really happy to go there. And of course, I keep listening to Frédéric Chopin…

“Aftermath”

Just watched “the most controversial Polish film ever” – “Aftermath” (“Pokłosie”). It is… thought provoking. Causing anxiety. Making me feel uneasy. I remember media discussions about it, however, up until today I had not seen it. It’s a  2012 Polish film written and directed by Władysław Pasikowski. It’s a Holocaust related drame inspired by our difficult and painful history (some cases when the Poles killed their Jewish neighbours during the World War II). It’s so tragic that even decades after the war had finished, we still can’t reach the conclusion of what exactly had happened. Old people don’t want to talk about it, young people don’t want to believe it, many of them think it’s against the whole state of Poland.

The film was praised by government officials, leading cultural figures and and historians. However, many of typical spectators were infuriated. The movie was condemned by some nationalist politicians, banned in some towns and excoriated on the Internet. Some described the film as “mendacious and harmful for Poles”. Was it? I have mixed feelings. I feel sad after watching it, but I still can imagine that this story could have happened. Not necessarily in Poland, in other places, too. But the fact that we as a nation suffered so much during the occupation, doesn’t mean that we were all angels.