Spa in snow

I went to the coffee shop, but it was empty, so I took my place. Out the window I could see the snow falling, and some sanatoriums from the beginning of the 20th century. Most of them have been closed and destroyed. It's a pity how they deteriorate. Szczawnica is a small, romantic spa, and it is still popular among people who spend their holidays here. I don't understand why so many buildings here are in such a bad condition. Only a small number of them are renovated and it makes the center of town very beautiful.

god and bad thing about Salonika

I suppose that the most beautiful in Salonika is the sea during sunset. The water, lightened by the sun, has the colour of steel. Ships and birds against the background of sky looks like figures from a theater of shadows. I will never understand the solitude of homeless dogs in big Greek cities. They are neglected – it is obvious. They are not dangerous, when you live them alone – this is surprising. They are unbelievably sad which is hopeless and this makes me sad.

Collection of my postcards

I usually buy post cards during my travels. I never had knew why I was doing it. I rarely send them to my friends or family (we live in SMS era…). Also, I rarely look at them. I don’t even treat them as souvenirs from the trip. I just keep them in a drawer. Last weekend I found a great possibility to use them. I was a participating in discrimination and antidiscrimination training. In one exercise trainers used postcards in a way which was great for me. Each participants had to choose one card and tell about his or her reflections at the beginning of the second day of the training. It was very interesting for people. They were deeply involved in the task, very creative and open. I think, I will use my collection in my future work in similar exercises.

une lettre

Je marchais dans la rue. C’ étais une nuit. Je ne regardais pas autor de soi, mais la rue sous mes preds. Soudain, j’ai remarqué un Moreau de papier qui semblait interessant. Dans un premier temps, je ne savais pas pourquoi. Je me suis approchée et j’ai pris le papier. Il sést avéré qu’il m’avait intéressé parce que, j’avais remarqué mon prénom (Gosia), écrit dessus. Ce était comme si cette lettre avait été écrite pour moi. Bien sûr, cette lettre n’était pas pour moi, mais pour une autre personne. La contenu a était trés bizarre: « Dites à cette Ania de vous rendre les notes de Gosia et si elle les copie, elle restera à un tunnel ». Les notes au verso etaient aussi bizarres: « Esc-que tu savais que Marek (le frére de Krzysiek) a été au Centre de régimes et un emplyer du Centre lu-a dit qu’il était interdit de manger des bananes? »

What a nice stereotype!!!

I went with my friend who is blind to a rehabilitation center. He has some problems with his spine and that’s why he needs some exercises. We found the room number 216 and we asked a nurse what we had to do: to wait or to go in. She didn’t know so she promised to ask someone about it. She came back after about 5 minutes and asked my friend: “But why have you come here? To give a massage or to have a massage?” We started to laugh. This is such a strong stereotype, that if you are blind you must be a masseur.

death-lanterns

Death-lanterns are the remains of former customs. They were placed by hospitals or cemeteries. It seems that they are connected with an ancient tradition of keeping fire or candles on graves. They were especially helpful during epidemics, when a lot of sick people were taken to hospitals or dead people to cemeteries. People believed that the fire of death-lathers helped lost souls in finding their graves before the sunrise. Their purpose was also as a reminder about the prayer for the dead. In a symbolic sense they were a line between death and live. There is many monuments of this type on the pilgrim path to Santiago de Compostella. In Kraków there is a death-lantern, next to the church of St. Michał.

a house for swallows??

Lately I have been traveling a lot. At the moment I’m in Katowice. Last week I was in Rzeszów, and just before I had been in Olsztyn. I returned from Olsztyn by train. I had to change the trains in Iława, which is small, provincial town. I didn’t expect there anything more than a cup of tea in station’s canteen, but lucky me. The joy is doubled when you find something interesting. The station building is amazing. It was built in neo-Gothic style in 1900. It is made of red bricks and it has a wooden ceiling and stained glass windows. In the nooks of the station live swallows. And of course there was tea in the canteen.

a shuttle man

When I go to Rzeszów to visit my parents I always feel nostalgic. This time, a walk with my mother reminded me of the time I spent in the public garden on banks of the river Wisłok. I used to go there with my grandmother. We used to pass the river on a shelter driven by an old man. He was well known within the city. He died many years ago, but people still remember him very well. The shelter was replaced by a footbridge, and on the closest lawn appeared monument of the old man.

and in Jedbourhg Abbey

One more memories from Scotland. On the way to Edibourgh we stopped in Jedburgh. I was the only one person from our group who wanted to see the ruins of Jedburgh Abbey. They gave me a very limited time to see everything that’s why I decided to go only to go to see the central nave. This beautiful place symbolize for me the gravity of passage of time. The central nave was constructed of 3 levels of arcades. Over the nave there was only the sky.

Time machine

I like contradictions, that’s why this morning was so interesting for me. My friend asked me to go with him to a clinic for an MRI test. We were surprised that there is such a machine in a clinic which is behind the administration building of steel mill. People think that the glory of the clinic, as well as the steel mill, ended many years ago, but the doorkeeper was not surprised when we asked about the MRI. He directed us to a lift, the same sort as in a block of flats of my aunt twenty years ago (a real technological museum piece). We were informed that we had to go to a basement. And you know? In the basement there was indeed an MRI machine! The lift was like a time machine leading to better world: MRI, nice staff, no queue and no delay. And my friend is OK. Maybe not healthy, but it is definitely not very serious.

thanks to renovations...

A few months ago, when an Englishman organizing a meeting had asked me what we would like to see, I answered: the Rossylyn Chapel. It was just after reading the book by Dan Brown so I knew that it was close to Edinburgh (we had planned to go there). I didn’t know any other interesting places, so my choice was not very well thought out. The Englishman was surprised, but he did what I had wanted, and he took us to the Chapel full of “searchers” of the Holy Grail. The Chapel was amazing. It was decorated by sculptures looking like lace. I remember for example death dances done on one of the ribs of vault. Thanks to renovations which are in progress now, we could climb up the scaffolding and see the pinnacles and flying buttress. I had never expected that it could be possible for me to see them.

Hadrian's wall

I’m a lucky person this month: I’ve seen a lot of ancient Roman ruins. Three weeks ago I was in Pafos where I could see ancient mosaics. Last week I was in Scotland where, remaining roman wall and fortifications are preserved. Romans soldiers probably suffered very much from the weather there… I was exhausted by the wind, even though the Sun was shining, temperature was quite high and there was no rain (my English friend used to say: No rain? Wait a minute…). For no reason my attention was attracted by the remnants of a kind of floor heating: stones supporting the floor, between which hot air flowed. We went for a short walk on Hadrians wall. On the right there was a precipice (Scotland I suppose), on the left a meadow with thousands of sheep.

Flying Saucer

Last weekend I was in Katowice for a workshop. It is a very industrial city which does not any charm for me except for one place. It is a “Spodek” (flying saucer) – a concert hall, where I spent many evenings. I was for example there for the concerts of Cocteau Twins, The Cure and Genesis. A view of the “Spodek” on early Sunday morning made me recalled all those nice memories.

What a surprising being!

I was walking with my friend. From the opposite direction was coming a woman with a dog. The dog was very funny: unbelievably small, white with big eyes and ears. The owner leaded the dog with a red leash. My friend was delighted with the view. She said to me: “What a surprising being!”. Suddenly the dog stopped. His owner dropped the leash. The dog started to look at my friend with astonishment. I started to laugh and I told her: “you must be also strange being for that dog”.

Night in Newcastle

I went to Newcastle Museum again last month. I remember a part of exhibition of Yoko Ono: a room with soldier’s helmets from Second World War. Helmets were hanging upside down on thin, white threads like nests. Helmet and nest… Protection? I hadn’t wanted to disturb the atmosphere of the room so I didn’t come in – I was standing on the doorstep. Unfortunately two women came. Sounds of their conversation were annoying for me. It also disturbed the sound of singing birds which was presented in the background. It destroyed the atmosphere, so I finally decided to go among the helmets. I was walking all around. It was a better perspective indeed… I was really stupid standing alone outside.

a pendant

I got from my father a pendant a few month ago. He had found it in a clinic. I was really happy for the present, because it was very symbolic and characteristic for my father. I remember from my childhood that he was always bringing to home some buttons, stones, pieces of jewelry, sometimes even money, found somewhere on the street. I was wearing the pendant as a present from my father more precious then anything he could bought even for big money.
Unfortunately, the pendant didn’t stay with me for a long time. I lost it a few days ago. If a thing can have a destiny, probably the destiny of it was to pass form ones hands to the others.

Szpieg z Krainy Deszczowców

This is a real treasure among graffiti. Let me introduce you to the Spy from the Rain Peoples Country – a hero of children’s tale. He was following The Wawel Dragon who had set off on a rescue expedition with help to professor Baltazar Gąbka. I forgot about existing all those heroes, so to find this picture it was nice surprise for me.

smiling oval

When I was trying to find The Museum of Modern Art it was raining very hard. It was cold, dark, wet… I almost surrounded, when I saw the building. I got in and went to café to have some tea firstly. Then I bought a ticket and started to look for something interesting for me. In second room I saw a picture of Jean Miro with a smile especially for me in it. There was an white oval, like a head, with a smile. Background was brown with black lines symbolizing a corner of a room. It was beautifully balance for this terrible weather, like a bicycle in the picture taken on a street in San Francisco. Beautiful, but it is a pity for me that I can’t understand an inscription.

It was my first day in San Francisco

A hotel in which a conference was held seemed to be a very good place for such event, but when I awoke in the first morning I was depressed. It was like an island between highways, far far away from the real world I like so much. During a coffee brake I broke through roads and car parks in direction could be promising. In the end I stud on a bank of Bay and I was observing aircrafts.

goodbye to Paris

A taxi driver who drove me to the airport was listening some African music, when I got in to the car. He immediately turned it off and started to look for something which, in his opinion, could be better for me. Probably I don’t look like a person who can accept such kind of music early morning… I didn’t tell him that the music was very nice for me, because I’m definitely a person who hates contacts with anybody early morning. Fortunately, because of terrible interference, he finally decided to get back to his music. This African tune was still ringing in my ears when I was traversing airport’s corridors. A magic goodbye to Paris…