Quick note to talk about a blog I just heard about that is written by some English students in Poland, there to check out the country before the EURO Cup in 2012:
http://misja21.blox.pl
Blog Description:
"Gazeta Wyborcza", the country's leading daily, has invited journalism students from City University London to visit 21 biggest cities in Poland and determine whether they are ready to host the UEFA EURO 2012 championships. What is it like for foreigners to meet Polish people? Are any of the common stereotypes actually true? Here is our editorial project, Mission 21.
I think this is a fantastic resource because of how expansive it is; I did not have a chance to visit many of the cities that these bloggers have gone to, such as Opole and Szczecin. And there is a lot of great information on food, activities, and sites to see around the country.
Showing posts with label Lublin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lublin. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Polish Favorites: Tourism around Poland
First, I will give general information of cities I would recommend seeing before giving more detailed thoughts on Warsaw, where I spent the most time and saw more tourist spots.
Other than Warsaw
1. Tri-City (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot)
This area was a big favorite with many others on my program. Gdansk has a lot to see and to do: Solidarity Museum, the famous shipyards, Old Town area, and historic sites (meeting halls, monuments/statues, churches, etc.). Gdynia is a very green-looking area and has more famous places and monuments, important to WWII history of the area. Sopot is just a very pretty, yet sometimes expensive, seaside town. It reminded me of resort towns/cities in the US, such as Atlantic City. It has a beautiful boardwalk and a bustling little area on the shore with hotels, shops, and restaurants. It was nice to come here to see the great Baltic Sea.
2. Wroclaw
I swear, whenever I mentioned going to or having been in Wroclaw, the Polish people I would be talking to would not stop praising the city as their favorite or somewhere they were dying to visit. The Americans on my program tended to overlook this city - except for one girl who may have visited after the program ended and the students who would ask me about my thoughts on Wroclaw when I spoke of it - but anyone I knew who was Polish or had a chance to go were only positive about it (which was uncommon for most places, since there were usually good and bad comments about anywhere from Warsaw to Krakow). Not exactly sure what I recommend most, except maybe the Panorama Raclawicka (http://www.panoramaraclawicka.pl/en/what_to_see.html) and walking around the city and over its many bridges (especially seeing Old Town and the Rynek). I also hear the zoo is pretty great.
3. Krakow (Nearby: Auschwitz & Wieliczka Salt Mine)
Visiting Krakow is not a one-day event; it really does need a few days to see a better amount of the city and some sites nearby. Krakow has its Old Town with the amazing Rynek, which houses the famous Sukiennice, churches, and tons of stores and cafes/restaurants. There is also Wawel (cathedral with royal tombs and castle), the newly-opened Schindler Factory Museum, Nowa Huta (for Social-Realist architecture), other churches, Kazimierz (former Jewish district that now has synagogues, hip galleries and cafes, plus the best zapiekanki in town - so I've heard), Jagiellonian University (such as the library and Collegium Maius), monuments (Battle of Grunwald Monument and Kosciuszko's Mound), St. Florian's Gate, the Planty (park with walkway around Old Town), and many other museums (I heard the Ethnography Museum is good). For trips outside the city that are not too far of a bus or car ride away, my main recommendations are Auschwitz in Oswiecim [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/] and Wieliczka Salt Mine (very popular with the other American students, who licked everything, which is allowed) [http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?id_language=2].
4. Honorable Mentions
For a few hours or if there is a lot of time to visit around Poland: Lodz (I recommend Manufaktura [http://www.manufaktura.com/EN/HomePage/Default.aspx] and walking along Piotrkowksa Street), Poznan (did not have much time there, but the Stary Browar [http://www.starybrowar5050.com/en/miejsce/idea] and Old Town's Rynek are great), Torun (see the birthplace of Copernicus and the university named in his honor, plus walk around the pretty brick Old Town, see the leaning tower, and maybe try some fresh piernik (gingerbread) - there is even a museum for it where visitors can make their own; I also walked the bridge connecting one side of the city to the other, not by choice but it was still a nice way to say "hello" and "goodbye"), Lublin, Legnica, Malbork Castle (on the way to or from the Tri-City area)
5. Places I would go
Some places I would see if I had more time (and may see in the future one day): Rzeszow, Bialystok, more of the Baltic Coast, more of Poznan, Białowieża National Park, Zakopane/Tatra Mountain Region, Zamosc, Gniezno
Other than Warsaw
1. Tri-City (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot)
This area was a big favorite with many others on my program. Gdansk has a lot to see and to do: Solidarity Museum, the famous shipyards, Old Town area, and historic sites (meeting halls, monuments/statues, churches, etc.). Gdynia is a very green-looking area and has more famous places and monuments, important to WWII history of the area. Sopot is just a very pretty, yet sometimes expensive, seaside town. It reminded me of resort towns/cities in the US, such as Atlantic City. It has a beautiful boardwalk and a bustling little area on the shore with hotels, shops, and restaurants. It was nice to come here to see the great Baltic Sea.
2. Wroclaw
I swear, whenever I mentioned going to or having been in Wroclaw, the Polish people I would be talking to would not stop praising the city as their favorite or somewhere they were dying to visit. The Americans on my program tended to overlook this city - except for one girl who may have visited after the program ended and the students who would ask me about my thoughts on Wroclaw when I spoke of it - but anyone I knew who was Polish or had a chance to go were only positive about it (which was uncommon for most places, since there were usually good and bad comments about anywhere from Warsaw to Krakow). Not exactly sure what I recommend most, except maybe the Panorama Raclawicka (http://www.panoramaraclawicka.pl/en/what_to_see.html) and walking around the city and over its many bridges (especially seeing Old Town and the Rynek). I also hear the zoo is pretty great.
3. Krakow (Nearby: Auschwitz & Wieliczka Salt Mine)
Visiting Krakow is not a one-day event; it really does need a few days to see a better amount of the city and some sites nearby. Krakow has its Old Town with the amazing Rynek, which houses the famous Sukiennice, churches, and tons of stores and cafes/restaurants. There is also Wawel (cathedral with royal tombs and castle), the newly-opened Schindler Factory Museum, Nowa Huta (for Social-Realist architecture), other churches, Kazimierz (former Jewish district that now has synagogues, hip galleries and cafes, plus the best zapiekanki in town - so I've heard), Jagiellonian University (such as the library and Collegium Maius), monuments (Battle of Grunwald Monument and Kosciuszko's Mound), St. Florian's Gate, the Planty (park with walkway around Old Town), and many other museums (I heard the Ethnography Museum is good). For trips outside the city that are not too far of a bus or car ride away, my main recommendations are Auschwitz in Oswiecim [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/] and Wieliczka Salt Mine (very popular with the other American students, who licked everything, which is allowed) [http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?id_language=2].
4. Honorable Mentions
For a few hours or if there is a lot of time to visit around Poland: Lodz (I recommend Manufaktura [http://www.manufaktura.com/EN/HomePage/Default.aspx] and walking along Piotrkowksa Street), Poznan (did not have much time there, but the Stary Browar [http://www.starybrowar5050.com/en/miejsce/idea] and Old Town's Rynek are great), Torun (see the birthplace of Copernicus and the university named in his honor, plus walk around the pretty brick Old Town, see the leaning tower, and maybe try some fresh piernik (gingerbread) - there is even a museum for it where visitors can make their own; I also walked the bridge connecting one side of the city to the other, not by choice but it was still a nice way to say "hello" and "goodbye"), Lublin, Legnica, Malbork Castle (on the way to or from the Tri-City area)
5. Places I would go
Some places I would see if I had more time (and may see in the future one day): Rzeszow, Bialystok, more of the Baltic Coast, more of Poznan, Białowieża National Park, Zakopane/Tatra Mountain Region, Zamosc, Gniezno
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Be Our Guest: Polish Food Favorities
Thought I would give some information about some restaurants and foods I liked while in Poland... It's my extended "Best Thing I Ever Ate..." in Poland edition.
FYI: ** Means I like it a lot. :)
1. Chains (Polish or International)
-Dessert: Ice cream, sorbet, chocolate, etc.
- Grycan: this is all over Poland, so should not be too difficult to find in a big city; I prefer sorbet because I like fruit and the displays for all of the ice creams and sorbets are always so pretty here. http://www.grycan.pl/
- E. Wedel: there are candies sold all over and then there are the special E. Wedel cafes (pijalnie czekolady - named because they are meant to be places for drinking the chocolate, but foods are also offered at them); thick hot chocolate, chocolate fondues, and other desserts - made right in Warsaw at the Wedel factory in the Praga district.
http://www.wedel.pl/
-Vegan, vegetarian, salads...
- Salad Story: decent chain of quick-service salads; the menu is decently large and varied; I've had a smoked salmon salad ("Rybaka") there and a few others looked pretty good as well. The prices are inexpensive and this is a fast meal when on the road or at a mall. http://saladstory.pl/
- **Green Way: great VEGETARIAN chain in Poland, yes, a POLISH chain that is meatless. The USA cannot exactly claim its own and Poland beat the US to it. :-P This place has a set menu and daily specials (meals and soups of the day). I have been to several of these in Poland (Toruń, Łódź, ate at two of the three in Warsaw) and know they are cute, fast, tasty, and inexpensive. I LOVE soup and this place had a lot of great soups, many of them being famous Polish soups (sometimes with the same recipe, but with any meat removed if the directions call for it). Some of the best foods I had in Poland were here: zupa grochowka (split pea soup) and krupnik soup. http://greenway.pl/
- **Loving Hut: the only FULLY vegan place in the city, it is part of an international chain of places serving only vegan foods. I strongly recommend the Heavenly Salad; this place is cute, quick, and inexpensive. Plus, it is healthy, animal-product-free, and mostly Asian-inspired dishes. http://lovinghut.waw.pl/
-And there is always Pizza Hut... at least it's much nicer outside the US: http://www.pizzahut.pl/ ;)
2. Non Chains
-Warsaw
- **Malinova: considered the BEST ice cream in Warsaw. The shop is adorable and the place is close to where I lived and my spring semester school. There are rotating flavors and I tend to hear they are either good or amazing, so it seems that anyone wins with whatever is chosen. :) As with Grycan, personally, I go for non-dairy/sorbet and fruity. This place was a favorite among me and my fellow American abroad students.
- **VEGA: not easy to find, but really inexpensive, fast, and tasty. This is another "bar" or quick service lunch spot. I think the soups are pretty good and all of the salads and sides that were made always tasted great (I love me some shredded beets and other "surowki" - sides/salads). http://www.vega-warszawa.pl/index.php
- POLKA: one of the two Magda Gessler restaurants I ended up dining at while in Warsaw. I liked the salad with grilled cheese and tomato sauce. http://www.restauracjapolka.pl/
- **Jumbo Salad: another place that is not so easy to find (it's in an apartment complex neighborhood area, not exactly close to the beaten path since VEGA is at least directly off of a major street), but worth the trouble (sadly, I only went once, but it was pretty close to my area). This is another adorable place with good, fast, inexpensive food. I had a salad with crab meat and vegetables, which was tasty. I wish I had gone again, but I am glad I went at least one time. http://www.jumbosalad.com/
- Giovanni Rubino: I did not go to too many Italian places while in Warsaw, but this is a good choice near Old Town. http://www.giovanni.pl/
- **Literatka: another good choice near Old Town, but this one is mainly Polish food. The outdoor sitting area is very nice when the weather allows (but the inside of the restaurant looks really pretty as well). I really enjoyed the dishes I had on my visit there: fish soup and a salad with sun-dried tomatoes and grilled salmon. http://www.literatka.com.pl/
- **Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem: this is another Polish/Eastern European/Russian restaurant that was well-reviewed by me and others I know who have gone there. It has a neat newspaper menu and the Communist theme is interesting (I loved their website and name-dropped the place a lot before ever going...). I had a tasty meal there of borscht and seasonal salad with grilled chicken and strawberries. This place seems to be pretty memorable and eating outside is recommended if possible. http://www.czerwonywieprz.pl/
- Salad House: another salad bar place with a good-sized menu. This one is similar to Salad Story and Jumbo Salad, but its location is close to city center and the Swietokrzyska Metro station.
-Gdańsk
- Velevetka: This place has dishes that are regional for near the Baltic Sea area and this city in particular. I remember the pickles served to the table were a great combination of sweet and sour. I had a regional (Kashubian) fish soup that had large pieces of salmon in it and was quite tasty. http://www.velevetka.pl/
- **Kresowa: more Polish/Eastern European/Russian cuisine. I drank some clear barszcz (one of the best I had in Poland) and I REALLY liked my main dish: white fish (cannot remember what kind) with cooked, shredded beets on top. Unfortunately, I was with a large group on a busy Restaurant Deal Weekend in the area, so our service was not amazing and we waited a lot, but the food was delicious.
-Kraków
- Da Pietro: good Italian cuisine near the main rynek. I remember having another good fish soup here as well. http://www.dapietro.pl/
- Wesele and Miód Malina: two good Polish restaurants near the rynek (Wesele is in the rynek, but Miód Malina is not too far from it). At Wesele I had a salad with duck meat and was quite surprised at the way duck meat looks and tastes; it was almost as if it were red meat... http://www.weselerestauracja.pl/ and http://www.miodmalina.pl/
- **MOMO: along with many of my favorites in Warsaw, this place is vegetarian/vegan-friendly, with a lot of organic and healthy foods. Plus, it is in a cute little location with great prices, fast service, and a varied (somewhat daily) menu. I had some tasty miso and vegetable soup. Also, I remember having as part of my main dish some zucchini and broccoli in a sauce that was GREAT.
- Horoscope: [http://www.restauracja-horoscope.pl/horoskop.html] I did not eat at the actual restaurant, but ordered my first ever zapiekanka at their to-go window. It was delicious, plus hot and fresh from the oven. Kraków seems to be THE place for zapiekanki, as I also saw (but did not try, though my friends were eating them and offered to give me a bit) a well-known and strongly recommended place called "U Endziora" at Plac Nowy in the Kazimierz district of Kraków. This place may be a little kitchen with a window in a market square, but it also may serve the best zapiekanki in Poland... My friends raved about them as they ate, but they also were a bit under the influence and it was late at night (in Polish, but good pictures: http://prowincjalnawioska.blox.pl/2008/08/Bylam-U-Endziora.html). I encourage the use of garlic sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and chives (but there also could be chicken, bacon, ham, salami, peppers, onions, ketchup, mayonnaise, and other toppings).
-Lublin
- **Mandragora: this is a Jewish restaurant in the main area of Lublin. It was here that I had another fantastic soup, this time a great cabbage soup. Also, I finished off with a warm Israeli drink that had cinnamon and bits of apple. Yum. http://www.mandragora.lublin.pl/
-On the road
- Brovaria (Poznań): great location in the main rynek. I really liked my lunch here: a grilled tuna salad with fruit slices and vegetables. http://www.brovaria.pl/EN-H28.html
- Random food/milk bars (Legnica & road): Now, milk bars are a mixed bag... some are nicer than others in looks and some are better than others in dishes, while at one place alone there could be both great and inedible foods. The price is so cheap that you may be given what you pay for, but it is an experience whether your food turns out well or not... at least the price was not so high that it would be a complete waste of money and time. Give them a chance and they could surprise... and maybe even give a second chance if the first time does not turn out so well. I am a fan of borscht (well, I am a soup lover in general), especially Ukrainian borscht, which I had at a bar on the road and at a restaurant in Legnica. Both were great.
- **Don Giovanni (Legnica): good Italian food in the rynek. I had a grilled salmon salad that was really good and the entire menu looked great. http://www.dongiovanni.legnica.pl/
- **Krotoszyce Palace (near Legnica): gorgeous palace and grounds, commonly used for weddings and other important events. The restaurant is great with a wonderful menu. I really liked my lunch main dish of a green bean salad with sun-dried tomatoes and sliced turkey (usually served with grilled tuna, but the waitress said they were out of tuna or some issue and asked if I could replace it with turkey) http://www.palackrotoszyce.pl/
3. Products
-Eko chipsy: dried apple chips
-Cisowianka: lekko gazowana (lightly carbonated water)
-Whomus: Hummus
-Sonko: rice cakes/waffles and other crisps
-piernik/gingerbread
4. Street food
-gofry: freshly made waffles with or without toppings. Warm with strawberry jam, that's how I did it. I also would have tried with other jams or with fruit (not really into whipped cream or other syrups and sauces).
-zapiekanki: PLEASE do not eat any ho-hum zapiekanka. Seek quality, which may mean waiting in a line and/or for a fresh zapiekanka to be made for you on REAL baguette bread, toasted in an oven with your toppings of choice (cheese, mushrooms, chicken, etc), with sauce(s) (ketchup, mayonnaise, garlic sauce), and seasoning (chives). I trust certain fresh ones made in Kraków. Go for the real deal, a big and fresh one over the sad wannabes at any gas station or stand.
-kebabs: I am not much of an expert and they are everywhere. It seems there are a lot of good places to go for these and they are common in any city with at least a few people (from big cities to smaller towns). If there is a line waiting for them, then that might be a good indication for taste. I wish I could say more, but I went to a pretty good one in Kraków and I heard of many good ones in Warsaw. I just do not eat much meat, so I had to wait to find a vegetarian version, which means I was not a good judge of where to eat them. Sadly, there are probably a lot more bad or mediocre ones than good ones, but that goes for anything.
-pączki: I am not really a fan of these Polish baked goods (I find it difficult to call them donuts), but this is another item where I stress looking for freshness and quality. Please go to a good, known place where they are warm, soft, and delicious. It does not matter too much about large selection versus no selection over fillings, but what does matter is quality. I know, based on recommendations and Fat Thursday/Pączki Day, that A. Blikle is good (only one filling, but this place is a chain considered to sell the best pączki in Poland) [http://www.blikle.pl/] and Cukiernia Pawłowicz (MANY filling choices from rose jam to chocolate and cherries) in a stand on Chmielna Street in Warsaw.
-cupcakes: recently popular in the US, now becoming very popular in Poland. My first-hand recommendations: Cupcake Corner in Kraków [http://cupcakecorner.pl/], Lola’s Cupcakes in Warsaw [http://www.lolascupcakes.pl/], and Goodies in Warsaw [http://www.goodies.pl/]. All have interesting flavors, fillings, and toppings in cute, little shops.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Underneath The Sycamore
A busy couple of days have happened since my last entry. On Friday, we took a train to Lublin and checked into our hotel (it was neat to have card keys and to each have our own). Our room had a nice view of the square towards the rynek/old town area - which at one point gave us a view of a crowd of spectators and dancers doing 'Brazilian Dance Fighting.' :-P Once we made it to our rooms and left our bags, we went around the city, seeing a group that is trying to preserve Lublin's Jewish history and their exhibit at a special gate in the city. After that point, we went near the city's castle, into an underground area near the town hall to see models and hear stories of the cities historical progress (including a moving model with lights, sounds, and Wislawa Szymborska reciting a poem before we heard the story of a fire that almost burned down the city). We later walked around the town, seeing the remains of a former cathedral, a former orphanage, 'Christian' versus 'Jewish' areas (before and now) and the gates and bridges between them, different places of worship, a Jewish university, a Jewish cemetery, and more of the city (paths, squares - but in the shape of an eye with 10 buildings on one side and stairs to the castle hill on the other). It is a cute little city. We stopped for snacks at one point before having a nice dinner at a Jewish restaurant in the Old Town area. I had a really good cabbage soup, plus an okay grilled salmon salad and this neat Israeli drink (with little bits of apple and cinnamon, which I had served warm since it was a chilly day). Later on, I had the chance to watch some TV and then some of us spent some time at a cafe.
On Saturday, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel (one of the better I have had at an accommodation since coming to Poland) before going to the Majdanek concentration/extermination camp. It is very well-preserved, which makes it seem as though we are on a movie set. It is also very close to the city and interesting to see after visiting Auschwitz (especially for comparison reasons). It is free to enter (just need to set up and to pay for a guide if wanted). It had some neat historical exhibits and the different buildings seem almost left untouched since the camp stopped being used. There was one room that had THOUSANDS of shoes. It was as startling as the amounts of hair and belongings on display at Auschwitz, but Majdanek also has gas chambers and crematoria that were not destroyed. It was a very informative trip and interesting to see how more than one camp appears, even so many years later. We also have been fortunate to have had AMAZING tour guides on every tour, from tours in Warsaw to tours in the tri-cities on the Baltic to Auschwitz and Krakow and Lublin and this camp. The guide also reminded me of someone I know, which made me almost laugh to myself. I appreciate people who care to learn and to teach about historical places with such knowledge and passion (particularly difficult places, such as cemeteries and death camps).
After we returned, I relaxed and did some work before going to the wonderful Night of the Museums. I stuck with a group of us who went, so we mostly saw just a performance at Lazienki Park (cool lights, tons of people, jazz music, a guitarist from Genesis) - on the way there some of us saw a few Annie Leibovitz portraits up along the street - then walked around the park (pretty dark except some candles, lanterns, or lights shined at certain points; saw some loud - they were making their presence known in sound, not sight - peacock friends again, but hard to spot in the tops of trees) and then headed towards a park near a castle/museum before walking around (the soccer stadium was lit up with cool lights and we walked by a hip-hop/rap concert in a park) and then going to Old Town. We sat at a cafe before heading back for the night. There were so many events and available museums (a couple of us checked the extensive schedule for the participating museums, galleries, cafes, and other places), it was crazy! And I am not sure I have ever seen so many people out... even during the day. :-/ There were lines and people everywhere, of all kinds and ages. :-P
Today, sadly, I have work and it is predicted to rain. HOWEVER, I may try to head out in the grayness soon. ;) Not sure what and when, but I want to see Wilanow and the first day of Chopin concerts! On Tuesday, we go to the Presidential Palace for a visit/tour.
Photos added to Photobucket. :-D
On Saturday, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel (one of the better I have had at an accommodation since coming to Poland) before going to the Majdanek concentration/extermination camp. It is very well-preserved, which makes it seem as though we are on a movie set. It is also very close to the city and interesting to see after visiting Auschwitz (especially for comparison reasons). It is free to enter (just need to set up and to pay for a guide if wanted). It had some neat historical exhibits and the different buildings seem almost left untouched since the camp stopped being used. There was one room that had THOUSANDS of shoes. It was as startling as the amounts of hair and belongings on display at Auschwitz, but Majdanek also has gas chambers and crematoria that were not destroyed. It was a very informative trip and interesting to see how more than one camp appears, even so many years later. We also have been fortunate to have had AMAZING tour guides on every tour, from tours in Warsaw to tours in the tri-cities on the Baltic to Auschwitz and Krakow and Lublin and this camp. The guide also reminded me of someone I know, which made me almost laugh to myself. I appreciate people who care to learn and to teach about historical places with such knowledge and passion (particularly difficult places, such as cemeteries and death camps).
After we returned, I relaxed and did some work before going to the wonderful Night of the Museums. I stuck with a group of us who went, so we mostly saw just a performance at Lazienki Park (cool lights, tons of people, jazz music, a guitarist from Genesis) - on the way there some of us saw a few Annie Leibovitz portraits up along the street - then walked around the park (pretty dark except some candles, lanterns, or lights shined at certain points; saw some loud - they were making their presence known in sound, not sight - peacock friends again, but hard to spot in the tops of trees) and then headed towards a park near a castle/museum before walking around (the soccer stadium was lit up with cool lights and we walked by a hip-hop/rap concert in a park) and then going to Old Town. We sat at a cafe before heading back for the night. There were so many events and available museums (a couple of us checked the extensive schedule for the participating museums, galleries, cafes, and other places), it was crazy! And I am not sure I have ever seen so many people out... even during the day. :-/ There were lines and people everywhere, of all kinds and ages. :-P
Today, sadly, I have work and it is predicted to rain. HOWEVER, I may try to head out in the grayness soon. ;) Not sure what and when, but I want to see Wilanow and the first day of Chopin concerts! On Tuesday, we go to the Presidential Palace for a visit/tour.
Photos added to Photobucket. :-D
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Parks & Recreation
Part of "Grass" by Animal Collective:
I was very nervous how I felt in there
I was very cautious when you said "hey there"
Would you like to see me often
Though you don't need to see me often
Because I'd like to see you, often!
Though I don't need to see you, often!
Today, I began my day with a Polish lesson, during which we were given our practice tests to work on for next week's final exam. We then had a lesson on Zakopane (people, culture - food, music, clothes, art, animals, etc.) and Polish slang. Since the weather was so nice, I decided to head outside and go the Lazienki Park. I am glad to see it now that winter is over (last time I went inside the park was my first full day here at the end of January). The trees are flowering, the animals are out, the sun is shining... it was a nice day to walk around and see most of the monuments and other sites around the park. After my walk, my program had a meeting; we talked about our trip to Lublin Friday to Saturday (our train departs Friday at about 9AM, to arrive less than 2.5 hours later; we are staying at Hotel Europa: http://www.hoteleuropa.pl/en/; We will almost immediately begin our tour of Lublin - mainly places of Jewish significance - after we check-in and drop off our luggage. In the evening, we have a group dinner at Mandragora Restaurant: http://www.mandragora.lublin.pl/, which apparently is Jewish cuisine to fit with the trip's theme/purpose of Jewish education.) Saturday, we have breakfast at the hotel before a tour of Majdanek concentration camp. Our train back to Warsaw is at about noon, so we can prepare for Night of the Museums and have some time to ourselves. Also, we received information at the meeting about our final dinner (Wednesday evening in Old Town), our program evaluation, and finishing the semester - checking out of the dorm, finishing classes, etc.
Only one more day of classes this week, plus I need to finish a paper before leaving for our Lublin trip. :-/ After that, I have classes and one test next week, plus 3 final papers that need to be completed by early June.
Photos from today on Photobucket...
I was very nervous how I felt in there
I was very cautious when you said "hey there"
Would you like to see me often
Though you don't need to see me often
Because I'd like to see you, often!
Though I don't need to see you, often!
Today, I began my day with a Polish lesson, during which we were given our practice tests to work on for next week's final exam. We then had a lesson on Zakopane (people, culture - food, music, clothes, art, animals, etc.) and Polish slang. Since the weather was so nice, I decided to head outside and go the Lazienki Park. I am glad to see it now that winter is over (last time I went inside the park was my first full day here at the end of January). The trees are flowering, the animals are out, the sun is shining... it was a nice day to walk around and see most of the monuments and other sites around the park. After my walk, my program had a meeting; we talked about our trip to Lublin Friday to Saturday (our train departs Friday at about 9AM, to arrive less than 2.5 hours later; we are staying at Hotel Europa: http://www.hoteleuropa.pl/en/; We will almost immediately begin our tour of Lublin - mainly places of Jewish significance - after we check-in and drop off our luggage. In the evening, we have a group dinner at Mandragora Restaurant: http://www.mandragora.lublin.pl/, which apparently is Jewish cuisine to fit with the trip's theme/purpose of Jewish education.) Saturday, we have breakfast at the hotel before a tour of Majdanek concentration camp. Our train back to Warsaw is at about noon, so we can prepare for Night of the Museums and have some time to ourselves. Also, we received information at the meeting about our final dinner (Wednesday evening in Old Town), our program evaluation, and finishing the semester - checking out of the dorm, finishing classes, etc.
Only one more day of classes this week, plus I need to finish a paper before leaving for our Lublin trip. :-/ After that, I have classes and one test next week, plus 3 final papers that need to be completed by early June.
Photos from today on Photobucket...
Monday, May 9, 2011
Mistaken For Strangers
Interesting day. The weather was nice, but I did not have much of a chance to enjoy it because of my class schedule. It was a bit awkward to have classes again, although not too strange. I had a Polish lesson, where I had to go back to learning the details of Polish grammar. We learned more information about our Polish exam sometime next week (our last week) and that our class on Wednesday will include everyone on the program, where we will learn about Polish slang. I later had a history class (we learned our papers are due at the beginning of June and are much more personal and liberal in topic; we select what we want to write about based upon what we learned in class and from our experiences abroad; our actual lesson was about Prague Spring) and a politics class (again, another open-ended, personal choice topic. Similar to the paper in politics - in terms of due date, length, using course material - except about politics and foreign relations; today we learned about foreign relations between Poland and other countries after the fall of Communism). My Jews in Poland class was cancelled due to the professor's illness (both today and tomorrow classes are cancelled with a make-up tentatively set for Thursday; out trip to Lublin, so far, is unchanged - to be from Friday to Saturday). We had a paper for the Jewish class due tomorrow, but since the teacher is sick, there has been a loose extension for the paper, set to be due by the end of the week. :)
The extra time I had from cancellation of my Jewish class meant that I could eat dinner earlier, begin the long tirade of laundry work, and watch "Source Code" [it was quite good...]. Now I am up to finishing laundry and WORK. I have four papers, readings, some Polish work, and studying (for the Polish exam) to do the next couple of weeks...
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| Polish poster, where it is called "Code of Immortality" (in Polish) |
— Marcel Proust
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Make Some Noise
Some upcoming events:
-Monday, May 9 = Back to school
-Last couple of weeks = filling in free time with any places I have yet to visit around Warsaw (library roof, parks, etc.)
-Friday, May, 13-Saturday, May 14 = Lublin trip (Majdanek death camp, cemeteries or synagogues and other important Jewish sites around the city)
-Saturday, May 14 night = Night of the Museums [http://noc-muzeow.pl/index.php/noc-muzeow/wojewodztwo-mazowieckie/warszawa]; in particular, I will try to attend the inaugural Chopin in Lazienki Park performance that night... and maybe head back for the weekly day performance the next day
-May 16-19 = last week of classes
There will also be one more group dinner for us CIEE students. Not sure what else may happen or is being planned, but on our last day in Krakow we heard about the Lublin trip this weekend and the final dinner.
Then CIEE is done for the spring and I head on 2 weeks of family travel to such places as back to Swiebodzin and Legnica, but also to Prague, Dresden, and near Rzeszow/Jaroslaw.
-Monday, May 9 = Back to school
-Last couple of weeks = filling in free time with any places I have yet to visit around Warsaw (library roof, parks, etc.)
-Friday, May, 13-Saturday, May 14 = Lublin trip (Majdanek death camp, cemeteries or synagogues and other important Jewish sites around the city)
-Saturday, May 14 night = Night of the Museums [http://noc-muzeow.pl/index.php/noc-muzeow/wojewodztwo-mazowieckie/warszawa]; in particular, I will try to attend the inaugural Chopin in Lazienki Park performance that night... and maybe head back for the weekly day performance the next day
-May 16-19 = last week of classes
There will also be one more group dinner for us CIEE students. Not sure what else may happen or is being planned, but on our last day in Krakow we heard about the Lublin trip this weekend and the final dinner.
Then CIEE is done for the spring and I head on 2 weeks of family travel to such places as back to Swiebodzin and Legnica, but also to Prague, Dresden, and near Rzeszow/Jaroslaw.
Another cool website: http://www.tastingpoland.com/index.html
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