march in parts, #1
Well. Hi. It’s been… a long time. And not a whole lot has happened, but I bring photos, so…
March, the beginnings of.
Friday, 2nd March.
Right before I was meant to leave, the grandchildren got sick again. So, while Piotrek stayed in Warszawa with his mother Ola, Magda and Maciek came to Łódź. We took care of Magda while her dad studied for an exam (he’s doing his MBA and they like to work ‘em hard). Anyway, Magda on her own was lovely and quiet, and yes, adorable. This is her with my father and Zuzia, the cat.
And this is driving through town. Almost all of March looked like this - grey, cloudy, dreary. Not a happy month.
Anyway. On the 5th of March, I “moved” to Warszawa to begin my time there. Got settled in at Ciocia and Wujek’s and things were going pretty smoothly. On the 6th, started filling out forms for my Polish ID and had lunch at Stash Café.
No, it’s not particularly interesting, but I loved the stuff in the front window.
Sunset on the 7th.
Managed to meet up with girls I hadn’t seen since the last time I was in Poland. In 1999, I spent about six weeks at the Mazury, the lakes district, just swimming, kayaking, sailing, and running around. These two and I were joined at the hip.
On the left is Karolina, on the right is Agata. They’ll be starting their lives of fine art and physiotherapy soon, after exams. It was great to see them, but I haven’t seen them since. Sadly.
Sunday, 11th March.
The Friday night before I met with those girls, I went out with a few other people - regular pub for the evening, a wander around, and a place called Narkoza. On Sunday I headed out with Kama and Oskar (Kama the daughter of one of my mother’s old friends, Oskar her friend) for a wander around Prague (the suburb, not the city).
Prague has a reputation for being an ugly place. On the Friday night, Kama said she didn’t know the place too well, so Oskar (who works in public transport) suggested a walk through. And oh, did we walk. We wandered around for hours - until it began to rain, at which point we made a stop in a cosy little pub on a backstreet somewhere.
The pub, a little upstairs loft; Oskar. I know you’re probably thinking, “My, Diana, tha’s a lot of pub-going, especially by your standards.” Yeah, well. It’s Poland.
Random lights; Kama, doing her usual act of hiding from the camera. Love the lamp, though.
Monday, 12th March. SUNSHINE! I never thought I’d be so happy to see it.
View from the balcony of the apartment in Warszawa. Pretty bare view; that hill in the first photo is a central point in Ursynów (the suburb) and during summer there are concerts on the hill. Pretty view, and it’s interesting - there’s always someone walking around, any time of day or night.
From the kitchen window - it got warm in the sun, and fast. And the back of the apartments, view from the metro. Luckily they’re colourful now; these apartment blocks were grey for years. At least now there’s some extra colour.
Oh! Right. I went shopping. Headed to H&M for a random wander. The place was not only huge, but packed full of women who maybe should’ve been at work at that time of day.
And I tried on colours. I know, you’re shocked.
Afterwards, I wandered through town on my way to the cinema. Warm day, but breezy.
Buildings on the way; and the guy with the unicycle later sat next to me at the cinema. Whoo for coincidences!
A church on the corner of Marszałkowska, on Plac Zbawiciela. I wish I knew its name, but in any case, it’s completely stunning.
Luna. Oh, Luna. You glorious, glorious place.
And the interior.
This place is a little slice of indie culture, the first I’d seen here. The only movies they show are the ones you’d see at a Dendy cinema, on Mondays all tickets are 5zł, and the crowd are movie aficionados and band geeks. The Politechnika (uh, the polytechnic, the uni) is nearby, so it seems that the students take their breaks at the cinema. I hadn’t seen such a collection of Converse in a long time, and yet here it was - the asymmetrical fringes, the op-shop clothes, the thick-rimmed glasses, the Gael Garcia Bernal love. Oh, right, I saw The Science of Sleep, which was adorable. Cute, imaginative, playful, hopeful. It was lovely in a very Michel Gondry way.
When I came out, the sun was beginning to set.
Back past Plac Zbawiciela, and I took the long way down Marszalkowska to the metro.
Woman with ropes of garlic; Palac Kultury in the background.
The metro, centrum.
Palac Kultury i Nauki (the Palace of Culture and Learning), a rather major landmark; and sunset. Palac Kultury was built during the Soviet era and is still a symbol of Soviet rule… for years there’s been talk of getting rid of the palace, getting rid of what Used To Be, but it’s such a beautiful, important building that I hope they never decide to do that.
More to come.
March, the beginnings of.
Friday, 2nd March.
Right before I was meant to leave, the grandchildren got sick again. So, while Piotrek stayed in Warszawa with his mother Ola, Magda and Maciek came to Łódź. We took care of Magda while her dad studied for an exam (he’s doing his MBA and they like to work ‘em hard). Anyway, Magda on her own was lovely and quiet, and yes, adorable. This is her with my father and Zuzia, the cat.
And this is driving through town. Almost all of March looked like this - grey, cloudy, dreary. Not a happy month.
Anyway. On the 5th of March, I “moved” to Warszawa to begin my time there. Got settled in at Ciocia and Wujek’s and things were going pretty smoothly. On the 6th, started filling out forms for my Polish ID and had lunch at Stash Café.
No, it’s not particularly interesting, but I loved the stuff in the front window.
Sunset on the 7th.
Managed to meet up with girls I hadn’t seen since the last time I was in Poland. In 1999, I spent about six weeks at the Mazury, the lakes district, just swimming, kayaking, sailing, and running around. These two and I were joined at the hip.
On the left is Karolina, on the right is Agata. They’ll be starting their lives of fine art and physiotherapy soon, after exams. It was great to see them, but I haven’t seen them since. Sadly.
Sunday, 11th March.
The Friday night before I met with those girls, I went out with a few other people - regular pub for the evening, a wander around, and a place called Narkoza. On Sunday I headed out with Kama and Oskar (Kama the daughter of one of my mother’s old friends, Oskar her friend) for a wander around Prague (the suburb, not the city).
Prague has a reputation for being an ugly place. On the Friday night, Kama said she didn’t know the place too well, so Oskar (who works in public transport) suggested a walk through. And oh, did we walk. We wandered around for hours - until it began to rain, at which point we made a stop in a cosy little pub on a backstreet somewhere.
The pub, a little upstairs loft; Oskar. I know you’re probably thinking, “My, Diana, tha’s a lot of pub-going, especially by your standards.” Yeah, well. It’s Poland.
Random lights; Kama, doing her usual act of hiding from the camera. Love the lamp, though.
Monday, 12th March. SUNSHINE! I never thought I’d be so happy to see it.
View from the balcony of the apartment in Warszawa. Pretty bare view; that hill in the first photo is a central point in Ursynów (the suburb) and during summer there are concerts on the hill. Pretty view, and it’s interesting - there’s always someone walking around, any time of day or night.
From the kitchen window - it got warm in the sun, and fast. And the back of the apartments, view from the metro. Luckily they’re colourful now; these apartment blocks were grey for years. At least now there’s some extra colour.
Oh! Right. I went shopping. Headed to H&M for a random wander. The place was not only huge, but packed full of women who maybe should’ve been at work at that time of day.
And I tried on colours. I know, you’re shocked.
Afterwards, I wandered through town on my way to the cinema. Warm day, but breezy.
Buildings on the way; and the guy with the unicycle later sat next to me at the cinema. Whoo for coincidences!
A church on the corner of Marszałkowska, on Plac Zbawiciela. I wish I knew its name, but in any case, it’s completely stunning.
Luna. Oh, Luna. You glorious, glorious place.
And the interior.
This place is a little slice of indie culture, the first I’d seen here. The only movies they show are the ones you’d see at a Dendy cinema, on Mondays all tickets are 5zł, and the crowd are movie aficionados and band geeks. The Politechnika (uh, the polytechnic, the uni) is nearby, so it seems that the students take their breaks at the cinema. I hadn’t seen such a collection of Converse in a long time, and yet here it was - the asymmetrical fringes, the op-shop clothes, the thick-rimmed glasses, the Gael Garcia Bernal love. Oh, right, I saw The Science of Sleep, which was adorable. Cute, imaginative, playful, hopeful. It was lovely in a very Michel Gondry way.
When I came out, the sun was beginning to set.
Back past Plac Zbawiciela, and I took the long way down Marszalkowska to the metro.
Woman with ropes of garlic; Palac Kultury in the background.
The metro, centrum.
Palac Kultury i Nauki (the Palace of Culture and Learning), a rather major landmark; and sunset. Palac Kultury was built during the Soviet era and is still a symbol of Soviet rule… for years there’s been talk of getting rid of the palace, getting rid of what Used To Be, but it’s such a beautiful, important building that I hope they never decide to do that.
More to come.