Our Polish Adventure...

Our Last Day

2005-08-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

Our Polish Adventure...

It's our last day here in Poland. We've had a great time running around taking photographs and we're all quite sad that it's come to an end. Thanks very much for reading about our adventures and leaving such encouraging posts, especially anon, who was most helpful. Don't stop reading as we will be updating the blog with full and comprehensive details of our travels when we get back and have more time, and hopefully uploading some 'real' photos when we get them developed. Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Beth, Kay, Vix. xxx

This was our last image of Poland before we left, taken from the 9th floor of our hostel, it was so beautiful.

The light around Warsaw was also amazing, but luckaly the heavens stayed closed for us lucky ladies.

But the greatest achievment of the whole trip was to find Vix a man, even if she wasn't too sure of him on first impressions.

JPII Day

2005-08-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Wadowice, home of the late, great Pope John Paul the Second. Pope John Paul was, of course a Pole - and they love him.

No less that seven albums in the top 50 of the Polish record charts have featured the late pontiff since his death earlier this year. His books and biographies are read by everyone and anyone from teenagers to the homeless (see Vicki's Warsaw post) Bancomats advertise the soon to be released biographical movie of his life. So we were expecting a visit to his hometown to be a colourful affair, full of trinkets and memorabilia and stricken Polish Catholics anxious to pay homage to their 'papiez.'

In actual fact our visit to Wadowice was nothing like this. Although sizable number of umbrellas snaked their way up the hill of John Paul the second's childhood residence, too many by far to fit in the small shrine to his early life consisting of photographs, furniture and clothing of the young Karol Wojtyla (gasp!), there were nowhere near the coach loads of tourists we were expecting.

The church of John Paul's baptism is a modest building with an architectural onion on the top, not ostentatious in its decoration and with no mention of its connection to the former Pope. The only indication that the Pope spent any time here was the regular, rousing masses sung with feeling by the visiting congregation throughout the day and the quiet reverence of religious tourists who knelt and prayed in the nave before the main altar.

Polish religious tourism seems entirely different in character to the Italian variety. Less commercial, less dramatic, less...busy. Perhaps we caught Wadowice on a bad day. The miserable weather was certainly a deterrent to those thinking of visiting the small hill top town. Perhaps it is because John Paul the second, a towering figure in Polish history and one of the most impressive Popes to date, is not yet a saint and lacks the power of intercession, so while JPII has accumulated a string of hit albums to his name, he has so far failed to attract the hoards of Pilgrims that attend the site of the miracle working Black Maddona of Czestochowa, north of Krakow.

Whatever the reason I hope Wadowice retains its quiet sincerity, the best kind of homage to Poland's finest and only Papiez, loved so well by Poles the world over.

Cracking Time

2005-08-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one to say that we got into Krakow yesterday lunchtime after a 4-hour train journey. Made some friends on the train and here are some photos of the cheeky scamps.

I am still lamenting the loss of my CD player on the flight over. Some thieving Pole has inadvertently landed themselves with a rare Stereolab CD so thank goodness for small mercies, my loss is their musical gain.

Will post more extensively when we have time to mull over our adventures and put them down into the succinct and lucid style you are all accustomed to. Just to keep you updated, today we went to the old castle and nearly fainted when we saw a Vasari painting (yup we are still art geeks) and we also visited the ghetto and took a trip round Oscar Schindler's factory. We even sat in his very office where he composed the famous list!

On a personal note, had some strange run ins with the Poles of late. Not sure if my golden locks make me look more Polish but it all began in Gdansk when I was dragged round the corner by a local. This sounds more shocking than it actually was. The Pole in question was an 80-year-old woman. Kay and me were queuing for tickets and she motioned to me to draw closer so she could speak. Foolishly I bent down to her height and she began jabbering away in Polish. I told her I was English and she grabbed my arm with an iron like fist. She then dragged me round the corner with Kay left in the queue bewildered. I tried to tell her I was English but she wouldn't let go. Finally we arrived at a timetable, which I presume that she wanted help reading, and as she let me go and I massaged my bruised arm, I was able to find a nice young Polish man to help her with her requests. Then on the train to Krakow I was sat in the corridor eating my sandwiches when the ticket inspector came. Ignoring the tickets we waved in his face, he grabbed my bag of sandwiches out of my lap and started chattering in Polish. He then showed them to the other passengers, manically laughing, handed them back to me and went on his merry way. It was all rather bizarre.

A Fiery Night In Wroclaw

2005-07-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

Last night we headed into the old town square where we were met with an amazing fire display accompanied by drums and a real party atmosphere. Here are a few photos of the masters at work.

We also saw a Polish couple wandering around the square but I hope they managed to find a shelter as within a couple of minutes of taking this photo the heavens opened and there was the most amazing thunder and lighting storm set beautifully against the square. We managed to get ourselves a nice spot outside a bar so could watch everyone running out the rain from the dry comfort of our big umbrella, but we still managed to get soaked on the way home, ah well.

I Never Knew Snowmen Were So Vain...?

2005-07-31T12:08:00.001-07:00

Today we stumbled upon a Polish contemporary art gallery and what we found inside was highly insightful. After being educated the Polish way, about the birds and the bees in an highly educational exhibition on the top floor, we walked around soaking up all the art, like all blood-thirsty art historians tend to do at every gallery they visit. Whilst on our soak up session we came across some things that caught our eye, namely a whole room dedicated to models of snowmen all looking in mirrors. It was most peculiar but maybe it was saying something about the pressure on snowmen and women to look their best at all times an keep their snow looking crisp and those carrot noses of theirs looking fresh, it must be so hard for them.

Then a room that had a rack of human skins - don't worry they weren’t real, just a little disturbing.

Then this rather attractive shopping trolley, now I know that there will be a few fans of this luxury item out there, I really think this is the pull along bag that’s going to bring them back in fashion, old and young alike will be pulling one of these babies along the high street.

Can't Bear It

2005-07-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

The day started badly when Beth stole some honey from the honey jar...

Everyone knew that a chase would ensue. We had to escape to the jungle.

Kay took one last moment to gaze into the distance. The bear was very angry. Would she ever be reunited with her Polish lover...

While we were in the jungle, the intrepid Kay decided to adopt this sophisticated form of camouflage. The bear had given chase; we could hear its angry roar close behind us...

While we were in the jungle, the intrepid Kay decided to adopt this sophisticated form of camouflage. The bear had given chase; we could hear its angry roar close behind us...

Although Beth was secretly glad that it wasn't her!!

We all had a vodka shot to celebrate our victory...

And threw some shapes in the town square

What a day!

P.s - Or we might have gone to the Botanical Gardens in Wroclaw. Believe what you will.

Polish Rude Boys

2005-07-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

There are many little fiats in Polska. They sound like little motorbikes and bomb it around the streets often carrying the older Pole or a penniless student. This particular little car caught our eye parked up in Gdansk and we think it’s splendid.

Poznan: Lakes, Skates and We Got Baked.

2005-07-30T08:55:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Poznan and had a good old wander around the old town square. I was happy to get some real meat at last after surviving on bread and cheese for the past week, we did it in style at the Viking themed restaurant in the square but it was an exceedingly upmarket Viking restaurant, there were no savage looking bearded men or racks of meat, we all agreed that any Viking in their right mind would not eat in an establishment such as that. Anyways the next day we headed to the lake across the river, it was a beautifully sunny day and so we all had a good old walk around and got loads if photos of the things the people of Poznan liked to do on a sunny day. In true style Vicky and Beth hired skates and went for a cruise around, I must admit I was very impressed with the skills those girls were pulling.

Afterwards we had a good old Frankfurter and sat and watched the sun set or as Beth chose to do, go down the slide and get rather filthy, I don't know, what can you do with that girl? But it was a beautiful evening and really nice to have a bit of a relax for a change we had all been working a bit too hard. But it was a good day and we finished it of with a few local beers in a bar for the mere sum of about 51p a pint, sorry 0.5l.

Sunday Mass

2005-07-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

On our only Sunday in Gdansk we decided to go to Mass in St Bridget’s church. St Bridget’s is architecturally unspectacular, re-built in red brick in 1973 to a 14th century plan. Nonetheless it is thronged with tourists. On the left of the nave is a large chapel dedicated to Solidarity, whose leader Lech Walesa found shelter in the church under martial law.

The shrine is adorned with distinctive red and white solidarity flags and we could not help but be moved by the central sculpted monument to the shipyard workers who died in the police brutality of 1970. The first in a series of strikes by the shipyard workers, the workers demanded higher pay to combat the crippling levels of inflation that gripped the country. This unprecedented public protest caused a knee jerk reaction from the government and police force. Over 200 workers died in the violence and on either side of the chapel there are small crosses are dedicated to each of the fatal casualties of the 1970's strikes.

Looking around the aging population of the church after mass we reckon most of them will remember the shipyard strikes of 1970. The older generation completely fill the cavernous church interior, a few young families scattered amongst them. Many of the congregation may remember Lech Walesa a frequent visitor to the church whose identity is connected so intimatley to his own.

The 1970 shipyard strikes sent shockwaves throughout Poland and still register painfully in the national consciousness. As recently as last year the city commissioned an impressive mural covering a fifty meter stretch of wall by Iwona Zajac which, like the chapel, is a lasting monument to those who lost their lives.

Although shocked by the loss of life in the 1970's strikes, the workers were undeterred. Led by Lech Walesa, they staged a second series of strikes in 1980 which received the attention of the worlds media. The strikes were supported by the Catholic church whose bishop performed a huge open air mass for those who had lost their lives a decade earlier.

As food prices doubled and 24 factories closed in 1980 in the relatively affluent Baltic region, the workers set out a list of 21 political and economic demands. This manifesto included the right to strike, the release of political prisoners and the abolition of censorship. The government, although anxious not to show signs of panic, was forced to concede to many of the workers demands in the Gdansk Agreement signed on the 31st of August 1981. The first trade union behind the iron curtain, named Solidarity, was formed as a result. Led by Lech Walesa, Solidarity was phenomenally successful, attracting over 10 million members in its first eighteen months.

In 1981 martial law was imposed in Poland as a direct result of the activities of Solidarity, who the Polish and Russian governments saw as undermining communism, not only in Poland but throughout the whole of central and eastern Europe. The country's borders were sealed, airports were closed, telephone lines were disconnected and a curfew was imposed between 10pm and 6am. In addition to this television and radio broadcasts were suspended and all public services and most factories were placed under military control. Although many Poles actively resisted martial law Solidarity was driven underground, and almost 4 thousand activists were arrested and imprisoned. During this time St Bridget’s became a welcome sanctuary for Waesla who avoided arrest by hiding there many times in 1980, before finally being arrested and detained for almost a year. Walesa was eventually released, won a Nobel peace prize in 1983 and became president of the third republic of Poland in 1989.

Social Realism

2005-07-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

On the morning before catching the train to Poznan we managed to squeeze in a quick visit to an exhibition on Polish Social Realism. This is the name for the art patronised by the communists during the Cold War.

I suppose you could view this kind of art in two ways. Firstly it is a realistic art form that looks like what it is meant to represent. It presents its themes clearly so everyone can understand it, even those who are not educated in this area. This is the Communist argument. Communists also liked to argue that social realism was an art form that appealed to the masses because of its socialist subject matter, often showing factory workers and labourers. Communist's in the era that this art was created argued that it was a realistic and true depiction of everyday working life. They disliked art that was abstract or ambiguous in meaning because it was considered to be elitist and alienated the working classes.

The second way of viewing Social Realism is that it is a non too subtle form of propaganda, paintings boast happy, wholesome smiling faces and communist slogans that help to bolster the regime. These posters and painting were displayed in prominent places such as post offices and banks and many critics of communism consider them to be very unrealistic.

The exhibition we went to was organised very well and the posters and paintings were presented amongst triumphant red flags and vigorous marching music. It was easy to see how persuasive the paintings could be, even though we three were more inclined to sympathise with the second argument. We've included a couple of examples so you can make up you're own mind...

images from www.muzeum.narodowe.gda.pl

Last Days in Gdansk

2005-07-28T04:26:00.001-07:00

We have really enjoyed our stay in Gdansk but the weather has been so bad that we still haven’t managed to get any good photos of the shipyards. This was bad news for us as the shipyards occupy a proud place in Poland’s heritage, as the towering shipyard monument testifies.

So on our last day we got up early and made a last ditch attempt to catch them on film.

Gdansk has a beautiful historic canal.

We also found a monkey.

and Vicki's personal favourite... a little cat

Our Day Out

2005-07-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

Our Polish Adventure...

On.... we headed to Sopot, Poland's answer to Brighton,

We swam in the Baltic sea

Met the real Ronald McDonald

And drank lots of tea,

Before heading back to Gdansk for a few brewski's before bed.

A Tale Of Three Cities

2005-07-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our Polish Adventure...
Gdansk is one of three large coastal towns that dominate the Polish Baltic coastline. Known collectivley as the Trojmiasto, or Tri-city,
they are Gsansk, Sopot and Gdynia.

We felt it was our duty to investigate all three cities. Luckily for us Sopot has a beach!

Gdansk is not only a busy tourist centre but also home to many industrial plants and the famous shipyards (previously Lenin shipyards) which were the impetus behind the Solidarity strikes of the 1980's.

Sopot is a very popular Polish holiday resort. It has a cosmopolitan atmosphere, a pier and plenty of lodys (ice-creams).

Gdynia is the least attractive and most run down of the three cities. The port was built in the 1930's to open up Poland's trade routes in the Baltic region. It is now a centre of economic growth. The authorities in Gydnia are currently planning a new ferry terminal, which will operate between Polish and Finnish coastal areas.

A Bit Of History...

2005-07-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

Our Polish Adventure...
As we celebrate 60 years since VE day the Poles are remembering the 60th anniversary of the Postdam conference (July 17th - 2nd August 1945). This was the international conference that met after the end of World War Two to decide upon territorial disputes caused directly by Hitler's ruthless imperial policy, which led him to invade Poland among other mainland European territories. The Postdam conference was called to decide the future of post-war Germany and what to do with their territorial gains following the defeat of Hitler by the allied powers.

Each of the victorious powers had their own program for peace, and their own ideas about how to redistribute the territories formerly occupied by Germany. The main issue relating to Poland was how to determine its western border. After much dispute the western border was fixed at the Oder River and the Lusatian Neisse, the current border of contemporary Poland. This decision shifted Poland's border 300km (180 miles) westward, and they obtained the southern parts of East Prussia. Yet despite the expansion of territory on the west side, Poland still lost over 70,000 square kilometres (43400 square miles) of land, almost twice the land mass of Luxembourg, necessitating the relocation of almost 20 million people. These territorial losses introduced a heavy dependence upon the Soviet Union and helped to facilitate communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks to Stalin's prominent role in the Postdam negotiations and the allies gratitude to the Soviets over their part in securing victory over axis powers the Soviet union managed to gain more than 500,000 square kilometres (310,000 square miles) of land, gains that were not restituted until the fall of communism in 1989, when the central and eastern European countries that had been adversely affected under communism regained sovereignty.

Papa Dance

2005-07-24T00:57:00.000-07:00

Papa Dance

The Venue: The open fields of Gdansk, west of the central train line.
The Event: A ridiculously cheap outdoor Polish live music festival.
The Band: '80s Polish favourites "Papa Dance."

"Great come back of "The Polish Beatles" declares a member of Warsaw University in response to the news that everyone's favourite '80s synth. band is reforming. Arriving at the Gdansk July open-air festival, we were blissfully unaware of the musical significance of the band we were about to hear. A mere 60p secured our place amongst Poles from Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia and we stood amongst the thousands waiting to hear their favourite band of yesteryear. Heavily sponsored by LG the electronics company, the compare teased the audience with free t-shirts, flinging them to the masses, and earned his sponsors moneys worth by slipping "flat screen tv" and "mobile phone" into every other word.

Once the masses had been stirred to fever pitch, the stage went black and a single man with bleached hair and reflective sunglasses strode up to the synths. The first Jean Michele Jarre esque chords confirmed that we were in for a treat. Gradually, one by one, the rest of the band took to the stage. The lead guitarist, resplendent with ginger mullet and baseball jacket struck some chords, heavy on the reverb, just as the bass player took his section of the stage. The spitting image of Neil Morrissey except with a blonde mullet, he injected some funk to the musical mix. The drummer, a wee slip of a man, crept behind the drums, just as the man everyone was waiting to see strutted onto the stage.

Spray on denim and a tight t shirt surprisingly did not manage to disguise the ageing rocker's physique. Despite this, his arrival was met with hysterical excitement and screams from the over 30s. Pointing to the no. 1 stuck onto his chest with rhinestones, he took to the mike and began the two-hour showcase of Papa dance's discography. Visually the band was hypnotic. A real energy, and no doubt the source of all power, seemed to emanate from the lead singer's groin area. Simple moves to be found in any '80s band's repertoire such as the two handed point to the audience and the stamping of feet combined with big grin and arms stretched to either side, were delivered with emphasis on the thrusting of the hips.

Half way through the set the lead singer underwent a costume change, adopting a more demure shirt for the slow ballads, chances for parents to reminisce about their courtships, and for teenagers to indulge in ones of their own. We took this chance to make our way to the Brewski tent for a quick half, making it back for the encore demanded by hoards of nostalgic Poles. Musically Papa Dance had it all, the synth rock pop of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, the power ballads of T'Pau and the curly mullets of Bon Jovi. This seminal '80s band was a hit with Poles of all ages and a hit with the intrepid Polska Adventurers too.

Papa Dance in action.

Poles enjoying the outdoor rock concert

Oliwa

2005-07-24T00:49:00.000-07:00

Another day, another rain cloud in Gdansk. The town centre is beautiful, characterised by pretty 17th century houses with heavy German and Dutch influences, the cobbled streets are a haven for tourists of every nationally, a welcome change in aesthetic after the austere utilitarianism of the Polish capital. It is particularly popular with the Poles and the Germans as the pretty coastal town has long been the subject of territorial disputes between these neighbouring countries.

While we were quite happy ducking in and out of the rain while exploring the old Town we have taken a disappointing number of photos since our arrival, mostly due to the patchy weather. In addition we don't feel we have managed to catch the true spirit of the town which has an impressive local population of close to half a million, being easily distracted by the fripperies of the thriving tourist industry.

However we have come to take photos of contemporary Poland and that is what we shall do, so in the afternoon we headed to the local suburb of Oliwa to seek out the Mosque, which serves the small Tartar population of Gdansk. This is a strange subject for a photographic study in Poland, a notorious bastion of Catholicism, however it is the marginal nature of Islam in Poland that sparked our interest.

The Islamic Tartar population numbers only five to seven thousand of Poland's forty million and is organised around six main religious communities. The Gdansk mosque was built in the early nineties, one of the first purpose built Mosques in the country. Although architecturally insignificant it represents an important aspect of Polish culture given the recent challenges which Islam has faced across Europe and beyond.

The Tartar Mosque in Oliwa

Ghetto Kay.

Kay found one of her brethren in the park.

Disco Dancing

2005-07-24T00:44:00.000-07:00

Our first day in Gdansk was a bit of a write off. It was dull and grey and there were no good photos to be had. Not only this but I had read an entire book on photography on the train from Warsaw and was getting a bit snap happy so the others had to sedate me with a 100ml shot of Polish Vodka - in the middle of the day. It fairly made our eyes water, but we took it like men.

We managed to find a cool bar that celebrates the multi faceted and much maligned Polish rock scene, and was decorated with clothes and hair of the stars like some bizarre secular touch relics. So we wiled away our time there, stroking the artefacts and rubbing our face against the glass. Then we went home for some grub.

Later we headed out to student night and the local 'Chasers' to see some hot Polish dance action.

P.S - We also found out some very interesting facts about Baltic amber, visited the Town Hall and saw a very interesting photography exhibition with lots of Polish sailors in it. I would hate you to think we were idling away our time in bars having fun and things.

Learning to dance- Polish Style

Post of the Week

2005-07-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

This strange note was slipped under our hostel door. We hastily opened it to hear running feet down the corridor but are yet to discover the true identity of the author.

First Night In Gdansk

2005-07-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

New city: new beauty regime - so we grabbed ourselves some facemasks and spent the evening in. Gotta look good for them Poles. We have finally managed to get some pictures on the blog so make sure you check out all the past entries to see the new additions.

Beth discovers the power of friendly bacteria

We soon discovered what happens to Kay when the sun goes down...

and she told us she only had combination skin, we beg to differ....

M-City

2005-07-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

We are now in Gdansk so finally able to get some photos onto the blog here is an example of the wall I was recommended to go and see which was amazing by the group m-city, more of their stuff can be found on their website www.m-city.org . We've come across a load more of their stuff up here in Gdansk which as soon as the weather gets better I will get some photos of and put on here. But for now I just have to say that what we are seeing is wicked.

The Mall

2005-07-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

After our action packed day dodging enforcers of the law we ladies decided we needed a treat. So we stopped off at the supermarket to buy ourselves an instant BBQ. This was easy; we picked up plastic knives and forks, kebab skewers - the works. More complicated was what to cook on it. With no burgers lining the Polish deep freeze we were forced to more adventurous. BBQ'd fish anyone? You get to choose your own from a big tank of live ones? Vicki is a vegetarian when at home, so we told her the fish were just there to relax the shoppers and opted for a nice fat Polish sausage instead. A 'biaka' to be exact.

It's a good job they have such long winters in Poland as I can honestly say that when it comes to making BBQ's they are well and truly shite. We lit the quick torch paper expecting a fine burst of flames only to be rewarded by that nasty creeping brown ash that you get on a Risla when you've just stubbed your fag out. (not that I smoke Mum - i promise.)No chance of browning a 'biaka' on that. Thirty minutes later and several newspapers down we were no closer to tasting our tucker. Not only this but time was ticking and we had to get a tram and two buses to meet the girls across town. To be late would be terribly impolite but we just couldn't face another snatched meal of cheese and salami. With Kay as a windguard (small, but effective) and several pieces of wisely planted kindling material, we took our chances.

The results were unspectacular. The BBQ was beyond hope. But then our window lookout Vicki, who had kindly prepared the vegetable kebabs, spotted a glimmer of a flame. A coal was lit! Our dinner was saved. Half an hour more of beating the flames with a cardboard box and we were ready to eat, congratulating ourselves on the fact that we had expended more energy than we had consumed.

After your favourite hunter-gatherers had snaffled their sausages we dashed across town to the mall to meet Ania and Marta. It was spectacular, a huge, great glass building resplendent in the darkness. Even better than Merry Hill. It's the biggest shopping mall in central/eastern Europe, and certainly the biggest in Poland. On the outskirts of the city, it is filled with western shops that stock more or less exactly the same goods as we see on our own shelves although there are a few Polish gems that have managed to hold their own such as Troll (no, it doesn't mean the same) and Cropp Town, both clothes shops where we idled away our time.

It was lovely to see Ania and Marta again and we agreed to stay in touch. We were quite sad to be leaving Warsaw as they had made us feel so welcome, but we were all really looking forward to seeing Gdansk, a curious city in northern Poland familiar to many as the home of Solidarity and the (now re-named) Lenin shipyards. With all that history we were bound to be able to take some interesting photographs, weren't we?....

Marta

Ania

Home Sweet Home

2005-07-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

After our helpful meeting with Marta and Ania we had plenty of top tips about where to go in Warsaw. This was useful as Warsaw is such a big city it is hard to get a handle on it in the short time we were there. It is also not particularly photogenic. One of the things the girls recommended was a visit to the suburbs to see how residents of the city lived. So we caught the number 11 bus, which took us the other side of the Wisla, and hopped off when we saw the tower blocks.

We visited one of the housing projects in which most residents of the city make their home. The legacy of communist Poland, they were designed in a grid shape with communal grassy areas for children to play in (although the play equipment was pretty sparse!!) The houses themselves weren’t particularly run down, and residents had obviously made efforts to cheer up their home environment by planting window boxes and painting their balconies, a welcome splash of bright colour against the persistent grey. However the overall effect was overwhelmingly depressing. As in any major city, residents of Warsaw don't often venture into the city centre, which is a fine example of architectural variety when compared to the uniform estates. I can only imagine they are beautiful on the inside.

To Market To Market

2005-07-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

Pre-dawn on Wednesday morning our alarm clocks rang and we fumbled around in the dark to turn them off. We had promised ourselves a visit to the Stadium markets held in the Dzieseciolecia Stadium, once the city's largest sports arena and now home to a mass of sprawling market stalls, also known as the Russian markets. This huge market, which spanned the entire circumference of the stadium and its half mile approach contained thousands of stalls selling everything and anything from electronic goods to mink fur coats. Every single one of these stalls is illegal.

Going to the market was one of my favourite bits of our stay in Warsaw. You could literally buy anything you wanted. Obviously we didn't.

It was an interesting people watching experience with some very colourful characters plying their wares. One of the things we noticed in Warsaw was that the population is predominantly Polish, which Kay found slightly disorientating coming from a big cosmopolitan city like London. Locals explained that there isn't a big émigré population in Warsaw. Foreign nationals do come and live here, but tend to enter the job market at a high management level and don't integrate themselves amongst the local population. The main exception to the rule is the Vietnamese who can mostly be found at the markets, helpfully supplementing the Polish economy!

Although the markets are illegal in name the police seem quite prepared to turn a blind eye as long as it suits them. I could only distinguish between the official police and the market security corps on the basis on what colour jerseys they were wearing, although the well built security guards who carried their own radios - presumably to report sightings of the police - did ask us to stop taking photos and threaten to confiscate our cameras which is authority enough for me.

Polish Swears...

2005-07-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

My favourite thing about the Polish language is the swears. A few obscenities really liven up a language. We should have thanked the two colourful local characters who hurled a few choice swears in our direction when we refused to part with our Zloty's to furnish them with alcohol and dog food. The range and breadth of consonants was really quite breathtaking. To say nothing of the walking advertisement for Polish beer who gave us the finger when we tried to photograph him in his “I'm a frothy flagon of Polish beer” costume. Apparently he did not consider himself a curiosity. We beg to differ.

Not that we were at all bothered, swears had already been introduced to us by our cheerful hostel chappy, Krzysztof, who thoughtfully attempted to coach us in the local idiom,
"The Poles love to swear," he explained proudly "we are not like you English who have only one word to describe a thing. If we were to describe a fart we could say how long, how loud, how sweet."

If only the English language were so versatile!

When we questioned the very lovely girls Ania and Marta, who we had met through the Christian Polish network CHSA, about this linguistic phenomenon they looked somewhat confused:
"There is a way of using diminutives in the Polish language to change the meaning of a word" they explained after some thought, "Although this is usually used only by Grandma's to make things sound cuter"
No! Really? We were outraged!

Despite Kyzysztof's deceptions we all love Poland. Everyone has been very helpful and friendly, from the distinguished Oxford University professor who helped us find our way back to our hostel to the taxi driver we met at the airport - "Taxi ladies? Fifty zloty only. Is like ten pence - and all the buses are run by drunks and the homeless and thief’s."

Can't believe this is our last evening in Warsaw. The time is going so quickly. Looking forward to Gdansk tomorrow and the adventures it will bring. More later.

Thunderstorms, Bridges and Polish Ladies

2005-07-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Day Two and lots in store for the intrepid adventurers. We began the day with a stroll into the Old Town and the obligatory traveller's fare of bread, cheese and meat. Following further advice on graffiti spots that Kay was given, we made our way down to the River Wisla just as the heavens opened.

After getting some images of the incredible paintings, we sheltered under the bridge with the roar of the traffic and the drumming of the rain in our ears. Other people were sheltering from the rain too and we saw some real characters. A Polish homeless man washed his dog and then settled on the steps to have a quick nap, with an upturned book about JPII on his chest. A father and son were drinking water out of mugs and enjoying a picnic and a young student was sketching the river.
At three we went to Plac Zamkowy to meet Ania and Marta, two students that we emailed before our arrival. The five of us went to a Tea Shop and drank big mugs of black tea like true Brits abroad.

We chatted away and the girls were so friendly and informative. They really helped us establish an idea of the real Poland and gave us ideas of places to visit. They even offered to take us to the Mall tomorrow evening, as this is the place that Poles spend their evenings meeting up and window shopping. On their recommendation we ate our evening meal in a Milk Bar, a very cheap canteen style restaurant selling traditional Polish fare. We had absolutely no idea what we ordered but ended up with soup with rice in it, mutton in sauce and "Compote", a summer fruits drink with whole berries in.

Sorry there are no photos, we have some classic ones including my personal favourite of Kay and Beth in military style hats, but we are yet to find a working USB port so we will endeavour to post them ASAP... now we can show you them

Guess which Polska adventurer this is?

We Have Arrived

2005-07-19T01:40:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one to let everyone know that we have all arrived safely, everything went smoothly and we had a very insightful day yesterday getting orientated with the polish bus system and people. Today we are off to check out some spots I've been recommended and then are meeting some contacts we made who are at the University of Warsaw. Sorry its not more interesting at present but when we have a bit more time we can start actually putting some photos in and writing about what we've been doing.

The Week-end Before

2005-07-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

It's now the day before we go. I've been trying to get everything together and Beth and Vicki are coming to my house this evening so we can all fly out together tomorrow. It has been a bit of a hectic week-end as usual with all the last minute preparations and packing, but I managed to get down to Brighton yesterday and see how things were going at the world's largest sand sculpture competition. The pieces there were absolutely amazing...

Within a week around 10 or so graffiti writers have been designing and planning a production intended to complement the sand sculptures. If I wasn't going to Poland tomorrow I would have been painting at the event. As it was I was too busy but I managed to lend a hand getting the ball rolling. The writers had 3 days to paint around 60 meters of wall and yesterday when I got down they were about half way through. It was looking wicked. It has taken a great deal of organization but it's all paying off, everyone has been working so hard to make it work. Although it wasn't finished when I saw it, when it is the piece is going to look amazing. All the planning is really going to make this work a coherent production to enhance the sculpture, if not out do them. If anyone has the chance, take the opportunity to get down to Brighton to check it all out.

Graduation Day

2005-07-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

It is only a few days before we all head off to Polska, we had our final meeting today at our graduation so lets hope it all goes to plan.

Rough Itinerary

2005-07-13T11:21:00.001-07:00

18th July - 8th August 2005

18th London-Warsaw
19th Warsaw
20th Warsaw
21st Warsaw-Gdansk
22nd Gdansk
23rd Gdansk
24th Gdansk
25th Gdansk
26th Gdansk
27th Gdansk-Sopot
28th Sopot
29th Sopot-Poznan
30th Poznan
31st Poznan-Wroclaw
1st Wroclaw-Krakow
2nd Krakow
3rd Krakow
4th Krakow
5th Krakow
6th Krakow
7th Krakow-Warsaw
8th Warsaw-London

The Ladies Themselves

2005-07-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Mondo's Works

2005-07-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some examples of the lovely Mondo in hot stencil action.