I was in Kraków a couple of days ago on business, only the second time I’ve visited this year. It’s always held a certain attractiveness for me due to the beautiful surrounding countryside and the impression that the mountains are close by. It’s large historical Old Town and busy shopping streets also add character and charm.
No takers at the cafe tables today...
The main market square in Kraków is usually teeming with people and it was much quieter than the last time I was there. A small group of British school children crowded past me on their way to another museum and I heard the teacher mumble something about the cold temperature to a colleague. The kids seemed fine and happy though; content not to be in school no doubt. It’s predictable that all school trips from the UK that visit Poland end up in Kraków – I wonder if these kids know much about the rest of Poland?
The usual melee of tourist buggies were missing and I found them all parked up down one of the side alleys, apparently r
eady for action. Unfortunately, those tourists I did notice appeared as if they weren’t going to take any guided tours and were scurrying quickly through the market place, pausing briefly for a few snaps of St. Mary’s Basilica. The tourist guides and buggy drivers seemed to be loitering everywhere, attempting to stuff leaflets offering discounted city tours to anyone that passed by. If I was a local here, this might get infuriating. However, perhaps if I was a local, I wouldn’t be wondering aimlessly around the market square at 1pm on a Thursday.
'Wawel dragons' hanging on a street vendor's cart
All in all, the city felt strangely desolate and seemed to miss the magic which I’d experienced in the past. Too much reliance on tourism means that the city is alive in the summer and winter, but at this time of the year hangs in limbo. The empty restaurant tables and large-scale construction work being carried out on the Sukiennice in the market place only added to the drab atmosphere. The horses and their carriages were lined up with no takers and were clearly fidgety and bored.
Still, in a few weeks time snow will arrive and it will become a pitstop for tourists that come to Poland for skiing. As long as the snow keeps it’s crispness and doesn’t immediately turn into thick slush, the cities charm will return once again.
Buried behind Wilanów Palace is a very tranquil place surrounded by woodland and riddled with quaint pathways running alongside Lake Wilanowskie. It has been a typical late October recently with rain pelting the city almost every day. With Alex having chicken pox (‘ospa’ in Polish), we have spent the last few weekends indoors – something we very rarely do. We usually try and get outdoors whenever possible; one of the only ways to stay sane in the city!
It had been raining overnight again and this morning the ground was drenched and the smell of damp leaves was unmistakable. As the clocks went back an hour last night, we had an extra hour in bed and still managed to get to the park by 10:30. With the boys equipped with their wellies, there was no danger of them getting their trousers soaked, so off we tramped into Wilanów gardens. Access to the gardens are 5 złoty per adult and children get in for free. It’s seperated quite nicely from the main Palace, so all the tourists tend not to venture into the garden area, 
especially at this time of year.
The trees are turning now and the colours are starting to vary in the woods. It’s still quite early and I’m sure there is still plenty of change to come. Still, the contrast can be seen and reds are mixing with greens and yellows to form the annual kaleidoscope of autumnal colours. It was a little chilly today, but not too bad and as much as the sky was overcast, it was still a pleasant temperature. The ‘winter chill’ was not present, so fingers didn’t freeze and hats weren’t necessary.
As we walked along the lakeside path, a canoeist slowly paddled past us, out for some morning exercise and fresh air. As he approached, the comparison between the autumn trees on the lakeside and the backdrop of the chimneys belonging to the Danar chemical plant in the distance could clearly be seen. Yet again, proof of man’s encroachment on nature. This park probably stretched all the way to the plant, but now there are huge tanks of powder and vats of chemicals in its place.
Throughout our walk, the trees were still dripping with moisture from the night before. The sky remained ominously grey all day as if threatening those of us out walking that Mother Nature had the power to send us back indoors whenever she wished. However, she was forgiving today and we managed to finish our walk at our own leisurely pace.
By 4pm, the light was nearly gone and curtains were drawn all round. I still think that the winters in the UK feel longer. I’ve no idea why, perhaps the Polish winter tends to be a little dryer (as in less rain) and the snow makes it more enjoyable for a while. Still, we have several weeks of Autumn left, so best get out whenever we can and enjoy the crisp feel to the air and the colourful walks in the countryside.
The view over Złote Tarasy - the snow fell off the roof in large chunks as the day progressed
I’ve carried my umbrella to work over the past few weeks everyday expecting the onslaught of Autumn to hit at a moment’s notice. On Monday I got soaked walking from the car park on ul. Chmielna to my office, having left my superlarge golfing umbrella in the cupboard next to the vacuum cleaner. Only once, I thought! However, last night I left it behind my desk in the office which meant this morning I was very much exposed again.
Walking out of the underground passageways to be hit by winds blasting swirling snow onto my jacket along Al. Jana Pawła was not how I like to wake up! This is very unusual for October and I think many people were semi-reluctant to dig out their wintry clothing so early in the year. But with temperatures circling dangerously around 0C, we weren’t left much choice. My fur lined boots are scratching at the cupboard door, begging to be used. If this continues, I think they will be – perhaps tomorrow!
Still, it was so unexpected that most people saw the funny side. I had a lunch meeting today and one guy arrived having parked further away than he thought and having completely forgotten his umbrella or thick jacket. The term ‘drowned rat’ definately applied. His hair was plastered down his forehead and water dripped off his ears. I think I got lucky today. We were warned; the forecast said to expect snow, but nobody thought it would happen quite so fast. Needless to say the roads were chaotic and completely blocked around rush hour. Let’s hope it melts away overnight so we can look forward to proper winter snow which should fall in about a month’s time!!
We all know that infamous and incredibly annoying question at work when you’re waiting for another waste of paper to produce itself from the photocopier- “Jak tam polski?”. It’s comparable to someone jabbing you in the eye with a spoon. Why do fellow colleagues insist on torturing ex-pats? Are they hoping that the day after they ask you the first time they’ll get a fluent conversation from you and be stunned to silence? It happened to me again today, and I still don’t know the ‘polite’ reply. Of course, ‘dobrze’ works quite well, but ‘dobrze’ works well as a reply to anything.
In the expectation that they assume you are having lessons (hence the question), I usually play this card and reply with a now standard, “w porządku, dziękuję! – mam dwie lekcje w tygodniu, ale to jest bardzo trudny język”. As usual, they are suitably impressed, by which time my paper has been spat out of the copier and I can make a quick exit. If I’m feeling particularly adventurous, I may add”Mam dużo pracy. Przepraszam”. Why is it so hard to publicly speak Polish? I had another lesson on Tuesday and I understood most of the text I was reading, but when it comes to speaking, my brain turns into a little wispy cloud, gently bouncing between my ears without a care in the world. And yet, some people can easily rant on in Polish, without making any sense or pronouncing any words correctly, confident in their belief that they are speaking Polish beautifully. So which is better? A false sense of competency, or a healthy belief that enlightenment is forthcoming? Miracles do happen, and I am holding out for the thunderbolt that hits me and I can suddenly understand the world around me again. It’s been a while, let me tell you.
Yesterday I stopped the car because someone waved me down. I stopped because I thought I could help. Once the barrage of Polish (mixed with beer breath) entered the car and included words such as ‘matka’, ‘komorka’ and ‘złoty’, I realised I couldn’t help. So why did I stop? The chances of it being an English guy asking his way to the local public house was pretty slim. Emotion over intellect in that case, I think. But if he was really in trouble, perhaps my human psyche would have ’sensed’ it and a different scenario would have presented itself. In this case, as soon as I opened my mouth to help, he realised I wasn’t fluent and turned and cleared off without another word.
Still, on Thursday we’re focussing on grammar. I need to keep telling myself that its all about communication. It doesn’t matter if what you’re saying is absolute drivel. As long as you say it with a confident smile, the chances are you will have a great conversation with neither side knowing what the other is saying. It happens more often than you think.
This is why policemen shouldn’t spend too much time directing traffic…because some nifty little four-year old with a talent for hot-wiring will try and hop on (with their father’s help) their bike and take it for a joyride!
I’m not sure what he’ll do once he has to put his foot down to stop the bike toppling over. I think you need to do some more growing, son…
I was in Munich for the past two days on a business trip, the highlight of which was a very heavy night with our hosts at the Oktoberfest. They had kindly booked a table for 20 people in one of the larger tents which holds around 5,000 people. Quite a sight when you first walk in – in fact I drank my first litre of beer far too quickly due to the shock of it all. Once the surroundings became slightly blurry, it didn’t seem such a large tent!
Our evening began at 5pm, by which time the tent was packed full all except our reserved table. Many had started around 1pm, so already the atmosphere was buzzing with loud conversation and hazy with cigarette smoke. A large bandstand occupied the center of the tent where a full Bavarian oompah band played throughout the evening anything from well-known sing-along pop songs to more traditional German drinking songs. The latter I struggled with at first, but as the evening wore on, I became remarkably fluent!
Food was urgently required by 8pm and to make it simple (and because most of us couldn’t focus on the menu), we all ordered the same – half a roast chicken to be eaten with fingers…
By 11pm, the tents were shutting for the night and people spilled out onto the fairground and into the streets of Munich. By luck, myself and a colleague found the hotel before getting too lost – both wondering how we were ever going to get up the next morning. For 5 hours it was incredibly fun – but for the daylight hours of the following day, not so much! Some of the locals clearly have a survival strategy in place, as one of them returned to the office at 11pm to do 2 hours of work, before jumping in his car and driving home. I wouldn’t have trusted myself behind the wheel of a car for another 24 hours!
Here’s a colleague of mine on his 5th litre of beer I assume. Between the group, we drank over 100 litres of beer. The pain in my head the following morning would accurately reflect this. A great time had by all and definately a night to remember….if possible.
The weather was glorious today, bright blue skies and warm temperatures well into the 20’s. Crowds of people packed into the Old Town and Krakowskie Przedmiescie to enjoy what is one of the last days of summer. Surprisingly, numerous weddings were taking place today and St. Anne’s Church near Castle Square appeared to have one wedding after another throughout the afternoon. As soon as one newly married couple left the Church and posed outside for photographs, another wedding party bustled into the Church behind them. It was all a bit orchestrated and seemed impersonal when viewed as an outsider. However, the hotels and restaurants will be doing a roaring trade tonight.
Wedding cars were all over the street and varied in shape, size and age. This was the oldest one we saw, an FSO Warszawa in mint condition with cream leather interior.
The newest car was a 2009 BMW 750. I’ve always specifically liked the 5-series, but the new 7-series is a head turner. Although I would imagine one tyre is probably equal to three month’s worth of school fees. Sad, really.
I attempted to gauge my son’s interest in the car by asking him if he knew what make it was (he’s 4 years old). His answer was to saunter over to it and plant his mint choc-chip ice-cream coated hand onto the shiny BMW badge above the front grill. At least I know he knows, so I won’t have to ask him to do it again. We made a quick disappearing act into the crowds…
Today has been very strange weather – one moment warm enough to be in a T-shirt, next minute a chilly wind forcing you to pull your collar toegther on your jacket. The first sign of Autumn is when a hot chocolate is chosen over an ice-cream – especially when it has rum in it.
(this one didn’t have obviously!)
Apologies for the lengthy absence, the summer’s been a busy one and it’s hard to sit at the computer and write when the weather is so warm in the evening! Last week was the first ‘official’ week of school in Poland and the roads returned to their usual chaotic state. For the past few months, driving to the city centre at any time of the morning was a doddle. This morning was horrible. Whereever there’s a sizable queue, there are cars doing U-turns to avoid what’s ahead and find an alternative route. The impatience of some drivers still surprises me and the proximity to the car in front is always foremost in their minds. If seems that if you leave a gap of 3 feet in front of you, someone pushes their way into it!
Here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to over the summer months:
Alex had his fourth birthday -
Apparently flower power is also making a comeback… (should I be worried??)
The boys learnt to drive on Gdynia pier – luckily those with zimmer frames were still quicker.
Benji was potty trained. The look of absolute boredom on his face says it all – it was much more fun when he could ’squat ‘n’ go’…
When he wasn’t on the potty – he was killing Granny’s flowers…
His terrible-two’s stage kicked in as well. His favourite word is ‘No!’, seconded by ‘bam’ which means ‘I want to do it by myself’. Enough to teach any parent patience…
And they learnt to swim. A few worrying moments as neither of them fear the water at all and quite happily paddle out of their depth so that all can be seen are their heads bobbing up and down like wine corks!
Food was freshly gathered from the forest and the boys particularly enjoyed the blueberry pancakes…
…and collecting the large mushrooms with Granny after the rains…
Six weeks in the northern Polish wilderness is the perfect summer holiday for young kids. Fresh air, excitement, a nearby lake and peace and quiet away from the city. Getting back into routine during the last week has not been easy for them!
I have managed to keep up with my photo blog over the summer – warsawdailyphoto.
Last weekend was the MotoGP in Brno, Czech Republic. We left Warsaw at 6am and arrived just after lunch in time to see the qualifying laps. The weather was scorching both days, well into the mid-30s which encouraged all the fat, hairy bikers to go topless for the day. Not particularly a pleasant sight, especially with beer dribbling down their beards!
I’ve watched the Superbikes before as they are often at Cadwell Park near my home in the UK. These machines were different – tuned especially for the track and incredibly quick. There were three classes – 125cc, 250cc and the 800cc MotoGP class.
The track was busy on the Saturday for the qualifiers, but on race day the figure doubled. Around 150,000 people attended and most of them were supporting Valentino Rossi, winner of 8 Grand Prix wins. Italian colours could be seen everywhere and the number 46 was plastered over shirts, flags and in some cases, tatooed on shoulder blades.
Rossi took 1st position again this year, as unfortunately his teammate fell off during the last few laps, leaving the track clear for Rossi. Here he is celebrating his victory for the thousands of fans present. Rossi is one of the highest paid sportsmen in the world, earning in excess of $35m last year. As its only 6 hours away from Warsaw, I think I’ll definately be going next year.
More photos from the MotoGP here.
