Snow on Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday today and it's snowing heavily again! Well, it's only the last day of March so not that out of the ordinary for Poland after all. Happy Easter Sunday! And what's the weather like where you are now, Dear Reader?:-)

Pig-faced women!

I came across a tale similar in a way to 'Beauty & The Beast', never heard of it when I was at the age to read  tales and legends:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig-faced_women !

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In a busy time before Easter I didn't manage to add as much as I would like to here. Catching up when possible then.:-)

Easter Saturday in Poland is the day when all religious people take Easter basket to church for blessing. Below I added a relevant scene: Blessing of Easter food, painted by Wlodzimierz Tetmajer in 1897. The monumental original - oil on canvas measuring almost 140 cm by 250 cm  can be contemplated at The National Museum in Krakow.

W. Tetmajer: Blessing of Easter Food

Fountains and cavemen diet!

Snow fall greeted me this morning and strangely, it made me think of .... fountains. The first fountain I remember was the one in Skarzysko park. Mom would hold me by the hand as we passed it on the way to and from the railway station to visit Grandpas. The fountain still is in the centre of the park, surrounded by wooden benches, but the cute little stone boy supplying water to the fountain is long gone and nowadays (cause not now, in the wintry conditions) the water comes from a pile of stones, if I remember well.

To the second unforgettable to me fountain I was led by... a strong smell of chocolate in Hyde Park one summer in the mid-1990s. Myself, I might have resisted it, but my little son would certainly not! He was literally dragged by the smell, and I was dragged by him. On the sunny and hot (yes, wasn't weather kind to us?) summer day we entered The Serpentine Gallery and couldn't believe our eyes. My choc-loving offspring was amazed. There was a fountain bubbling with chocolate, a little chocolate bubble would occasionally land on the floor. My son got really excited. He wanted to have some of the heavenly delicacy. However, I had to persuade him not to and that was very hard, even though he was a very sensible child, definitely not the sort that would start screaming or throwing himself on the floor. The chocolate was not suitable for drinking, the big signs on the walls read. My son was disgusted, what's the point of making so much chocolate that cannot be consumed? (He's never really been into the arts. What would he say about the sculptures made of dust and lint and displayed recently in a renowned gallery? He would probably think it a complete waste of time, but at least not waste of valuable resources!) The third fountain I thought about was the film titled exactly like that: 'The Fountain'. I'm ever so grateful to a very special  Reader of my blog  for recommending it.
And the snow is still falling, just like in some scenes of the film...

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It hasn't stopped snowing for a single moment. That's how it looked around noon:



And two hours later:

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I've been stuck indoors due to this weather. I wasn't particularly warm though, until my dear mother paid me a visit   in the afternoon. She knew what I'd told her: it was cold, despite the heating on maximum. Luckily, she checked it all herself, looked at the radiators, the controls assured by me I turned up the boiler control and recommended that I call the specialist. However, in the end, she went to look at the boiler only to see that it was on '1', not on maximum! It's getting nice and warm at last.:-)
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A good friend of mine was once fascinated by the paleolithic diet. After a few months she resigned as it was impossible to continue it without missing on social life. I learnt quite a lot about it at the time and today found a relevant n-line group: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/106580384367204983498. Maybe someone else will get inspired... :-)  How come I came across this group? I was exploring Google+ , more and more aware that I'm far behind with the use of social networks and stuff like that. Maybe not as much as the Paleolithic man, but  still...
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Going north of Krakow!

Just to tell you, it's a sunny morning in Krakow! Unfortunately, clouds arrived before we set off heading home. Some blue sky peered out again when we entered The Holy Cross Mountains region, north of Krakow. However, there is more snow here in Skarzysko than in Krakow. It's colder and more windy too.

Entering Słomniki, you go past an abandoned synagogue:



There is a church with spectacular towers in the centre of Slomniki, but I didn't manage to take a snap. I was  most lucky with this by-gone era edifice:

Driving past this wooden church I'm always tempted to stop by and see the inside....

We stopped at 'Leśne Echa (Forest Echoes), a roadside inn between Kielce and Konskie. The owners haven't changed, their daughter was my student many years ago. I met her mother in hospital after a biking accident several years ago. It was nice to learn that the young woman lives a happy family life raising two kids.

We reached my dwelling from Wilenska Street greeted by more snow than in Krakow.

Salad, 'Magia', Hipolits, Samarkand and more!

Do you know grated carrot and apple salad? I love it with a bit of lemon and virgin oil. You can add nuts, dried fruit or small cubes of mild cheese and it makes a light meal. I've just, with no trouble at all, consumed a double portion of freshly prepared simple version of the said salad. My mother refuses to eat or drink before the journey. She is taking a mini-bus home. It's a two and a half hour journey from Krakow. There was little hope for any ticket today, but to our luck, somebody resign and a kind woman notified us on seeing  how determined we were.
Must dash!!!
:-)
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I had another great day in Krakow, despite rather discouraging weather. The taxi dropped me off by Juliusz Slowacki Theatre, a dramatic eclectic building  strongly inspired by the greatest baroque edifices of the epoch. I remember seeing 'Hamlet' there when I was at school.

As far as I could figure out, there is another theatre stage somewhere behind the tree.

 Nearby stands a simple Gothic church: The Church of the Holy Cross which has surprisingly rich interior. Jan Matejko, one of the greatest Polish 19th century historical painters, was baptised at this church. Later one, when he was already famous and respected, he learnt that the authorities decided do demolish an old church to make room for The City Theatre, the one we know as Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. He was so appalled that he resumed never to exhibit in Krakow again.

 The snow in Mariacki Square hadn't completely disappeared, unlike in most other places. Today it got supplemented by fresh delivery.

 The walk along Maly Rynek was too risky. For some reason, the pavement there was even more slippery than the snow covered one in the mentioned above Mariacki Square. The only sensible thing to do was to think of an alternative destination. That never is hard in Krakow. I crossed the street and entered Hipolit House - the Museum of Krakow Interiors, an equivalent of Geffrye Museum in London. The first picture I took was through the door of a cafe facing the entrance gate. After the museum I spend a quality time there in the company of Hipolit, the friendly cat, who joined me on the settee. The place called 'Magia' felt so homely and nice, and the staff were most attentive, warm and friendly. The place opened only a fortnight ago and Amadeusz,one of the owners, as well as Monika, the waitress I met, are clearly passionate about their brainchild. They serve fresh, home-made food, including cakes. I can swear, apple pie is as good as when my mom makes it! The selection of specialty teas is displayed on a blue cupboard shelf. I was encouraged to smell the mixed fruit one. My nostrils still remember the lovely fragrance with a strong hint of distinguishing wild strawberry aroma.... Mmmm...

However, I must get back to the museum. Firstly, I was delighted to find out that the permanent exhibition was free. The temporary exhibition 'Stand Still' also sounded interesting to me. I'd read about it somewhere. To my luck, a kind woman at the ticket desk gave me a great piece of advice: to see the free ones and then if I still had time and wanted, I could come back to buy the ticket. I sincerely meant to do so, but I ran out of time! It was fascinating to explore one room after another, talk to the ladies who are there to watch visitors or to other tourists. Most of them were really chatty and fun. We laughed a lot which is sooo good.

Firstly though, I had to climb the steep stairs watching my every step. I've been using crutches for over a fortnight now, but one needs to be careful, right?When I reached the first landing, I took a picture of the ceiling above me:

On entering the first room I couldn't help admiring the elaborate ceiling:

I wish I had written down a new Polish word for the curved shape used in the ceiling and wall ornament.

Spot the cute soldier-clock behind the chair:

 A 19th century interior where the collected items were on display revealing the tastes of the owners.

The oldest part of this room is a Renaissance column between the windows:

The 19th century owners of the house accumuated a vast collection of clocks and watches. You can see them all over the place.

 My name is Hipolit. I am the Hipolit House cat! A very special cat. Look for me below!

Pies - the dog ( in direct translation), a very useful one:

Spring chick stuck while hatching:

Cats prevail:

 In this souvenir shop I heard the girl speak in a slight and very pleasant to my ear accent.She didn't mind my trivial question and told me she was from Uzbekistan. On seeing how fascinated I was she started telling me about her life and the country of her birth.  Like so many Polish people, her grandfather was sent to a gulag during World War II. He was young and he survived, then settled in Uzbekistan, started a family, had children. Her father had no chance to go to his fatherland, but she fulfilled the family dream after a lot of hardship. She came to study here and is so happy, because she feels she belongs here in Poland. People like her family never assimilated, they can't feel different than inferior to the native Uzbeks. They belong to completely different cultures, pray to different gods. The life is not easy there in general for ordinary people, but for them - strangers it's much worse. This view of the shop with the blue coloured window panes reminded me of Samarkand, the second largest city in Uzbekistan. I learnt that my new friend comes from this fabulous city with such rich history. It would be lovely if we managed to keep in touch!

 Behold the handlebar dangling:

 Hitchcock's 'Birds' are back:

'Remember me? I'm Hipolit. I've been here for seven years, since somebody brought and left me here. Whose are these legs stretched along the table by my favourite seat???? What are these strange long sticks the feet are resting on?'

'I landed myself of the settee and nobody seems to be fussed by that! Sometimes customers don't want to share a seat with me. Luckily, this one seems to be OK with that, but I must be alert! Still fine. She gave me some more space. Excellent! Let's carry on then. After all, it's MY settee! Oh! It would be fun to play with this soft red scarf. They must have brought it for me! I'm the CAT! I'm divine!'

'What's the matter? I cannot play with the scarf. She moved the jacket from me. She doesn't seem to be bothered by my presence just behind her, sitting on her soft black backpack. Let's see what happens. I'm not going to reveal that I'm actually enjoying sitting close to her.

'No, no, no! Too much picture taking.

'I let you take the scarf and the jacket from me and you want your backpack as well? C'mon, can't you see how comfy I'm here?'

'Well, at least I've got my settee back to myself! Bravo, Hipolit!'

'If I curl like an embryo, nobody will dare come near the settee and disturb me. It always works!'

What else was there to do? I left the enchanted cafe 'Magia' at Hipolit House in Mariacki Square and went on across the Old Town Square.

 With my limited walking ability at the moment, I was delighted to see St Adalbert Church (Kosciol Swietego Wojciecha) open and sought shelter there.

Then I slowly headed for the taxi rank.

I stopped at a good bookshop.

The hand painted  porcelain bottles  in the shape of the Polish gentry contain some strong beverage.

That's a vintage van:

Dear reader and onlooker! If you managed to get to the end of this snake-long post, you do deserve a reward! Go and get yourself a piece of such a traditional Polish poppy seed cake and tell me if you enjoyed it!

Bon apetit and Good night!