Smiling strangers

We were about to buy Krakow bubliks (obwarzanki - a type of Krakow bagel, with a bigger hole and made of different dough), one with poppy seeds and the other with sesame seeds, from  one of the street vendors. Ahead of us was a very young friar who smiled to me and I reciprocated that. When he was walking away with a bagful of bubliks, he approached me and told me I had a very nice and friendly smile, he asked my name and acknowledging my crutches, wished me to get well soon. It did make me feel better. The day was cloudy, chilly and dull, very few people around were eager to share a smile. You see, especially in Poland strangers rarely exchange smiles whereas if you are in, well,  let's say: Ireland, Austria or, especially, the Philippines, passers-by smile to each other, acknowledge each other's right to exist and to feel good, despite own problems and hardship.

Yes, it's commonly true that any generalisation is unfair and that we are all different. No, I'm not going to refer to the traumatic past of my homeland in an effort to justify the martyr's expression on so many faces of my compatriots. I'm sure you can read about it elsewhere.

I'm smiling to you! :-)

Fingers crossed!

Another day of my knee recovery. Waiting to see what the doctor says this afternoon. Fingers crossed!
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I'm back from the doctor's. Everything is healing properly! Hurrah! On the way we encountered an interesting live brass band playing 'al fresco' at Krakow Planty:

However, it had nothing to do with The Feast of Trumpets depicted in Aleksander Gierymski's famous painting:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swieto_trabek_I.jpg
And I don't think any of the instruments resembled the one my sibling acquired recently:

Who knows, maybe my young nephew will get inspired and learn to play it...

Now, let me add a few more of today pictures:

At renovated Sukiennice Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art we saw both the permanent collection and the current exhibition 'Artists- The Witnesses of  The 1863 January Uprising'.

I looked at the Old Town Square through the gallery window:

After the feast for the eyes, our body needed some energy supply, especially that the gallery rooms were not much warmer than the exterior and despite that all visitors have to leave their coats at the cloak room. I knew where we would go to satisfy our appetites. We only needed to cross the square and go to the left of St Mary's Church!

A meal at 'Magia' was a great success. Those who read my blog may know that I discovered this cafe a few weeks ago when attempting to visit Hipolit House Museum near mentioned and shown above St. Mary's Church (the one with the trumpeter and Veit Stoss altar ). The cafe owner came to greet us and we immediately felt welcome. Moreover, he recognised m and wholeheartedly recommended his signature broccoli tart which indeed turned out to be delicious, just like the homemade Polish style dumplings called 'pierogi' which are not a novelty any longer on the British Isles. An ample size pot of properly brewed Yunnan tea complimented our meal on this,yet another, bitter cold day. We teased ourselves analysing the list of homemade cakes and deserts. It was simply too tempting to refrain from ordering just but one to share and sample, but we had to resist that. We simply were too full and also we had to rush to tick off the next points on our busy itinerary. Of course, you will be pleased to learn that Hipolit The Cat could be seen at The Magia as usual. However, he was in his own world, totally oblivious to our attention.

It's not easy to take pictures in a public place as you need to avoid people. They may not necessarily wish to inhabit your blog, I suppose.

Good night!:-)

A visit from a birdie

Thaw in Skarzysko!

Sun this Sunday in Skarzysko. It is melting the loads of snow and when all the white substance is gone, the bare truth will be exposed again, at least until foliage and grass trims the barren townscape...
I decided to take a walk in the company of a friend who is forced to regular walks because of possessing a dog. We had to choose a route most carefully in order to avoid pavements covered in uneven layers of melting snow and ice. The road leading to the church was a good bet. We had to take it going back as well, because we reached the point where none of the pavements ahead of us was walkable for a person with crutches. I should have taken a picture there, but I didn't.

Loch Ness Monster fiddling on the roof in Skarzysko!

It looks like the potential for an avalanche!

See the forest on the horizon? I love it!

Behold the pavement!

Many streets in Skarzysko lead to the forest

Hard to find a rubbish bin when you need one

A Sunday churchgoer

A view towards Armii Krajowej (The Home Army) Street 

Wilenska Street leads to another forest

Cheddar cheese and fuss-free hair!

I've just heard from a friend who spent Easter  in Bath and also visited Cheddar. When I learnt she didn't go to the famous cheese making place, because she'd been told the famous cheese wasn't made there any longer, I did my little online research and found this: http://www.cheddargorgecheeseco.co.uk/acatalog/about-cheddar-gorge.html , pleased to see them still on the market. The website reminded me of one particular tour I guided when we visited a cheddar making place in the village. (Whether it was the same spot or there used to be more attractions of the kind, I'm not in a position to tell you here and now.) 

The man who showed us around was in his element joking all the time. His cheerfulness was contagious which was most welcome under the circumstances. Imagine a party of  some thirty or forty randomly gathered  adults touring Albion by coach, after an overnight journey across the continent and a few nights at different tourist class hotels, following packed up to the brim itinerary and you will get an idea... 

Anyway, as he was most humorously explaining the intricacies of the cheese making process, I kept interpreting simultaneously, making sure the funny side was highlighted and not lost in translation. At the end of the tour, when we were admiring and sampling the final products, our guide, naturally lacking a single hair on his skull, stroked his head gently and smiling gave us a stern promise: 'And if you regularly eat a lot of cheddar cheese...' - here he paused for a moment - '... you will have such lush and beautiful hair as mine!'.

No 'war paint' today!

Hello! Just heard in the news that today (April 5th) is NO MAKE-UP DAY! Not that it makes a difference to me, for a good while my skin and eyes simply do not agree with any cosmetics I'd try. You get used to that! And you save the time!

Pop corn alert!

April the fourth and it's snowing again in central Poland. Radio is warning against buying pop corn in Poland, better avoided these days as it is contaminated by some strong allergen.  A large shipment imported from Argentina got to the shops and cinemas before it was discovered. Mad cows, bird flu, horse meat, always fauna ... It is only fair flora threat haunted us for a change!