Spring is Just Around the Corner….

The first picture below was taken the week of March 11-16….one full week before spring officially arrived in Warsaw.  

I've previously mentioned on this blog that Mark and I walk this path almost daily…sometimes twice.  It is a good workout for our hearts.  This first set of stairs is 57 steps, and there's a second set that can't be seen from here that has 27 steps….Hey, if you walked these steps every day for 2 years, you'd count them too!

As I left our home and ventured outside this morning, I looked up from the bottom of the steps and saw the blue sky.  After the gray Warsaw winter it was a breathtaking, spectacular sight.  I was so happy!  I just know I was smiling!

With the beautiful blue sky stretching across the horizon it just felt like spring would soon be here…even if the land around us was blanketed in white! 

I was on my way to visit the National Museum again with a small group of ladies from the International Women's Group here in Warsaw.  It was my second visit to the museum.  The first visit was last October when I learned about a few Polish artists. 

For my second visit, we toured the newly opened Contemporary Art sections inside the museum….with paintings, sculptures and art forms from the 20th and 21st centuries.

A few of my favorite and interesting pieces…

The Polish Flag

A Polish sculptor created this interesting piece "Mary Magdalene".

A Christmas Altar created by Jan Szczepkowski in 1925.

My favorite….perhaps because tulips are my favorite flower.

"The Queue Goes On" created in 1956

"The Manifesto"  created in 1949-50

Here are the women with whom I toured the museum.

These small field trips around Warsaw are enriching.  I learn about people, the history and culture in so many different ways.  These are great experiences!

On my way home the sun went away and the gray winter clouds returned.  It is the middle of March in these pictures and we still have much snow.

At the top of the stairs, overlooking our neighborhood….

 ….then the last part of my journey home. 

 I like when the steps in front of me are sanded and cleared of snow!

At the end of the week, we had another beautiful, blue sky day.  Mark and I decided to take a Saturday morning walk in the Arkadia Park.  It is interesting to watch the birds swim and navigate around the parts of the pond that are not frozen….

….or to watch them walk on the ice.  They will go anywhere to eat the bread that people like the woman in the picture below throw to them.  It looks like the two swans have returned after being gone for the winter.

We enjoyed walking the paths but also seeing the Polish people outdoors….below is a person is cross-country skiing….

….and more bird feeders and walkers….

….a father sledding with his child....

….someone walking a dog, a popular activity here.

The sun was bright!

 I should have brought my sunglasses like Mark!

This is the Krolikarnia Museum….a former palace that sits atop the higher part of the city that overlooks the park.  In a few weeks, after the leaves return to the trees, only the domed roof of the museum will be visible.

The picture below was one of my favorite scenes of the day…a Polish man basking in the sun on a bench in a snow-covered park!

The Polish people love being outside in the sun, and it doesn't matter that there is snow all around….just enjoying the sun is a treat!

Yes there was a lot of snow.  But with the sun shining brightly we just knew it would be melting soon…."Or so we thought" she said, foreshadowing the next blog.

It was a beautiful day and how lucky we are to have this park so nearby to enjoy….no matter the season.

Gdzie jest wiosna? Where is spring?

The last weeks of March and first week of April were amazing….Spring had officially arrived, yet no signs of springtime could be seen anywhere!

Except on our piano.  Mark brought home a beautiful soft pink tulip bouquet which I absolutely loved…our only sign of spring! They were so lovely, and brought such cheerfulness to our home.

The wintry mix that continued to fall all around Warsaw did not stop me from being outside and learning. I take these pictures in wonder…the white snow is so beautiful….and yet….is it really the end of March?

In our neighborhood, a view that has been posted on our blog previously….

….but this is a new picture!  It just looks the same as others we've taken in the last few months.  How long will it last?

I love this scene…I wish I could have gotten closer as I watched a father pull his little son on a small plastic sled. 

Parents pull their small children on different kinds of sleds as they walk in and around our neighborhood. 

One morning I traveled to the northwestern part of Warsaw…riding on a new tram and bus route to get to Agnieszka's home.  She had given our small International Women's Group tour of the National Art Museum.  For this visit, Agnieszka taught a small group of women the Polish way to color Easter eggs.

One way to color eggs was to glue bits of clover onto the egg, wrap the egg in a pantyhose, and then place the egg in a pan of boiling water with onion skins in the water. 

Another way was to dip a stylus or pointed tool in melted wax from a burning candle.  We applied the wax to the egg in whatever decorative pattern we chose. Then, after rubbing down the wax until it is smooth, the eggs are dipped in dye.

We used a dying solution that I'd never seen before….not the colored dye tablets that we use in the U.S.  

The dye adhered to the eggshell, except where the wax had been applied, which revealed the decorative pattern of the wax.

Though the decorative patterns I created were very simple, it was still fun to learn a new way of doing something that I have done all my life.  Also, coloring eggs always makes me think of springtime….even if it didn't look quite like spring outside.

The next Women's group activity was on another wintry spring day.  It was snowy and windy….but I still ventured outdoors. 

So much snow!  So much white everywhere!

The activity I was going to was a "Walk and Talk", a monthly event at which we walk in a particular area of Warsaw to learn about the area and its history, and see the buildings, homes, churches, etc. 

This month the Walk and Talk was on the street in front of Mark's office….ul. Emilii Platter.  A few interesting sites on Emilii Platter….the arched walkway and portico in this old building.  There were many old buildings on this street….which was a little surprising since it's so near the city center with many modern and tall skyscrapers.

Proceeding down the walkway, we peeked inside a doorway, looked up, and saw this beautiful spiral staircase. I would never have imagined this old building would have such a grand staircase. 

This building is currently an apartment complex…no elevator…just lots and lots of stairs.

Another building nearby…it looks very old with so many holes on this side. I wonder how old this building is, and if the holes were from bullets in WWII.

We turned a corner and found ourselves on ul. Lwowska….

….one of the few streets in Warsaw that was not destroyed during WWII. 

Looking down on the street from above a balcony were….3 faces!

In a little alcove just off the street was a small palace.

Also nearby was Politechnika Warszawska - Warsaw University of Technology.  One of the trams that Mark and I take from our house to Centrum passes by this area.

This is one of the many buildings of the university complex.  Inside was this beautiful open area.

 Standing on the staircase in the picture above, I took the next two pictures...

This university was established in 1826 and is a very popular institution still.

On another spring day….I went to the Roma Theatre which is located just off of ul. Emilii Platter and very close to Mark's office.  My friend Małgosia invited me to go with her to see "Deszczow Piosenka", or "Singing in the Rain".  I was happy to attend.

The play was fantastic! Even though it was all in Polish, I understood the storyline, and the acting and singing were great!

So our first weeks of spring brought a lot of snowy weather…it has been quite different than last year.  

The air is cold, the skies are generally gray, but there is plenty to explore and enjoy even on days like these. 

Saying Goodbyes….to Special People

Saying "good-bye" is not an easy experience for me….especially when I have come to appreciate and enjoy people that have enriched my life. 

During the week of March 10-16, Mark and I said "good-byes" twice.

For two months I have had a second Polish teacher while my regular teacher was on medical leave.  Ewa has been a great teacher and I will miss our weekly conversations.

In the beginning I was a bit nervous about having another person listen to my attempts to speak Polish. But after our first session, with compliments, encouragement and advise, I knew I would have a good experience being tutored and taught by this teacher as well. 

Ewa was very kind to work me into her already full and busy schedule. I appreciated when she shared with me places, events and experiences in Poland that she thought I might enjoy.  She encouraged me to speak more because she said I understood much more than I gave my self credit for knowing.  She even said her English was improving when she worked with me and she really liked listening to me speak in English!

I told Mark…I am so happy that my teacher Ula is able to return to work and begin working with me again. I love my conversations and lessons with Ula.  But….I will miss Ewa.  One teacher is not better than the other…just different. It is like having two special friends….I enjoy and appreciate them both.

Thank you to Ewa for two months of teaching and helping me learn the Polish language!

Mark's co-worker Brandon leaves Warsaw for a new assignment…

For 15 months Mark has had a great co-worker from Houston helping on the accounting team in Warsaw.  Brandon provided a great amount of support for Mark…providing skills, knowledge and experience in working in a field office. 

Brandon was a very positive person and brought a positive influence to Mark's team and all of the office in Warsaw.  I especially appreciated all the help and support he gave to Mark.  I was fortunate to get to know Brandon, as Mark and I occasionally enjoyed dinners with him. 

Marathon Oil Polska said goodbye to four employees in the Warsaw office who were receiving new assignments.  There was a farewell dinner in their honor at the Hard Rock Cafe which is next to their office.   At the dinner, the Warsaw Accounting Team got together for a photo….(LtoR) Agnieszka, Daniel, Grzegorz, Brandon, Arek, and Mark.

"Good-byes" do not mean our lives will never cross again….but I do know our day-to-day and weekly associations will not be the same.

I will miss Ewa, and Mark and I will miss Brandon.  We have been blessed to have them in our lives while living and working here in Poland.

Do zobaczenia i Wszystkiego Najlepszego !

(See you later and All the Best to you)

Our Wintry Easter Weekend in Warsaw 2013

Easter Weekend in Warsaw

Mark wanted to title this blog post "I'm Dreaming of a White….Easter".  Plenty of snow still remained on the ground, sidewalks, parks, streets, etc.  But more snow was predicted for the Easter weekend.  And come it did!

Reminders of the spring season filled our home…such as Polish Easter Eggs…Pisanki.  This bowl is filled with hand painted wooden eggs, and also a real egg decorated with tiny stickers.

This egg below is a new egg purchased this year….it is a real egg that has been delicately painted. I love the colors and designs…hoping it will last for future Easters to come.

Our Saturday before Easter was filled with early errands….as stores would be closing by 3pm for the holidays of Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.  I can't think of any public holiday in the US when so much time is taken off for a holiday.

Here we are outside our small grocery store, Super Sam, near our home…as the snow is briskly falling around us.  This didn't look like any Easter we had experienced before. 

We had seen lots of snow over the past 6 months…but it still surprised me that so much would be falling in March and April!

On Easter morning we went to church, and from there to an Easter dinner with a Polish family.  For 3 hours we visited and ate delicious Polish traditional foods.  It was an honor to have experienced a Polish Easter afternoon with this family. During our visit, the patriarch of the family told us that he did not remember ever seeing an April snowstorm like we were experiencing. It was definitely not normal!

Before leaving for home, we had to brush away the snow that had covered the car while we were inside.

Driving home in the storm.

Approaching our neighborhood.

It is a wintry wonderland…more snow than we had seen for quite a while!

The beautiful pink tulips were our reminder that it really was Spring on this white Easter Sunday.

I was ready to come inside, change into warm and comfortable clothes and think about this Easter Sunday.  Mark, on the other hand….was ready to go outside and work!  He thought since the gardner would be away Easter weekend, he needed to do what he had seen our gardner do many times…brush and shake the snow off the bushes….and maybe move some of the snow off the walkways.  Mark was doing this while the snow was still falling and I said it would be like trying to clean up your home while children were still playing and making a mess….

On Easter Monday we woke up to….more….snow.  In fact it was hard to see that Mark had removed any snow at all from the bushes. 

Our yard, terrace and the trees around our home were quite beautiful…it just didn't seem like it could be April 1st!  No April fool's joke…it was really was April and looking like….Christmas!

Easter Monday is a public holiday….and since it was so wintry outside we spent most of the day at home. I told Mark we could actually build another creation in the snow but instead of a snowman we could build a snow bunny!  We didn't, but at the end of the day, the news was all about the weather and the numerous snow bunnies created around Warsaw! 

My good friend Malgosia and her husband spent their Monday creating a snow bunny and two eggs. She sent me this delightful picture. She said it was a most strange Easter! So it was not only strange to two U.S. expats from Texas but also to the Polish people!

Our neighbors across the street built a snowman, snow puppy, and snow kitty cat (I think)….quite creative.

Mark and I however, were not creative on Monday.  I was busy indoors while Mark spent a good part of Easter Monday…removing snow. Here are a few before and after pictures of Mark's work. He loved being outside, exercising and taking care of our home.

Our front porch and stairway, before….

….and after.  Fabulous!

Our driveway, before….

….and after.

The sidewalk in front of our home….no snow blowers to move this snow....

….so Mark moved the snow to create a path.

It looked great, and made it so much easier to walk to and from our home during the next wintry week.

We have had a good Easter weekend…a wintry one…but one that we will always remember!