Greetings Friends,
B[ZU] has been busy, busy, busy these last few weeks, mostly with school work. B had some very significant exams and I have been typing away at the Module 4 essay that I thought was due on Sunday but wasn't really until Tuesday. Oh well, I handed it in on Saturday evening, leaving me free as a bird for the rest of the weekend and the half week before I start work.
That's right! ZU scored a job!
I'll be a content writer for a company specializing in digital marketing. What exactly will I be doing? Let's make a deal and I will tell you more once I figure that out for myself.
As boring as we are on weekdays, B[ZU] makes an effort to get in some "active relaxation" on the weekends, and this one was no exception. On Saturday we ventured off to the Mazowiecki Landscape Park. Had we not purchased train tickets a day in advance, I am certain that we would have just hid under a mountain of blankets until we were too hungry to stay there (OK, it wouldn't have been very long). It was that sort of day, just very grey, a little drizzly, cold and just…gross. But taking into consideration that B loves me very much and will do anything to please me, we ended up boarding a regional train and getting off at a platform in the middle of a forest, a bit less than an hour later. As Canadians, we are used to our parks, whether they be provincial, national, neighborhood, whatever, being well marked with signs, maps, arrows, etc. This is Poland. Here, you only know how to get places if you inherited a map from your forest ranger uncle, complete with potential mushroom colonies and wild blueberry patches. So we got off at the station, with no map (not even an online one) and some vague written instructions on how to get to a trail.
Note to all: If you ever plan on going on such an adventure, bring a lot of good food. It provides more light, life, and happiness than the sun in this case.
Yes, we got sort of lost, a little wet, attacked by thistles, super muddy, but also had a lot of fresh air, some exercise as well as an appreciation of nature. We also were educated by some of the few (and otherwise useless) displays. There are three reasons for which Polish forests are conserved:
I do not know if I have made this clear enough. Poles love mushrooms! Maybe not even mushrooms as much as they love foraging. The idea of picking free (edible) food off the ground just gives us, yes me included, a rush of adrenaline. Especially if this is a camouflaged mushroom with no signs of decomposition nor bugginess.
Sunday was a much nicer day as the sun decided to make an appearance, so we had an afternoon stroll to Lazienki Park where we caught the last of the Chopin Festival Concerts. From May to the end of September, piano concerts are put on twice every Sunday and crowds gather in the Chopin rose garden to listen to the works of this composer. This was the last concert of the year, and it made me regret not coming to the more when we had the chance. The music was beautiful, intense, comforting, and the vibe of the event was so…right. Tourists and residents side by side, old and young, in groups and as individuals; music brought them all here. Music which transcends time, language, race, age, politics, and culture.
After dinner, we ate the desserts we picked up from Odette in the morning. Odette is a café/confectionary that can only best described as out of this world. Not only do the desserts look too pretty to eat, the flavours are mind-blowing. This week B had a triple chocolate mousse, and I had a fig tart. These of course had more complicated and beautiful names which we forgot…oops.
Sending all our love from Warsaw,
Bisouxxx,
B[ZU]
B[ZU] has been busy, busy, busy these last few weeks, mostly with school work. B had some very significant exams and I have been typing away at the Module 4 essay that I thought was due on Sunday but wasn't really until Tuesday. Oh well, I handed it in on Saturday evening, leaving me free as a bird for the rest of the weekend and the half week before I start work.
That's right! ZU scored a job!
I'll be a content writer for a company specializing in digital marketing. What exactly will I be doing? Let's make a deal and I will tell you more once I figure that out for myself.
As boring as we are on weekdays, B[ZU] makes an effort to get in some "active relaxation" on the weekends, and this one was no exception. On Saturday we ventured off to the Mazowiecki Landscape Park. Had we not purchased train tickets a day in advance, I am certain that we would have just hid under a mountain of blankets until we were too hungry to stay there (OK, it wouldn't have been very long). It was that sort of day, just very grey, a little drizzly, cold and just…gross. But taking into consideration that B loves me very much and will do anything to please me, we ended up boarding a regional train and getting off at a platform in the middle of a forest, a bit less than an hour later. As Canadians, we are used to our parks, whether they be provincial, national, neighborhood, whatever, being well marked with signs, maps, arrows, etc. This is Poland. Here, you only know how to get places if you inherited a map from your forest ranger uncle, complete with potential mushroom colonies and wild blueberry patches. So we got off at the station, with no map (not even an online one) and some vague written instructions on how to get to a trail.
Note to all: If you ever plan on going on such an adventure, bring a lot of good food. It provides more light, life, and happiness than the sun in this case.
Yes, we got sort of lost, a little wet, attacked by thistles, super muddy, but also had a lot of fresh air, some exercise as well as an appreciation of nature. We also were educated by some of the few (and otherwise useless) displays. There are three reasons for which Polish forests are conserved:
- For protection from natural disasters such as great winds, avalanches and floods
- It provides opportunities for tourism and recreation
- Harvesting of logs, mushroom, and wild blueberries
I do not know if I have made this clear enough. Poles love mushrooms! Maybe not even mushrooms as much as they love foraging. The idea of picking free (edible) food off the ground just gives us, yes me included, a rush of adrenaline. Especially if this is a camouflaged mushroom with no signs of decomposition nor bugginess.
Sunday was a much nicer day as the sun decided to make an appearance, so we had an afternoon stroll to Lazienki Park where we caught the last of the Chopin Festival Concerts. From May to the end of September, piano concerts are put on twice every Sunday and crowds gather in the Chopin rose garden to listen to the works of this composer. This was the last concert of the year, and it made me regret not coming to the more when we had the chance. The music was beautiful, intense, comforting, and the vibe of the event was so…right. Tourists and residents side by side, old and young, in groups and as individuals; music brought them all here. Music which transcends time, language, race, age, politics, and culture.
After dinner, we ate the desserts we picked up from Odette in the morning. Odette is a café/confectionary that can only best described as out of this world. Not only do the desserts look too pretty to eat, the flavours are mind-blowing. This week B had a triple chocolate mousse, and I had a fig tart. These of course had more complicated and beautiful names which we forgot…oops.
Sending all our love from Warsaw,
Bisouxxx,
B[ZU]