postedinpoland

[postedinpoland]

żubr. (białowieża, poland)

#bialowieza #poland

[postedinpoland]

man not only is himself, but also pretends to be himself.

w. gombrowicz (quoted in annette insdorf’s “intimations: the cinema of wojciech has”)

#gombrowicz #literature

[postedinpoland]

BUW study break.

the roof garden at the university of warsaw library is one of my favorite places. i stopped by the other day after leaving IAM and before doing some work for my fall course. as always, it made me wish umich had a roof like this for study breaks.

look at that! gorgeous. 

and as if the roof alone wasn’t lovely enough -- it has such a great view of the skyline. 

a happy self-portrait. 

#warsaw #buw

[postedinpoland]

all new things.

one thing i love about being in warsaw for the summers is that there’s always something new to explore.  it’s nice to return to old favorites, but today i set out to try some new spots.  i started with a ride on a subway line i’d never seen.  

the subway took me across the river to praga, where my first stop was the zoo market.  filled with little stalls selling food, vintage clothes, records, and jewelry, it was a neat little spot to explore.  i left with a couple records and a new (to me) top. 

the zoo market gets its name from it’s proximity to the zoo. i didn’t know HOW close it was until i walked over to check out a pretty fountain and a BEAR rounded the corner. i didn’t visit the rest of the zoo, but the bear was cool. 

i saw a poster for the ‘historiofilila’ show my first week in warsaw and knew i wanted to check it out.  art and polish memory? definitely up my alley.  

i was the ONLY one at the show (seems to be a trend this summer). it was pretty small, but a neat collection of works about polish memory and recent history. 

after taking the subway back downtown, i realized i was right by a cafe i wanted to try. lukullus was great. SUCH a lovely interior and a delicious little raspberry tartelette.  a perfect end to a wonderful saturday. 

#warsaw #praga

[postedinpoland]

seven million smiles, and yours is my favorite.

(ul. jozefa, kazimierz, krakow)

[postedinpoland]

pop by the palace.

when i first visited milanow a few years ago, i was thrilled to discover the beautiful palace and garden.  so of course when i went out to milanow to go to the poster museum this summer, i also stopped by the palace gardens.  it was pretty cloudy, but that didn’t make the walk around the grounds any less enjoyable. 

lovely. 

swarms. these clusters of bugs were kind of pretty...but after getting in close to take the picture, i couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a bug crawling on me. ick. 

such a nice little retreat from the city. 

#wilanow #warsaw

[postedinpoland]

the sky is falling.

there have been quite a few changes at IAM since last summer-- including a move to new offices for culture.pl.  my first week back was the last in the old space and after a long weekend, i reported to the new space (just around the corner).  and everything was lovely...until the ceiling collapsed on my desk.  

i was sitting at that desk on the end when one of the guys on the construction crew pulled a ladder pretty much on top of me and started to install the light above my head.  fortunately i moved to give him more room...because about a minute later the entire corner’s ceiling came down.

since no real damage was done, it turned in to quite an amusing incident...though now any time we hear an unexplained noise, we look up to see if something is about to come down on our heads.  

always an adventure!

#warsaw

[postedinpoland]

something beautiful around every corner.

(marszalkowska, warszawa)

#mirellavonchrupek #warszawa #poland

[postedinpoland]

beautiful birgu.

on my last day in malta, i caught the ferry over to birgu. i’d taken in the view of the fortified city the day before from valletta’s upper barrakka gardens and was excited to explore.  

the boat ride was short and offered a great view of the harbor and the cities on both sides. 

as was the case everywhere i went in malta, birgu was full of charming little streets to explore.

the deciding factor in my choice to go to birgu (over sliema) was the recommendation of the bus inspector who befriended me on my ride back from mdina.  after complaining about the temperature on the bus (it was HOT), talking music (he liked country and was impressed to hear motown was in MI), politics (he was pro-union), american geography (he thought i was from texas, had no idea where michigan was), and maltese history (he loved medieval history), conversation turned to places he though i should visit.  and the inquisitor’s palace in birgu was at the top of his list.  probably not a choice i would have made on my own, it ended up being an odd little museum i’m glad i checked out. 

the view from one of the courtyards in the inquisitor’s palace. i was the ONLY one in the museum (except for one employee washing the floors in the prison cells...who i was quite startled to come upon). overall, i thought the exhibit was a little too forgiving of the inquisitors...but the building was certainly cool. 

oh, malta. you’re lovely. 

on the walls of fort st. angelo. happy and hot (my next stop was for ice cream). 

what a wonderful way to wrap up a wonderful WONDERFUL wonderful few days.  

#birgu #malta

[postedinpoland]

on the water.

when i wasn’t wandering the charming narrow streets or checking out historical landmarks, i spent my time in malta squeezing in as much time by the water as possible. which was pretty easy to do, considering i was never more than a few minutes walk from a coast. 

olive trees. blue skies. sea breeze.  PERFECT. 

i didn’t ever make it into the water (next time!), but there were little “beaches” sprinkled all around valletta.  i loved how i’d be walking along a cement deck and all of a sudden there was a ladder leading into the harbor.  anywhere and everywhere is a swimming hole. 

soaking in the sun...not quite having mastered windblown hair.  

#valletta #malta

[postedinpoland]

understated is overrated.

woah. 

my first stop (after pastries and coffee) on monday morning was st. john’s co-cathedral in valletta.  it was completed in 1577 and got its full baroque redecoration in the 1660s... and when they decorated, WOW did they decorate. 

from floor to ceiling, there was something intricate and beautiful to look at everywhere. 

there was some AMAZING marble work. in addition to these pieces, the WHOLE floor consisted of marble tombstones. 

heading towards the oratory decorated by caravaggio. the (non-photograph-able) room featured caravaggio’s “the beheading of st. john,” which is the only work he signed (his signature’s in the blood pouring from john’s neck!). according to my little audio guide, it was also in that oratory that caravaggio was expelled from the order of the knights of malta. ha!

that floor. WOW.

DEFINITELY worth the stop.  

#malta #valletta

[postedinpoland]

this place is the best. valletta.

valletta was ‘home base’ for my malta weekend and i LOVED it. 

it was a joy exploring the city...lots of up and down through these charming narrow streets.

the doors! the plants! the stairs! when can i move in?

what a view. looking out towards birgu and fort st. angelo. 

i love the little pops of color with the blue doors and windows. not to mention they look out over the harbor. again, where do i pick up my key?

ahhh. wandering down to the water. 

i bet that roof has a nice view. 

charming. 

even my lunch spot was nestled on steep stairs. 

more stairs to climb. more beautiful things to see. 

perfect. 

the most beautiful place AND the most pleasant workout. 

#valletta #malta

[postedinpoland]

shipshape. 

(valletta, malta)

#malta #valletta

[postedinpoland]

mjaw. #meowinmaltese

(valletta, malta)

#malta #valletta #cat

[postedinpoland]

mdina meandering.

the mdina gate.

the ‘city’ of which rabat is a suburb is the medieval capital of mdina.  today mdina has a population of about 300 people...not exactly a bustling capital city, but certainly a beautiful historic spot.  i had a great time walking the narrow streets of the fortified capital.  

like wandering back in time. BEAUTIFUL. 

looking up on a sunny day. (in malta, it seems like all days are sunny days.)

looking out over malta from the city walls of mdina. 

so many homes around malta had these little ceramic religious figures at their doors.  i thought they were beautiful -- as is the texture of this wall.  

picturesque. can i stay?

sun. tile. stone. 

this was a pretty unremarkable souvenir shop...but it had a great name and a great sign.  i think it might be time to revisit ‘the maltese falcon.’ 

i’m SO glad i made the trip out to mdina and rabat.  walking in mdina was a treat and it was nice to venture out of valletta for a bit and see more of this amazing country.  

(i even made a friend on the bus home!)

#malta #mdina

[postedinpoland]

exploring is tiring. ice cream is a must.

(mdina, malta)

#mdina #malta #food

[postedinpoland]

so this is the suburbs.

'rabat’ is derived from the arabic word for ‘suburb.’ rabat was the suburb of the medieval capital in mdina...and what a suburb it is.  

i spent some time wandering around rabat before the st. paul festivities and found something beautiful around every corner.  

these full color statues took a little getting used to...i think because i’m more accustomed to monochrome stone, these seems a bit much at first.  but the more i saw of them against the white brick of the buildings, the more they appealed to me.  this guy was around the back of st. paul’s. 

you can almost feel the perfect weather in those sunny yellow doors. lovely. 

st. paul’s...before the confetti.  look at all those lights! it must be amazing after dark. 

i admittedly knew very little about the history of christianity on malta, but when i wandered across the grotto of st. paul, it seemed like it was worth visiting. the story goes that paul was shipwrecked on malta around 60 CE and during his time on the island, he took refuge in a cave. THIS cave.  

i have to admit, this wasn’t the MOST exciting part of my time in rabat, but i guess now that i have the backstory, i’m glad i stopped by. in the area under the grotto, i also explored WWII tunnels and a series of catacombs.  as the ONLY person there, wandering the maze of subterranean tunnels was a bit creepy.  but at least it was a good history lesson?

happy to be back above ground and marveling at the textures of the city.   

headed towards st. agatha’s.  having just escaped the labyrinthine catacombs under st. paul’s, i wasn’t really in the mood to head back underground at st. agatha’s (though having now read about the complex, it probably would have been cool).  even without going inside, the sunny courtyard was a treat.  

ahhhhh. 

i suspect there’s much more to rabat than i saw, but the bit i explored was beautiful and so full of character and history...a great introduction to malta. 

#malta #rabat