Frizztext

N is for “Nie rozumiem”

I’m having great fun trying to keep pace with both of my A-Z challenges, at Frizz’s weekly pace! On Tuesdays the new letter comes out, so yet again I find myself leaping from Portugal to Poland. It’s quite a stretch!

Can you guess what “nie rozumiem” means? “I don’t understand”.

It’s probably the expression I have used the most in my visits to Poland. Despite the best of intentions I struggle to get my ear attuned to Polish, and you can’t really say “please will you write it down so I can understand”. It doesn’t seem polite somehow, and rather impedes the flow of conversation!

Another thing I’m not great at understanding is feats of engineering, but even I could see the type of industry that was going on when the family took me to inspect the nearby mine at Bełchatów. This is Europe’s largest coal-fuelled thermal power station. There are huge viewing platforms from which you can observe most of the process. It’s the chief employer in the area and many of my family have worked there. The technology looks impressive.

Seldom have I been photographed at an opencast mine

It’s a monster!

Imagine having a lovely home like this right next door!

I rather like the Polish style of fencing (but not the view!)

We drove all around the enormous site to a lakeside location with sports facilities, and, you’ve guessed it, a cracking view of the power station! Apparently it’s very popular in Summer. Bełchatów is far from the seaside.

Lakeside chalets

The view across the lake

But the family were happy and smiling!

Left to right they are- Uncle Jakub, cousins Adam and Bożena, Kuba in the background (Bożena’s younger son), cousin Marta, who is also married to Adam, and Czesława, Jakub’s wife. I hope you are paying close attention. There may be a test!

It was a warm day and afterwards Adam took us all for icecream. There was one more treat in store. Back at Jakub’s, Czescia cooked “ziemniaki z smażony tłuszcz”- potatoes with fried pork scratchings. It was explained that the dish was very popular in the days when people had nothing in Poland. Potatoes were an important staple and I have tasted some of the best potatoes ever, homegrown from Aunt Lusia’s garden. I have to say that today’s dish was not much to my taste, but Dad and the family made short work of it.

Enjoying “old style” Polish cuisine

I hope you’ve enjoyed my little venture into Polish culture today. I have to thank Julie Dawn Fox for starting the Personal A-Z Challenge, a long time ago, and Frizz at Flickr Comments for helping me to catch up. The links and logos give more information.

I can breathe a sigh of relief now because I have already posted the letter “O” for both Poland and Portugal. You can read them from my A-Z pages.

N is for “não faz mal”

It seems ages since I was in Portugal, though in fact it was only in July. In the words of a little Portuguese phrase, “não faz mal”- it doesn’t really matter. Não faz mal is a bit like de nada in Spanish, but said with a Portuguese shrug of the shoulders, meaning “It’s ok!”

Portugal will still be there waiting for me, but I can’t help feeling a bit regretful. Autumn is a lovely time to be there. My walking group will be back in action after the Summer heat. So many things I miss.

Like the liquid gold skies on our rooftop

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My mind drifts back over times and places I’ve shared with you, and maybe some I haven’t. Like my favourite island Armona.

A pretty beach house on Armona

And another!

The caraval “Bom Sucesso” which sails from Olhao

The beautiful brickwork in the town gate, Faro

Displays in the Maritime museum

The tidal mill at Quinta de Marim

Columbus Bar- a cool place to chill in F aro

Não faz mal! It really doesn’t matter. Click on a photo to see the gallery. I’m nostalgic today but who knows what tomorrow might bring?

Fabrica as the evening falls

Grateful thanks to Julie Dawn Fox for inspiring my Personal A-Z series, and to Frizz, who always welcomes people to his world. The links will take you there.

M is for Mariacki and Marysia

One of my very first sights when I visited Poland for the first time was the Mariacki Church. The splendour of the Rynek Główny in Kraków, Europe’s largest market square, is crowned by this church. Later, on a guided tour given by my neice Weronika, we crept respectfully around the aisles and I looked up in awe.

The blue ceiling covered in stars was so joyous. I almost said heavenly but that sounds too corny, however true. I’d never before seen anything like it.

The showpiece of the church is the Veit Stoss Altar, depicted on these postcards. With great ceremony the altar is opened at noon each day to reveal the exquisite carvings beneath.

Gilded wood panels of the Altar in close up

St. Mary’s Church, or Kościół Mariacki, dates from the 14th century and stands 262 feet tall (80m). Today it draws the crowds largely for the appearance of the trumpeter, who performs hourly at the top of the taller of the two towers. The sad little notes die away abruptly. According to legend this commemorates the trumpeter who was pierced through the throat while sounding the alarm for an impending Mongol attack on the city. These days it’s a happy occasion and he waves to the cheering crowd below before disappearing.

I don’t often use video clips in my posts but I accidentally came across this one and loved it. The commentary is in Polish, but you get to see the trumpeter in close up.

The noon-time trumpet call, known as the Hejnał mariacki, is broadcast across the nation by Polish Radio 1. More details are on this Wikipedia link.

Mariacki Church seen from the tower of Ratusz, the town hall.

The fountains in front of the church

Looking up at the church towers from Ul. Grodska

The towers seen from the side of the church

Marysia is one of my Polish cousins. In the very early days of our reunion with the Polish family I received a lovely email from her, introducing herself and family to me. She is married to Pawel, a musician with a wicked sense of humour. They have a daughter, Kasia, and son, Michał (do you remember that the last letter is pronounced “w”?)

Marysia is another of Zygmunt and Lodzia’s daughters. (I posted about them in L is for Lusia, Lodzia and Lodz) She lives in the village of Zawady, near to Dad’s original old farmstead, but Marysia and Pawel have a beautiful modern home. Within the family there are many skills, and when it comes to home-making, these are readily shared. Piotrek, Marysia’s brother, is a fine carpenter and the polished wood floors and banisters are all his work.

Marysia at the Baltic coast

Marysia and Pawel

Marysia’s house

Kasia as bridesmaid at Ania’s (Jadzia’s daughter) wedding

Marysia with son Michał , on the right

Kasia was only 20 when we first met, and had spent the Summer working in Nottingham, to help pay for her university studies. This was an enormous coincidence as my daughter lives in Nottingham. You can imagine her astonishment when I produced a Polish cousin living virtually on her doorstep! A meetup was arranged, of course.

Lisa, Kasia, friend Paulina, me and Leo, in Nottingham

Kasia has now completed her education and, at the time of writing, is working in Germany. Her younger brother is still studying. Marysia herself runs a lovely little boutique in Bełchatów. Confused yet? I often am, too!

It just remains for me to thank Julie Dawn Fox, who began the Personal A-Z Challenge, and Frizz, who has welcomed me into his A-Z Challenge too. This week it’s “mmm”! Follow the links to find out more, and maybe join in?

L is for Lusia, Lodzia and Łódź

This is where my Polish friends might raise their hands in protest. You see, in Polish there is a letter L and a letter Ł (ł in lower case). The two are quite separate, but as there are 33 letters in the Polish alphabet and I am constantly short of time, I’m combining them in this post. To English eyes they probably look very similar, but ł is pronounced like the English “w” in “wet”.

So, the city that I’m going to tell you a little about, Łódź, is pronounced Wooj, or something very like that. I have never actually visited this city, which is the third largest in Poland, but it has always intrigued me for its name, which translates as “boat”. This for a city which lies right in the centre of Poland, 84 miles south-west of Warsaw, and doesn’t even have a river running through it. Apparently the city once had a total of 18 rivers, but they were covered over due to chronic pollution.

A boat, the coat of arms of Łódź- from Wikipedia

The first written record of Łódź appears in 1332 as the village of Łodzia, and in 1423 King Władysław Jagiełło (who you may remember from my J is for Jadwiga post) granted it city rights. It was always at the crossroads of trade but at this time most of the inhabitants worked on grain farms in the surrounding flat lands.

Like many another Polish city, the history of Łódź is colourful. It lost its identity to Prussia in 1793, and then at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, became part of Russian Poland. The Tzar gave territory deeds to German immigrants to clear the land and build factories and housing. In 1825 the first cotton mill was opened and the textile boom began, with an eager Russian market on the doorstep. Łódź has been likened to a “Polish Manchester” due to its prosperity from textiles. Relationships with their Russian neighbours deteriorated rapidly, climaxing in the Łódź insurrection (or June Days) in 1905, which was violently put down by the Tzarists.

Łódź monument to the 1905 insurrection- from Wikipedia

Many of the industrialists were Jewish, thus, during the Nazi occupation, the Łódź Ghetto was set up. It was the last major ghetto to be liquidated due to the value of the goods the occupants produced for the German military. The Germans requisitioned all factories and machinery and transported them to Germany so that Łódź was deprived of most of its infrastructure. Refugees from Warsaw flooded into the city and in the aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising, Łódź became a temporary capital. Apart from Kraków it was the only Polish city not to have been raised to the ground.

It’s not all doom and gloom. I knew little about Łódź, but even I had heard of the National Film School, founded in 1948, and its famous student, Roman Polanski. The film industry and new businesses locating in Łódź due to its excellent transport links have aided the slow rebirth of the city. Renovation is ongoing on Ul. Piotrkowska, at 5km the longest main street in Europe. OFF Piotrkowska is a lively complex of cafes, restaurants and designer shops within 19th century former cotton mill buildings.

Sculpture of pianist Artur Rubinstein on Ul. Piotrkowska- from Wikipedia

OFF Piotrkowska- from “In your Pocket” Łódź guide

Even better news is that the rivers I referred to at the start of this post are now the subject of a restoration project. Who knows where it all might end for the city of Łódź? Manchester isn’t doing so very badly.

Lusia and Lodzia

Most of my Polish family live in the neighbourhood of Bełchatów, about an hour south of Łódź. As usual, when I was in Poland in May, I went to see my lovely Aunt Lusia in Zawady. She is my Dad’s only surviving sister, and lives close to the farmstead where Dad grew up. Her portion of land is a good size with a lovely pond and numerous fruit trees. Lusia tended the huge vegetable plots herself when she was younger, but now much appreciates the help of her daughter Theresa, who lives with her. Granddaughter Edyta completes the household (if you don’t count the rabbits, of which there are many!)

Lusia and Dad

The pond at the bottom of the garden

Fruit trees and the neighbours

Lusia and Dad with Theresa and Edyta

Most of the family have built houses on land from the original farm, and Lusia is now dividing hers to make life easier. Her daughter Grażyna and son-in-law Marek live in a high rise flat in Bełchatów (I was there on my visit too!) and are now building a house next to Mum. A widow for many years, I never met her husband Zbigniew, but have seen photos of them as a happy young couple. It will help Lusia to have family so close by. A third daughter, Irena (who will feature in my letter “I”), also lives in Bełchatów. One last little thing to share- Lusia’s given name is Otylia. I’m not at all sure how Lusia comes from this, but that’s just how it is.

Just across the lane from Lusia is the home of Lodzia and her remaining unmarried family. This is my Dad’s original home and was taken on by the oldest son Zygmunt, when their parents died. Sadly Zygmunt himself died just months before the family reunion which brought Dad back to Poland. He had tried so hard to find Dad, and maybe things would have gone differently if he had succeeded.

Lodzia has her sons Bolek and Piotrek helping on the substantial plot of land. Dad remembers taking the cows to a stream when he was a small lad, but the cows are long gone (as is the stream, strangely enough).

A slightly blurred photo of Lodzia and Bolek at Jadwiga’s home

You will have seen Lodzia on my blog before. She is my lovely cousin Jadzia’s mum and we traditionally have supper at Jadwiga’s home, pictured above. The farmhouse is now very run down and Lodzia does not have an easy life. She also has the care of a blind son, Adam, who suffered the injury in an explosion many years ago. Life is never all roses, is it? My Polish family have had their share of tragedy, but they go on smiling and welcoming us each time.

This post is part of my Personal A-Z of Poland, for which I owe thanks to Julie Dawn Fox. I have put links to Wikipedia and my other posts for anyone who is interested. The logo below will take you to Julie’s A-Z page, and I’m also linking to Frizz’s LLL-challenge, even though, as usual, I’m late! MMM arrived this morning.

J is for João and “javali”

It’s not often that my A-Z’s run parallel but, in trying to “patch the gaps” in the alphabet, I find that I’ve arrived at the letter J on both my Polish and my Portuguese challenges. Well, “J is for Jo”, so, let’s try not to disappoint.

Javali means “wild boar” in English.

Not always the most adventurous of eaters, I’m happy to say that I can quite happily trough away at wild boar. It is delicious! I first experienced it at the end of a morning’s walking with my group in the Algarve. The reward for our walks is usually a restaurant, known to one of the group as being very good value. (us Brits like a bargain!) The “wild boar” restaurant was the occasion of a 60th birthday so it was a bit special. The meat arrived in huge pans and had obviously been slow cooked for hours.

The occasion ended in rather a traumatic fashion, as the partner of the lady who was 60 keeled over and an ambulance had to be summoned! He suffers from low blood pressure. The medics stepped in and would you believe it, another member of the party collapsed with heatstroke! Both were fixed up, and nobody blamed the wild boar. If by any chance you’re reading this, Jeff and Anne, very best wishes to you both.

João is the Portuguese form of the name John. According to Wikipedia the diminutive is Joãozinho, but I’ve never heard it used. I understood diminutives to be short forms, but it doesn’t surprise me that in Portuguese, it’s longer. The feminine form, however, is Joana, and that’s me!

And now for the history lesson. There have been six ruling King João’s in Portugal. To see them in context, click on the Wikipedia link.

The wedding of King João 1, February 11th, 1387- from Wikipedia

João 1 was King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1385 to 1433. He came to the throne after a 2 year period of political anarchy, when Castile was laying claim to much of Portugal. The overthrow of Castile and their French allies was accomplished with the aid of English troops. When João married Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, in 1387, an Anglo-Portuguese alliance was secured which exists to this day.

Dom João I statue, in Lisbon

João II (reigned 1481-1495) was known as the Perfect Prince. His chief priority was continuing the exploration of the African coast, hoping to discover a maritime route to India and the spice trade.

João III (reigned 1521-1557) has been referred to as the Grocer King. He extended Portuguese possessions in Asia and the New World, securing the spice trade in cloves and nutmeg. Brazil was colonised and the Portuguese became the first Europeans to establish contact with China (under the Ming dynasty) and Japan.

João IV (reigned 1640-1656) The Portuguese Empire reached its zenith, totalling 12,000,000 km by his death. He was a patron of music and the arts, amassing one of the largest libraries in the world. Sadly it was destroyed in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

Dom João IV at Vila Vicosa, where he was born

João V (reigned 1707-1750) was nicknamed “The Magnanimous”. He ruled at a time of enormous wealth for Portugal, with gold and diamonds from Brazilian mines filling the coffers. Money was no object, and the Royal Palace at Mafra was built as a rival to Versailles.

Royal Palace of Mafra, external facade- from Wikipedia

The throne room at Mafra- from Wikipedia

The library- from Wikipedia

João VI (reigned 1816-1826) had something of a turbulent time. His kingdom included sovreignty of Brazil until independence was declared in 1825, and he had to flee there when Napoleon’s troops invaded Portugal. He stayed in Brazil for 13 years, establishing a court and growing to love the place. The loss of Brazil had an enormous effect on the Portuguese economy, and João was constantly embattled and plotted against on his return home. His eventual death was believed to be as a result of poisoning.

Phew! I hope you are not too exhausted by my tale of six Johns. I’m linking this post to Julie Dawn Fox’s A-Z Personal Challenge and to Frizz’s A-Z. You can follow their challenges through the links. Many thanks for staying with me.

J is for Jadwiga

This is a novelty, isn’t it? For anyone new to my blog, you won’t have a clue what I’m up to, or why. Old friends might just remember the logo. I’ll explain a little later.

Jadwiga is a Polish feminine name (pronounced Yad-viga). The diminutive, or affectionate family form, is Jadzia. The name originates from the German Hedwig– hadu meaning “battle” and wig meaning “fight”. You might not realise the significance of this until I tell you about Jadwiga, Queen of Poland.

Jadwiga, “king” of Poland- image from Wikipedia

Jadwiga was queen of Poland, or rather “king”, from 1384 till her death on 17th July, 1399. She was a sovereign in her own right rather than a mere royal consort, entitling her to the title of king.

Jadwiga was the daughter of Louis 1 of Hungary and Poland, and Elizabeth of Bosnia. When Louis died in 1382 his eldest daughter Maria was elected queen of Hungary, but the Poles opted to end the union between the 2 countries by choosing Jadwiga as queen. She was then just 9 years old. After 2 years of negotiations with her mother, and civil war in Poland, Jadwiga came to Kraków to be crowned. In 1386 she was married to Jogaila, grand duke of Lithuania, to form an alliance of territories much larger than the one with Hungary, changing the balance of power in Central Europe.

Coat of arms of Jadwiga- image from Wikipedia

Jadwiga’s coat of arms- from Wikipedia

The marriage opened the way to the conversion to Christianity of the largely pagan Lithuanians. Jogaila was baptised Władysław in Kraków before the marriage took place, and they ruled jointly, but with Jadwiga as the leading figure. She led 2 successful military expeditions, helping Poland to regain lost territories. When Jadwiga died from childbirth, her husband became Władysław II Jagiello, founding the Jagiellonian dynasty.

Jadwiga was a great patron of religion and scholarship. From the sale of her jewellery she financed the restoration of the Kraków Academy, which became the world renowned Jagiellonian University.

After her death, Jadwiga was venerated throughout Poland as a saint, and was said to have performed miracles. Details of these and more of Poland’s convoluted history are to be found in the above links to Wikipedia. She was finally canonised by Pope John Paul II in Kraków on June 8th, 1997.

Jadwiga's tomb, in Wawel Cathedral, Krakow- from Wikipedia

Jadwiga’s sarcophagus, in Wawel Cathedral, Kraków- from Wikipedia

And now to my personal interest in the name Jadwiga. Time to meet my lovely cousin, Jadzia. She is one of the daughters of my Dad’s older brother, Zygmunt, who died just months before the family were reunited, and so was never able to greet him on his return to Poland. I have recounted Dad’s wonderful story in Exploring the Polish Connection, and have already introduced some of my cousins in this A-Z series.

Jadzia with some of her delicious homemade cake

Jadzia, Mam and brother Bolek in her lovely dining room (Dad in foreground)

I have many times sampled Jadzia’s wonderful hospitality, and been present at the weddings of both of her children, Ania and Krzysztof. On each occasion our time together has been too brief. Jadzia has a little English and I have a very little Polish. When we exchange emails we do so in our native languages and leave the other to puzzle out the meaning. Ania is fluent in English, and of course, my Dad is an old hand at Polish.

In writing this post I am linking back to the original A-Z Personal Challenge begun by Julie Dawn Fox. Life has overtaken me a little so I’ve been slow in reaching completion. I have pages dedicated to my A-Z’s, both for Poland and for Portugal, at the top of the page, so you can see just how far I’ve progressed. I would also like to enter this post in Frizz’s A-Z. I have his permission. When I began this challenge I hadn’t even “met” Frizz. Since then he has enhanced my world enormously.

Thank you, Paula

“Sunshine on the water makes me happy”

A litttle while ago, Frizztext, whom I’m sure most of you will know and admire, placed this video in my Comments box and gladdened my heart. It’s John Denver singing “Sunshine on my shoulders”, a song that always brings a lump to my throat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrdy4lpFNxQ

Beautiful, isn’t it? I thought I might follow it up with a few shots that always make me smile.