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Published: April 6th 2008
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Jasna Gora
one helluva church At the moment i'm hanging out in the basement of my grandma's apartment in my hometown. I know, sounds great, it really isnt. I'd liek to say many things praising this city/town/whatever it is, but quite honestly, at the moment, its grey adn boring. Could have soemthing to do with the weather. I haven't seen the sun for going on a week now and i'm slowly starting to understand why some animals hibernate. When the world is cold, dark and dreary, who really wants to get out of bed. So far in Czestochowa, i've only really been to Jasna Gora ('light/bright hill') which in itself is a pretty amazing place. It is a massive church & monastery complex, the biggest in Poland. It was begun sometime in the 12th c, and has seen some pretty amazing changes in this country. Inside there is the infamous painting of the Black Madonna, supposedly painted on the tabletop of the one and only Mary. The paiting, like the Mona Lisa, really isnt all that impressive in real life, but the surrounds are magnificent. So much beautiful intricate detail, and so much gold! The walls of that particular chapel are draped in jewellery of people
Czestochowa
view through the centre of town who have come to see the Black Madonna. It really is pretty amazing. I finally managed to get to my favourite place in the world last week - Krakow. Beautiful old city with the most amazing atmosphere. Having said that, i was only there verry briefly, and it rained the whole time, so my friend and I ran between cafe, pub, restaurant, home, and again. The cafes in this place are goreous - old classic European style, very elegant, with the best cakes and hot chocolate in the world. Yet the pubs are even better - many are in centuries-old stone cellars which have this incredible feel to them. But more on them another mtime, because i dont have much to say - yet. Other than drink, polish young un's also like to play pool. Yes, i ended up playing pool all the way on the other side of the world. It seems that we not only pay upside down in Melb, but we also have different rules, something which i don't quite believe, but which a 2m tall skin-head type security guard spent all night convincing me of (good god that was an experience in itself - you know
Czestochowa
view through the centre of town - at dusk theres something wrong when a skin head kisses u on the hand - at that point its time to run). I'm sourly disappointed in men in this place - i've yet to see someone reasonably goodlooking. But same goes for girls - when i remembered polish girls as tall, slim and gorgeous, i was wrong. Slim maybe, but definately not tall and not quite gorgeous. And they have this weird whiny accent which i've never heard polish spoken in. Yeah i know, weird the things i notice. The last thing i can report on is my bday, which was quite an event. On the 31st, at 12.01am we pulled out the champagne, to continue with wine at breakfast, and another champagne later when some neighbours dropped by. I got wishes from some strange people, including the florist and a travel agent. Birthdays here are a big deal, and mean no peace for the whole 24 hrs. The next day was my grandmas bday, so yeah, it was a long 2 days. I had my proper bday dinner yesterday, and you all missed out big time. This little black duck from the western suburbs of Melbourne held her 21st at a
Death by ice cream pt 1
Check out the size of this dessert! 200 year old palace in the country. It really was something. The surroundings were gorgeous, really quiet except for the heaps of birds flitting around. There was a lake, with ducks and geese (and heaps of frogs which wasnt quite as nice). But the palace itself was awesome. Beautifully restored, with grand high ceilings and authentic furniture. Check out some of the photos, but i'll only put the bare minimum up. We had a huge meal (something like 6 courses) and then lounged around and drank up the atmosphere (and other things ;o) Yet nothing is ever perfect, and it's amazing how much people change in 6 years. Rather than inviting my closest family, i sort of felt like i was celerbating with a bunch of strangers. But i suppose that was to be expected. It wouldnt be so bad if the strangers were a bit more lively. neverthless, it was a memorable night. That night we stayed upstairs in the rooms which also looked good. Then a late leisurely breakfast this morning finished it off nicely. And that is about it from me for now. ~Til next time...
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