Category Archives:  travels

a last visit to kraków

There’s not much more I could say about Kraków that wouldn’t sound like gushing. I loved the city, and I dreamed up ways I could move there and spend every day exploring its streets. And someday, I might. After all, it’s only 3 hours by train from my family.

Family: if you’re reading this, don’t tell Babcia & Dziadek and get their hopes up!

A few favourites from Kraków which stick out in my mind:

Szambalan
A little nook full of liqueurs and meads and nalweki and some non-alcoholic goodies that I don’t recall tasting… erm, seeing. I think I made it home with honey and nut liqueur, and a rose/turkish delight liqueur for my bestie. More would have come home with me had I needed to drag it to Prague and then through Canadian customs.

Sukiennice
Central Europe’s first shopping mall, the Cloth Hall has been tempting buyers for centuries. Today, full of touristy trinkets, it’s still a great spot to visit.

St. Mary’s Basilica
Easily one of the most beautiful houses of worship I have ever visited, I’d happily sit in a pew and stare at the starry skies above for days.

House of Beer
Let’s not judge that two of my favourite spots involve spirits. The House of Beer had some great local draughts on tap and a lively atmosphere. I think.

Kazimierz
Kraków’s Jewish quarter has experienced a revival over the last decade. This area is now teeming with tourists and filled with cafés, but there is much work still to be done, both in restoration and education.

Piwnica pod Aniołem
M’s guide pointed us to this lovely little restaurant – Cellar under the Angels – which is one of Kraków’s top restaurants. Serving up traditional Polish delicacies in a gothic cellar, the ambiance alone would be worth a visit. The food was wonderful, the service quite good … for Poland. But a note for the squeamish: the fish is served with the head still on. I won’t tell you how M dealt with that!

I also have to say that the staff at the Kraków Sheraton and Cracow Tour were unfailingly helpful.


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port glasgow

When we got to Port Glasgow, I set up on a little patch of beach and got to work playing with my new filter. The weather was still rather uncooperative – for me – with gray skies and little colour. But the end result is what might be one of my favourite seascapes to date.

It had started out as one of those days: terrible weather, feeling poorly, strange electrical problems with my car AND camera, water in my camera bag… but in the end, I’m really pleased with what I came home with.

But you don’t come home with a memory card full of goodies when you’re shooting long exposures at sunset.

This was the first shot of the night at 4:47pm:

And the last, just after sunset as my camera went all Exorcist on me (5:37pm):

remembering

Remembrance Day was a few days ago, and I’ve only just now been able to bring myself to even look at the photos from Auschwitz. The whole experience was overwhelming, but there is one memory that really sticks with me above everything else.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. The sky was full of fluffy clouds.

All of the grainy black and white documentary footage hadn’t prepared me for the idea that there could have been sunny days in such a monstrous place.

The very least we can do is remember.

Click through to see the photos, if you wish.

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return to kraków

I fell in love with Kraków. It was one of those places I’d always wanted to visit, and the closest I came was when we drove past it on our way to Zakopane when I was 11.

Kraków was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1596, and the centre of Poland’s academic, cultural and artistic life. Unlike Warsaw, Kraków was not razed to the ground in World War II, and maintains its historical charm. And unlike Prague, the centre of Kraków right into the Old Town Square, is a living city, full of businesses and residents and life.

I loved every second of my visit and plan to make a return trip whenever I can get back to Poland to see my family. And since it’s only a 3 hour train ride away – at a whopping $40 round trip – I think I can make it!

M and I arrived on a beautiful Monday morning. The rain and grey skies of Warsaw hadn’t followed us as we took in the Polish countryside from the train.

We checked into our gorgeous hotel with a view of Wawel Castle and set out exploring our nearest landmark.

And a little jaunt over to the Church of Peter and Paul, and St. Andrew’s Church, before a nice dinner and then nothing but trouble thanks to two girls from New Zealand.

return to erieau

Last Saturday, I was invited to tag along with three of my favourite photographers while they trekked out to the windy shores of Lake Erie. I’d been out to Erieau before, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to return, and learn from these amazing people. Thanks again to Jennifer, Darren, Bob and Val for a great night, and for supplying me with a few of the bare necessities ;)

Visit Jen’s site, blog, or etsy shop.

Visit Bob and Val‘s photostreams on flickr.

And coming up this week if I ever get a moment to catch my breath: Krakow, and updates to my etsy shop!

Erieau

This blog post is brought to you by the girl with the magenta hair.

welcome to zakopane

I’d dreamt of returning to Zakopane since I was 11 years old. I clearly remember so many details of our visit to Morskie Oko, and my Babcia saying that there was no point in taking pictures of the mountains, that they wouldn’t turn out. She was mistaken, but an obsession was born.

Cut to this year when we were planning this trip and would be a couple of hours away in Krakow, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to return to the same spot. It was ill-fated from the start. Our departure from Krakow was delayed by over an hour and a half of wandering aimlessly, trying to find a ticket booth. It really shouldn’t be that hard, especially when you speak the language, but by the time we got on the (ridiculously cheap) bus to Zakopane, we were angry and miserable. We checked into our lovely little inn, and spent the night drinking mulled wine and eating lamb pierogi and barszcz in the in-house restaurant.

The next morning, after a night on beds which were even harder than the train cots, we found the mountains fogged in, with rain on the way.

M was starting to feel sick, so after our delightfully perilous mini-bus ride to the park, we decided to take the fast and lazy way up the mountain. Just as we hit the lake it began to rain in earnest.

We tried to wait it out, but as it started to rain harder, the rocks became more and more slippery and we figured we should just get a few shots and run home to a warm blanket.


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getting lucky in prague

On my second last day in Prague, I had intended to visit the Church of Our Lady of the Snow. Not for any particular reason, mind you, just that it was on the way back to the hotel from the Leica Gallery and the guidebook said it was lovely. Sold. However, I was running late and completely forgot. The next morning before my flight, I had just enough time to pop back in that direction and check out the church. I had impeccable directions, but found myself standing on the right corner, wondering where in the world this large church could be. I’d almost given up when I decided to slip through the door in the yellow building just to see what was there.

Imagine my surprise when this plain building – by Prague’s standards – revealed an even plainer church and courtyard with the most wonderful surprise within.

I was lucky to find it all but empty, and as I wrapped up my explorations, a tour group disrupted the silence of the shrine. I moved to the empty and locked chapel next door. As I admired the simplicity of this space in comparison to the other, a monk approached me. To my great surprise, he spoke Polish and asked me if I wanted to get a better look at the chapel. Of course, who would say no?

He then asked if I was part of the group, and learning I was not, he asked if I wanted to see something special. He was scheduled to be at confession, but no one showed up so he had a little time on his hands. At this point in the story, most of my friends shook their heads at me, incredulous that I would follow a strange man through the courtyard, into a locked building, up a flight of stairs, through a locked room, into a tiny closet, and then… through two sets of locked doors…

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welcome to prague

In what would be the antithesis of the Small-Town Ontario Project, please let me introduce you to a beautiful European capital city… Prague

We arrived at 7am after taking the night train from Krakòw. I’d always wanted to visit Prague and couldn’t pass up this opportunity, but I have to admit that as the last stop on our whirlwind journey, I was exhausted. Of course, three nights on rock hard beds didn’t really help my state. I’m a princess; I need my beauty sleep!

Prague, as expected, was gorgeous. While the city was bombed during World War II, it didn’t suffer nearly as much damage as other cities such as Warsaw, so much of the Old Town is still the real deal. To be honest, I had no idea Prague was such a huge tourist destination, and the Staré Město was positively overrun with visitors and traps catering to them. At times I felt like I was on an R-rated Disney ride… but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – spoke English. It was a blessing for me, since Polish and Czech are so close that I couldn’t keep my pronunciation straight between the two languages and quickly found myself vacillating between making no sense or being mistaken for Czech and not understanding most of the conversation.

My regrets were few. I wish I had more time, and that I’d been able to see more than the Staré Město and seen more of the living city. Maybe next time…

Sunrise on the Charles Bridge was so serene. When you click through to the gallery, there will be a photo from Prague Castle where you can see how busy it is normally, but at 7am, it’s only the wind and some hardcore crazies with cameras.

The famous Astronomical Clock, always surrounded by hoards.

The love locks on Malá Strana near the Lennon Wall. Legend has it that if you find your true love, you carve your names into a lock, attach it to the gate, and throw the key into the canal. Apparently not all agree!

The view from Prague Castle.

St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. I wish I had time to go inside… 2.5 days was nowhere near enough.

The Lennon Wall.

A little more sunrise action, view from the Charles Bridge/Karlovy Most.

The old part of the main train station.

Heading toward Prague Castle/Pražský Hrad

It’s not all ancient history.

A view of the Old Town Square/Staroměstské náměstí

David Cerny’s work is often controversial, and sometimes just plain creepy.

For more of Prague, click through to the gallery. If you’re waiting on that 14th century library tour, come back on Thursday!