The Old Catholic Mariavite Church at Wolska in Warsaw

Incredible Sunday today visiting the Old Catholic Mariavite church up in Wolska, Warsaw. 

A little background knowledge:  both the Old Catholic Mariavite and Catholic Mariavite Churches are independent Polish Churches that were originally rooted in the Franciscan tradition, but split off from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1930s.  Moreover, if I understand things correctly, while the Old Catholic Mariavite Church has no women priests, the Mariavite Catholic Church does (interesting stuff, indeed). 

First of all, I was struck by the unusual style of the Old Mariavite Catholic church up at Wolska, both inside and outside (all the pictures here are from Wikipedia).

In a way, the place reminded me a little of a Gaudi construction (I absolutely loved his things in Barcelona).

About the Mass itself, well the quite young male priest said Mass facing the altar with his back to the people with about 7-8 servers in attendance (from young children to young men), and the sermon was said by a very old and wise-looking server (I would guess maybe a retired priest).  Throughout the Mass, there was plenty of singing in Polish, which, to me, somewhat echoed the plainchant from the Old Latin Mass of traditional (pre-Vatican II) Catholicism that I'm far more familiar with.  Let's put it another way, both the choir and the engagement of the congregation was very impressive. 

One unusual thing was that the priest went round with the collection plate himself at the end of the Mass, and let's just say that the congregation looked far more financially committed than any Catholic or non-Catholic congregation I've ever seen in Poland. Two other things which also stuck out for me were what seemed like an excessive emphasis on Marian devotion, and the Mass itself being squeezed between an exposition of the Blessed Sacrament before and Benediction after the Mass.  Finally, I almost forgot to mention that everybody knelt for Communion and received the host on the tongue, and it seemed like everybody (except for me) went to communion.  Amazing commitment, indeed.

All in all, I view my visit to the Old Mariavite Catholic church as having been absolutely incredible.  I only ended up there this morning (Mass is at 11am on Sunday morning), as I'd been reading about the church at Wolska last night, and it seemed intriguing (and so it proved).

The Polonia Warsaw Football Ground

This morning, I was up at 5.30am to travel to the other end of Warsaw to start work at 7.30am.  In the pictures below, you can see a glimpse of the massive allotment grounds at Racławicka, and then the bridge I cross over after a journey on the underground and a bus ride.

Next off, I'm out and about in and around the centre of Warsaw.  For me, posters and fly sheets give a good idea of what's going on in a city.

From the pictures above, you can guess that short women's hairstyles are becoming in vogue.  Anathema are okay, but not really my cup of tea, while the Free Form Festival, over the river, is coming up (saw Ladytron here a few years ago).  The line up for this year's Free Form Festival doesn't really mean anything to me.

Later on in the day, I pass the Polonia Warsaw football ground (Man. Utd drew 0-0 here about 14 years ago when they beat Polonia 2-0 on aggregate in some European competition - I lost interest in football many years ago).

Around the perimeter fence, I come across what I take to be the Polonia Warsaw emblem, and find a small opening where I can peer into the ground.

Moreover, I come across an incredible collection of wall paintings.

Finally, I pass the ground again later on, and guess that Polonia aren't playing Legia, as things are far too laid back.  Having said that, loads of police and their dogs are on hand, just in case anything goes off.

The Grand Canyon and Zion National Park

Thanks to our American friends, Laura and Ida above, we spent a wonderful 2-3 weeks in and travelling around Utah and Arizona in 2008.

In Utah, we encountered some stunning scenery.  The first of the two pictures above is of the incredible rock formations from Cedar Breaks, while the second one is from the mountains high above Salt Lake City.  In these mountains, we were honoured to see several small woodchucks (groundhogs) who came out of their holes to see what we were up to.

However, possibly the most stunning place we saw in Utah was Zion National Park with its distinct red rock formations.

Walking round Zion National Park was quite clearly thirsty work, but our American friends, Laura and Emilia (in the first picture below) were well prepared.

Another highlight of the trip was stopping off at St. George, then driving over the Utah-Arizona border (I think?), and watching a truly massive and incredible stage performance of 'Les Miserables' out in the desert (the picture above).

However, perhaps the pinnacle of the trip was the visit to the Grand Canyon in Arizona (in the picture above).  Of course, the Americans are always incredibly well-organised, and, in the location in the picture below, there were massive log cabins; souvenir shops; a pizzeria; and, believe it or not, a saloon bar selling Real Ale.  Yes, I'm happy to say that Real Ale seems to have taken off all over the US.

What a nice experience it was to have a pint of Real Ale at the side of the Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, I haven't got the picture.

Old Soviet-Style Wall Art in Warsaw

Out and about in Warsaw again today, working near the Metro Politechnica stop.  Near here, heading down Marszałkowska and getting very close to Plac Zabawiecela (where there's the wonderful Que Huong Vietnamese restaurant), you come across what I take to be an array of old Soviet-style, communist/socialist wall art.  For all its Soviet-style associations, I can't help but like this wall art:

Indeed, for me, this wall art can't but help reveal the (nobility of) the human spirit of endeavor and constructionism.  In reality, I genuinely like this wall art, and I'm glad to say that it looks like it's never really been badly damaged, although there is a bit of graffitti here and there underneath, but even this seems to add to rather than detract from it.

Of course, the biggest old Soviet symbol of them all lies right at the heart of Warsaw:  The Palace of Culture.

Somehow, my little mobile has managed to give the Palace of Culture a wobbly magnificence here.  In reality, many semi-ugly/semi-acceptable, tall, glass skyscrapers have been (and are still being) built around this incredible structure to slowly shroud out its presence in Warsaw.  Poles are often divided in their feelings over the significance of this massive building. 

Finally, if somebody decided to walk down near the US embassy, they would come across a completely different piece of art work dedicated to somebody who was completely opposed to Communism/Socialism:

Yes, it's a statue dedicated to the late Ronald Reagan.  It's funny that whenever I think of Ronald Reagan, I can't help but think of the Rush track from 'Signals':  'New World Man'.  This is because many British music papers in 1982, when 'Signals' was released, were interpreting the lyrics as a celebration of Ronald Reagan and his work, which may well be true, but I don't really know.  So, here's 'New World Man' by Rush below: