Poland: Dark Raciborskie Beer

Had another good Raciborskie beer last night.  This dark beer has a strong caramel taste.

Bury (Lancashire): Jogging Down the Rock

Think this is a guy I knew from years ago, Pete Jolly, jogging down The Rock.  Occasionally, pictures turn up on the 'Old Bury' websites where you know the people on them.

Szczebreszyn (Poland): A Few Summertime Shots

Here are a few summertime shots from  Szczebreszyn in eastern Poland:

Love the folk religiosity of the harvest festival below:

And the Soviet-type design of the bus shelter below:

Plus the docility of the farmyard cats:

And the earnest Misiek:

Gazpacho Live at Warsaw Klub Karuzela 24th October 2015

Just can't beat a good Prog concert, it warms the soul, and this was the case with Gazpacho at Warsaw Klub Karuzela last night.

Think it was the first night of the tour, and the band were doing lots of new stuff from the recently released 'Molok' album.

Of course, old favourites like 'Upside Down' and 'Winter Is Never' were also fused into a very good, balanced set.

Only got to know Gazpacho last year and saw them on the 'Demon' tour at Warsaw Klub Progresja.  Currently listening to the 'March of Ghosts' album which I'm not that familiar with, and it's (needless to say) fantastic.

Iamthemorning Live at Warsaw Klub Karuzela 24th October 2015

Few shots capturing the atmosphere from (Russian band) Iamthemorning live at Warsaw Klub Karuzela last night.

My favourite tune of the Iamthemorning set was always going to be 'Touching', and this beautiful song set the crowd alight two or three numbers in.

To be honest, I enjoyed Iamthemorning as much as the headline band, Gazpacho, last night (full credit to Gazpacho for having such a good opening act).

Took the shot below from the bar area as Iamthemorning were doing their last tune:

Full credit to the Klub Karuzela too for having Perła and Zwierzyniec (two of the best Polish beers) on tap.

Poland: Two Raciborskie Beers

Had these two beers (made by the Raciborskie brewery) recently, bought them from a Carrefour supermarket in Warsaw.  While the green one above was good, the more regular-looking beer below was out of this world, sublime in body and taste, this is no exaggeration:

Warsaw: Autumn Colours

As can be seen from the picture above, the autumnal colours are out in full glory in Warsaw.  Absolutely love autumn for its profound mixture of brown, orange, red, purple, violet, and yellow.

Warsaw: The Ronald Reagan Statue

Couldn't pass a statue (opposite the American Embassy in Warsaw) of America's last great President without taking a picture of it:
 

Would love to have the time to read about how Reagan admired Ayn Rand, but how the latter apparently loathed him.

However, aside from the above, I think that both Ronald Reagan and Ayn Rand would be turning in their graves at what the character below has done to the USA and Western world in general (found this amusing skit on Google images):

Warsaw Portrait Gallery

Stumbled across this incredible place down near the Polish Parliament building (near the 'Three Crosses') last Friday:

At first, I thought the place was a theatre:

But when I looked at things more closely, it started to look more like a portrait gallery:

Must try going inside this place the next time I 'm down in this part of Warsaw:

Warsaw: The Mysterious Alleyway

Came across this incredibly mysterious-looking alleyway while walking around near the Parliament building down near 'The Three Crosses' in Warsaw:

When looking through the alleyway into the courtyard beyond, I couldn't help but think that this place would have some tales to tell.

Warsaw: The War Memorial Near the Parliament Building

Back reflecting on my walk from last Friday afternoon here, where, at one point, I went past the Parliament building (down near the 'Three Crosses') below which was near the 2nd World War memorial above.

Really like the Polish white eagle symbol:

 

And the 2nd World War memorial itself, it just seemed to merge perfectly with the oncoming sundown:

Its dark, almost metallic-type colour made me think of the horror of war in general, and what may well happen in the not too distant future due to the current Sunni Muhammadan invasion of Europe sanctioned by Angela Merkel (absolutely barmy that this woman was nominated for the Noble Peace Prize - Western Europe seems to have gone utterly nuts at the moment).

Warsaw: A Catholic Church Down Near the River

Returning to my autumnal walk from last Friday afternoon, after I'd seen quite a few war memorials down near the river Vistula, I turned up a side street and came across this fairly recently built Catholic church by chance:

Of course, this is no sublime medieval creation, but I really like the fact that this modern church building is far from a monstrosity:

Didn't have a look inside the church, would guess that it would be bare and plain, Vatican II style (not my kind of thing), but generally quite liked the outside design:

Szczebreszyn (Eastern Poland): Misiek and łatek

Nice picture taken by my wife of Misiek (my wife's parents' golden retriever) with his small friend from next door, łatek, in Szczebreszyn, eastern Poland.

A Song Bringing Back Early Childhood Memories

Needless to say, this song made me recall a flood of early childhood memories. Really loved the film with Sidney Poitier (what a great actor) too.

Warsaw: War Memorials Down Near the River

As I started getting nearer to the river Vistula during my Friday afternoon walk, I encountered several 2nd World War memorials starting with the old one above.

It was a pretty dark and bleak afternoon which offered an appropriately solemn atmosphere:

A group of workmen were attending to this big War memorial, so I had to get these shots from a distance.

And at the other end of the subway, next to the river, there was a wall engraving commemorating the 2nd World War:

Through the oncoming autumnal darkness, the river Vistula looked bleak and deserted:

But I soon spotted the National Football Stadium in the distance: