Lit-Up for New Year's Eve

 A sign complementing a specific suburb of Warsaw lit-up for New Year's Eve:

This sign has been lit-up all over Christmas, a good touch, just trying to make people feel a bit better.

My Vegetarian Pasta Dish

Was pretty pleased with how my vegetarian pasta dish turned out:

It was made from a jar of spaghetti sauce; gluten-free pasta; and simmered potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and courgette, but the magical part was threading a spicy beetroot cutlet into the dish.

Kotek's Chewed Boxes

In eastern Poland, Kotek likes to chew and customise cardboard boxes so that he can sleep in them comfortably:

Love the aerial shot below which shows how Kotek adopts a fetal position in a box:

A Good Polish Regional Beer

This is currently my favourite Polish beer, it has the magical formula of being a lager that tastes like a bitter, and has some substance being 6% alcohol:

Have just read that this beer is made by the Cornelius Sulimar brewery in Piotrków Trybunalski, a town of just over 70,000 inhabitants in central Poland. 

I think that the town and brewery can be very proud of this beer, it's wonderful.

Two Christmas Nativity Scenes

Two Christmas Nativity Scenes in Warsaw, Poland, starting with a traditional one outside a church:

This one was perched between two Christmas trees:

The second one was round a corner inside a church I was attending for the old Latin Mass today:

As can be seen, this Nativity Scene is made from dolls in a kind of folk style, with Poles in traditional costumes standing in front of the Holy Family and visiting Magi (just about visible on the right).

Warsaw: Copernicus Statue at Christmas

Loved the theatrical effect that the Christmas decorations give next to and around the Copernicus statue on Krakowskie Przedmieście in central Warsaw:

Warsaw: Passing St. Andrew's Church

Walked past the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle recently:

This church lies across from the National Theatre and Opera building(s) in central Warsaw, but it can be easily missed.

Inside, the church looks very bare, Vatican II-style, but just outside the building, there is a crucifix in front of a wall dedication to the late Cardinal Glemp:

Think that the sculptured head below may be in honour of the late Pope John Paul II:

With the wall dedication below definitely being in his honour:

Snowman Selling Christmas Trees

 Up in the Wolska district of Warsaw, I met this snowman who was selling Christmas trees:

Saw him last year and it was good to see him again.

Warsaw: Passing St. Anne's Church

 Passing St. Anne's church down near Warsaw Old Town:

A police van is parked up nearby to offer protection for the church against left-wing extremists.

Another Vietnamese Meal

 Another good meal from the local Vietnamese place, this time it's tofu and vegetables:

Warsaw: Magic Roundabout

 A magical Christmas roundabout down near the Old Town in Warsaw:

Such things give enchantment in our dark times, of course.

Warsaw Christmas Decorations

 Really enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations down near the Old Town in Warsaw.

They showed that Christmas still survives despite all the dark craziness in the world.

The entrance into the Old Town itself looked wonderful:

Father Christmas Arrives in Warsaw

 With just over a week to Christmas, Father Christmas (St. Nicholas) has arrived early in Warsaw:

Of course, this is great news for all the young kids there:

 And their parents are happy to give Father Christmas a few coins to help him with his reindeer:

Warsaw: Passing an Old Memorial

 Passed this old memorial not far from metro Ratusz Arsenał in Warsaw recently:

Warsaw: Alleyway Painting

 Passed this interesting painting in an alleyway,

while down near the Mormon place on Nowy Świat:

 The Mormons have had their place on Nowy Świat since the 1970s.

My Favourite Vietnamese Meal

 Beef and vegetables, my favourite meal from a local Vietnamese place:

The 15-20 minute walk back home makes the meal lukewarm rather than red hot which is fine by me.

I only meat once or twice a week as I'm a kind of flexitarian.

Wonderful Beer Bottle

 Love this Russian beer bottle, it's just so full of character:

What I like is the late 19th century feel of the bottle, it adds something to the experience of drinking beer.

Warsaw: Pro-Life Posters

Recently, pro-life posters have started appearing in Warsaw. 

Sadly, the extreme left mob(s) that started taking to the streets 6-7 weeks ago have scribbled on and defaced some of the posters:

Warsaw: Memorial in a Park

Came across this old memorial in a small park near the Marymont indoor/outdoor marketplace:

Really like the way the cross, as a religious/cultural symbol, occupies a central position on the memorial.

Spaghetti Sauce Meal

Another experimental meal which worked a treat:

Pasta; rice; potatoes; carrots; aubergine; broccoli; and falafel, all covered with spaghetti sauce. 

Falafel covered with spaghetti sauce worked like a dream.

Warsaw: Decaying Restaurant

Really saddened me to see this beautiful restaurant decaying during the lockdown in Warsaw.

Was always nice seeing people eat outside here during summer.

But now, sadly, everything is going to rack and run:

Just hope the place makes a miraculous recovery or else Warsaw loses a bit more character.

Warsaw at Dawn

I passed the monument below at dawn a few weeks ago:

The monument is situated about 100 metres away from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

Warsaw: Christmas Decorations

After a truly crazy year, it's good to see a bit of normality with Christmas decorations going up in early December:

Really like the way the decorations and Christmas Tree have been set up outside the Arkadia shopping centre in Warsaw:

Warsaw: Autumn Pond

Found this beautiful autumn pond not far from Warsaw city centre while turning left down towards the river from St. Aleksander's church.

Just thought that the pond would be a perfect place to dream an hour or two away. Must have a look at it again soon.

Warsaw: The Polish Eagle Versus Darth Vader

 Came across this beautiful Polish eagle flag,

and old patriots' war memorial,

down near the Sejm (Polish Parliament).

Next to the Sejm, I saw some kind of extreme left encampment:

The extreme leftists seemed to be identifying/empathising with the dark overlord, Darth Vader:

The place had a kind of absurd feel to it.