Kotek's New Box

 

Kotek is very happy with his new box, he has set to work on it straightaway, trying to make it look like a castle:

Yeah, Kotek is a good, little builder.

Two Majestic Buildings

 

Having just entered the fringes of Warsaw Old Town from the Polonia Warsaw football ground side, I passed this incredibly beautiful building:

Not sure what it is, but it looks like some kind of official government or state building.

And a few metres up, on the opposite side of the road, stands a majestic-looking church:

This is the Franciscan friars' church, and the last time I went in here some years ago, it had many pictures of Franciscan friars on the walls.

Oum and Moh! Kouyaté - Warsaw Teatr Dramatyczny (19-09-21)

 

My highlight of last weekend was seeing Oum and Moh! Kouyaté at the Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw.

First up on this double headlining evening was Moroccan singer Oum and her band who didn't disappoint:

Most of the songs were 9-10 minutes long and a bit Prog-sounding which was a nice surprise and right up my street.

The Oum set was so good that it went in a flash, and the band deservedly took mass applause at the end of it:

After about a 20-minute break in which I had a closer look at the beautiful Teatr Dramatyczny interior:

It was the turn of Guinea musician Moh! Kouyaté and his band who I also thoroughly enjoyed:

What I really like was the upbeat melodies and pure joy in the music.

Such was my enjoyment that I not only found myself tapping my feet, but also dancing around a bit (something unusual for me).

Now, I find myself looking up the great Moh! Kouyaté tunes that I heard last Sunday, such as Fé toki and Yéllé.

Yeah, really enjoyed both the Oum and Moh! Kouyaté sets last Sunday.

Beautiful Hotel Alcove

Found this alcove outside a hotel on the fringes of  Warsaw Old Town incredibly beautiful, especially at sundown:

I passed it on the way to the Fountain Park a couple of weeks ago, it reminded me of a monastic cloister.

Sowie: Good Polish Beer

Had two kinds of Sowie beer and was impressed with both. First, the red label Sowie was a nice, steady, lager with a bitter taste at 4.9%:

And the green label Sowie had a good, subtle hoppy taste, and was 4.5%:

The Sowie brewery is based in Bielawa, a small town of about 30,000 people in south-west Poland, in the Owl Mountains, a big tourist area. In fact, the Polish word 'sowie' means owl, and this is where the name of the beer and brewery comes from.

I came across these two types of Sowie in a Biedronka supermarket, the first time I'd ever seen them, and I'm really happy that I found them, as I'm always on the lookout for good beers between 4.5 and 5% alcohol strength.

Stepped Hedges

Like the way these hedges, near the Polonia football ground in Warsaw, have been made to kind of look like steps:

Just makes the environment look a bit better, I think.

Finding a Redemptorist Church

 Chanced upon this Redemptorist church in Zamość while looking at a new railway bridge:

Close up, the building looked spectacular:

 Especially when enframed with trees:

But, unfortunately, I couldn't get inside because workmen were busy there.

Still, there was an interesting noticeboard outside:

Have just read that this is St. Nicholas' church, and that, initially, it was Orthodox, but became Catholic in 1917 and a Redemptorist church in 1934.

Have a lot of time for the Redemptorists, in Warsaw, they say the Old Latin Mass.

Duduś and the Beavers

 

Our new friend in eastern Poland, Duduś, is named after the Polish President, Andrzej Duda.

Duduś is very friendly and likes to be held, making it quite difficult to get any close-up shots of him.

Meanwhile, on the river which quietly meanders through the centre of my wife's hometown, the beavers have been busy at work:

I wonder if the beavers will be allowed to continue their dam-building and changing of the landscape.

Passing a Marie-Curie Skłodowska Statue

 

Passed this Marie-Curie Skłodowska statue while heading towards the Fountain Park in Warsaw last weekend.

The statue lies next to the Maria Gothic church at the top of the Vistula bank looking down on the Fountain Park.

Have just read that the Maria Gothic church dates back to 1411 as a parish church, was destroyed during the War in 1944, and was rebuilt in 1966.

Warsaw After Summer Music Park (10/11-09-21)

 

After a 40-minute walk or so on a balmy Friday evening, I found myself at the After Summer Music Festival at the Fountain Park, near the riverside in Warsaw.

Despite tango music not really being my kind of thing, I quite enjoyed Maciej Miecznikowski and Tango Attack:

This set was quite nicely arranged, as Tango Attack did some instrumental tunes, and some songs with Maciej Miecznikowski. Plus, at times, some tango dancers came on stage to show their craft:

Saturday evening was also enjoyable as I got to see some great Jazz music with Walk Away:

Really liked an 11-12 minute piece that the band did called Don't Cry in the Rain.

Halfway through the set, Walk Away were joined on stage by Beata Przybytek and the songs became shorter while remaining enjoyable.

Warsaw Fountain Park

 

Nice shot of the Warsaw Fountain Park from a distance over last weekend.

The Fountain Park starts to look really spectacular when sundown turns into darkness:

With things almost looking like a firework display.

Up close, the fountains are equally, if not more spectacular:

Millet and Cottage Cheese Cutlets

 

Had this delicious meal of millet and cottage cheese cutlets with peppered potatoes and red cabbage at a hotel restaurant in eastern Poland.

Boats on the River

 

Some nice shots of boats functioning as bars and restaurants on the river Vistula when I went down to see EABS play at Plac Zabaw at the start of this month.

One of the bridges over the river can be seen in the background of the picture below:

There was a general balmy feel to it all, summer would soon be over, but it was nice to have a stroll.

Below, you can see the National Football Stadium in the background where Poland were playing somebody that night (a few days later, they played England there too):

Working in the Garden

 

Spent a few days working round the garden in eastern Poland the other week, looking after conifer trees, first getting rid of grape vines which had wrapped themselves round the conifers strangling the life out of them.

I also set about trimming the conifers to protect the garden fence:

A week or two before this, I did some flagging:

Didn't do this perfectly, but it was better than beforehand. Unfortunately, a big colony of ants is at work and will probably destabilise things again in the future.

Of course, while working in the garden, I got to see my friends the goats,

geese,

and hens:

All these animals love to be fed with human food leftovers, and the goats, who'll eat more or less anything, love the grape vine leaves too.

Nice shot of the back of the barn:

And the neighbour's tomato tent:

With a sunflower standing next to it:

 Been a good year for the grapes:

But, sadly, not the raspberries:

Finally, me, in my old working gear: