Polish Blog A daily dose of Polish life

A while ago I posted about Miss Polonia 2007 I somehow managed to forget about Miss Polonia 2008 until now. I won’t bother you with all the contestants so lets just cut to the chase and see the final 3.

In 3rd Place:

Paulina Kwasniewska

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2nd place:

Ewa Chelminska

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the winner who goes on to represent Poland in Miss World is:

Angelika Jakubowska:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19 year old Agnieska from Lublin has been doing a little traveling of late:

 

Not many Westerners would pick Poznan as a place to come for a holiday but I can thoroughly recommend a visit. I much prefer Poznan to places like Krakow and Warsaw, it’s a bit less in your face from a tourists perspective. Poznan has a lot going for it: the town square, the stunning architecture, museums/churches/cathedrals, great restaurants and a great nightlife. For those coming from the UK a favourable exchange rate of 5.25zl for £1.00 also means it will be a lot cheaper than a holiday in a Euro using country.

PLACES TO STAY / HOTELS IN POZNAN

There are many options for accommodation in Poznan from cheap hostels to the high end hotels like the Poznan Sheraton If you are after something mid range then I’d suggest Hotel Stare Miasto which is very central, has nicely furnished rooms and an excellent buffet breakfast, rooms range from  200zl to 350zl a night. 

POZNAN TOWN SQUARE

A great spot to watch the world go by and one of the best (if not the best) town square in Europe, after a bit of a battering in WWII the square has been beautifully rebuilt. There are a number of nice bars/restaurants with seating in and out including Poznan’s only microbrewery at the excellent Brovaria (the honey beer is lovely). Also worth checking out is Rooster’s which is the Polish equivalent of Hooters in the US. The usual burgers/ribs/fries all served by permatan busty blondes in lycra:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching the world go by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You won’t be able to miss the Town Hall in the centre of the Rynek, it houses the museum of Poznan and displays exhibitions from the 10th century to the present day. One thing to watch out for is the mechanical goats which appear at noon each day and butt heads a dozen times. The reason for the goat is that in 1511 a chef in the Town Hall burnt the venison prepared for dinner so went out and stole 2 goats to cook, the goats escaped up the tower where they were spotted butting heads on the ledge. The fate of the chef is unknown, it is more than likely he ended up on the famous whipping post outside the Town Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I won’t list every attraction in the Town Square as I’d be here all day but I’ll finish with a mention of the St Stanislaus church which is just off the square, work started on the church in 1649 and was finally finished 50 years later. One of the most exquisite examples of Baroque architecture in Poland, the interior is 57 meters long, 34 meters wide and 27 meters high and features many sculptures, paintings and statues. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued in part 2.

A lot of people have places they go to get away from the grind of daily life. Some countryside dwellers seek the hustle and bustle of a weekend in the city for a change of pace, others like to spend a few days topping up the tan on a beach. Whilst I live in a large city I like nothing better then escaping to somewhere peaceful with some forests, lakes and good food.

Lagow

There must be many little villages that visitors to Poland who head to the regular tourist spots such as Krakow, Wroclaw and Warsaw will miss. It’s a shame as some of these villages/towns are stunning. One of these places is Lagow (pronounced WaGuf) in the Lubuskie Lake District, Lagow is well known in Lubuskie and is a popular destination for locals as well as tourists from across the border in Germany.

The main tourist attraction in Lagow is Johannites Castle which is now also part of a luxury hotel (Zamek Johannites). In the mid 15th century the Knights St John (Teutonic Knights Templar) built the castle between the two lakes, it’s possible to walk up the steep steps to the top of the tower and take in a breathtaking view of the Lagow, the lakes and surrounding forests.

Zamek Johannites

View from Tower

Whilst Lagow is a small village there is no shortage of activities including cycling, scuba diving, boating, horse riding, swimming, fishing and walking. The village has plenty of nice cafes and restaurants and a lovely ice cream kiosk! 5zl for a huge ice cream with 3 different flavours and lots of fruit.

There are plenty of options when it comes to places to stay, the Zamek Joannitow Hotel is stunning but costs around 300zl per night. Those on a budget can find cheaper options, whilst quite basic Jordan has some cabins very close to the lakeand a two bedroom cabin costs 100zl per night.

Zamek Joannitow Hotel Room

Zamek Joannitow Hotel Dining

The Eurovision song contest seems to be more about politics than which country can produce the best song, the voting usually follows the lines of awarding the higest points to the strongest country you share a border with. This usually means lots of points for Russia and no points for the UK as they are the war mongering puppets of the USA.

The 2009 Eurovision song contest is being held in Moscow in May, Poland had a contest to find their entry with 10 singers competing for judges and public votes. The winner of the contest was Lidia Kopania with her song “I don’t wanna leave”.

It’s not actually a bad song and Lidia seems a nice enough girl so maybe Poland have a chance? Most likely not due to the political voting. Anyway, here is the song if you fancy a listen.

When I get angry or upset I generally try to get out and take some fresh air to calm down, on the opposite end of the spectrum is Tadeus Konopixc.

40 year old Tadues who hails from Zakopane found out that his wife was leaving him so he did what most men would naturally do in this situation… drink a bottle of vodka and cut off his penis and testicles with a 15cm kitchen knife.

Tadues, who was in excruciating pain,  managed to call doctors to tell them about his problem and asked for help. The paramedics arrived on the scene and immediately asked for a helicopter to airlift the man to a special hospital, where they hoped to do a repair job on his manhood.

Heavy fog in Zakopane delayed the arrival of the helicopter and when he finally arrived in hospital the surgeon said it was too late to sew back his genitals. The moral of the story is erm … don’t cut off your penis.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching in the UK and you may be wondering if it’s celebrated in Poland. It is but a bit later in the year, Mother’s Day (Dzien Matki) in Poland is celebrated on the 26th of May.

There are usually celebrations in schools and nurserys where children prepare ‘Laurki’ (paper decorated with flowers and good wishes) for their mothers

Those with a Polish girlfriend might just be recovering from ‘Woman’s Day’ which was on the 8th of March (There is no ‘Man’s Day’ and I also don’t get a Name Day as I have no Polish equivalent – Unfair!) and now you might have to treat the mother in law to a nice bunch of flowers or a meal out. Well, you chose a Polish girl so now you have to live with the consequences… I’m sure they are worth it.

If you would like to wish Happy Mother’s Day in Polish try:

“Szczesliwego dnia matki!”

Enjoy some lovely sunsets from around Poland: