Classic

Well... do you?

Friends

A new place for Luise.

(we had a great time!)

A tough spirit

Polski Fiat - washing is for pussies...

(notice the blocking device on the steering wheel, great detail...)

Frank Sinatra II

"Day and night, night and day..."

This is the real thing. He sings has if there was no tomorrow... Singing for keeps, in the Rynek, here in Wroclaw. Good voice, only only one problem: in his repertoire (and his portable cassette player) he only has Sinatra. So I hereby launch a initiative in Wroclaw: let's give the man a new tape. A different artist maybe, just for a change, or for the sake of musical variety. It's a waste of a good talent, to only perform Sinatra. I bet that the income, at the end of the day, would be much bigger. Frankie, you make the Rynek a better place!

Polski Euro!

Why was I taking this pictures? Perfect waste of good, cheap beer time...

Who would of know? It was the second time I was celebrating the attribution of the Euro championship to a country. First Portugal, and now Poland! Since there was already a stage set up in Rynek, for the Wroclaw Jazz Fest (Jazz na Odra), they just took the chance, and decided to have a party to celebrate the pick of their country (along with Ukraine), for the Euro 2012. Some live music, latin sounds, fireworks, a LOT of beer, and Polish singing (yelling): Eurooo, Eurooo, Euro, Euro, Eurooo... They screened the clip of the announcement in a huge screen, like 5 times in a row, and each time the Polish heard the name of their country, they went nuts!It was a blast! As someone from a country that already hosted the Euro, although I'm not a big fan of football, I can only tell you that it's one of best moments ever! I had never seen the Portuguese more united than that! 70% or more of all houses had flags of Portugal hanging on the windows! It was a cool thing to see and live. Hope the Polish do the same around here, and all celebrate this huge party that will be here in 2012. It's a nice excuse for me to return to Poland... To see how Portugal & Poland are doing in the Euro, and to check out the other Euro, once that by that time, there shouldn't be any more zloty!!!

Visit to Kłodzko

Going "mole" in Kłodzko!

Finally another excursion with the other Erasmus students. It has been a while since the last time. In this trip we headed for Kłodzko to spent a Saturday there. We all gathered in Ołówek, in departed to the journey we had ahead. Kłodzko turned out to be an interesting small city, with very beautiful architecture, and the amazing fortress on the top. But one of the most attractive things of the fortress itself is the underground tunnels, that go through out all of the area of the structure. built for defensive purposes, they go around the whole area, making a complex web of passages and, sometimes, narrow ways, beneath the fortress. At a point some of us went through quite narrow tunnel, that wasn't more than 1 meter tall... Quite claustrophobic, but so Goddamn' cool! A part of the group, in which i was included decided to stay a little bit more and instead of the designated bus, take a later train back "home". All in all, it was a great day: we got to meet some new Erasmus and keep in touch with some of the previous ones.

Easter

Tanta coisa, e estes gajos não têm amendoas...

During the first days of the Easter season, we testified some events regarding these special time, here in Wroclaw. There was the mess on the street, with a lot of students, following the cross of Christ on his way to "Golgotha" and the mess in Katedra also.After deciding not to go to Portugal for Easter vacations, we realized that we would only come back there during the Summer, about the end of July. The flights were to expensive, only to be in Portugal for a week. But to cheer things up, our good friend Annia, invited us to spent the Easter Sunday along with her family in her hometown , Brzeg. And let me tell you, it couldn't be any better! Since breakfast is the main meal, or the most important, of that special day, we started eating at 10am e ended dinner at around 10pm! During the day we had some breaks to go to mess, and take a quick spin through the city, and its lovely park. We had a blast, and we couldn't feel around family much more than we did. So for that, and much more, we wish to thank Annia and her family- great parents, lovely grandmother and cool brother and sister!

Witness Of Time

Just wonder what he has seen...

(photo taken in Brzeg)

Remains

... they still linger on ...

Hey Tony...

"Come to Wroclaw! I'll make you an offer you can't refuse..."

And you thought they were all from Sicilia...

Park Stanisława Tołpy

Park Stanisława Tołpy - working for a tan...

Saturday afternoon... A sunny Saturday afternoon here in Wrocław. Went for a stroll in Park Stanisława Tołpy, just a few 100 meters from home. Here's what I found there. Old people chatting, children playing, ducks, pigeons and chips, couples "in love", everyday people just taking a break and the first flowers of the year. Spring is here...

Rejs

Rejs - if no one looks drunk, it's because it's in the morning.

Rejs... Finally the post about the one and only, REJS! I didn't even left Wroclaw for good, and it already has a special place in my heart. It's the closest thing I found to the Portuguese bars I like, here in Wroclaw. I've only been here for some months, and when, nowadays, I walk in, (almost) everyone says: "Czesc!" A little bit like "Cheers", but in a "polish" way. As most of the places here in Wroclaw, the beer is good and cheap. Two choices, at your taste: Primátor or Rejs, being the first one Czech, and the second Polish. They're equally good, although I usually drink Primátor. The name of the bar comes from a very well known old Polish movie (want to see it, but I only find it without subtitles, and my Polish isn't THAT good...). Besides this, all the decoration and thematic of the bar, recalls other well known movies, not only from Poland. You can find there a poster of "Star Wars", or an American army helmet, with the pack of Marlboro's hangin' in the side, just like in "Full Metal Jacket". The lamps in the sealing are made of old film, and some ashtrays have small filmimg cameras on them. The bathroom has a painting on the back wall (with some minor changes), reminding whom ever goes there, what's "Hollywood" all about. And although it's a small space, it's filled with great details. A lot of the guys from Archeology here in Wroclaw, usually attend the bar, and it was introduced to me as the "Archaeologists Bar". I'm in Archaeology, I like the bar... Seems only fair to me!

Groovy Bass Player

"... that bloody cocaine..."

Photo taken in "Od zmierzchu do świtu". Thursday nights there, means jam sessions, with some local bands. Take care!

Note for Mum

I didn't made my mind yet: "I've a bomb", or, "I was sent here by my Father"...

Mum, although it might not seem, I'm doing great. I mean, "they" still call me Bin Laden sometimes... And once Jesus Christ. I don't know if I should take pride in that. It's not like I want to end up crucified. But, the Polish are VERY Catholic, so maybe it's a good thing... Photo taken by Filipa on the tram, on our way to "Od zmierzchu do świtu".

PRL Propaganda

"What have you done for the realization of the plan?"

Dinner at Ołówek

"Wroclaw, the meeting point..."

We had a lovely invitation from Jayaraj, our Indian friend, to have a typical Indian meal over at it's place in Ołówek. It was the second time that tried this wonderful "cuisine"! I wanted to take some pictures of the food, but, sadly enough, I was too eager to have that divine food, and ended up with no photos of it! Anyway, I wish to thank Jayaraj for the lovely meal, and also Martin, because he is always the nicest guy, and also lives there. While I was still there I took some time, after a full stomach of course, for taking some night photos from Martin's balcony, because Ołówek is one of the city's tallest buildings and has a great view of it. Here you have the final result. A simple panoramic night view overlooking the city from the northeast part, where Ołówek is situated. Hope you like it! Take care.

É Hoje!

É hoje... (click on the image!)

So F.C.Porto didn't win after all... Whatever... This one goes out to Pedro. Take care everyone.

TV

Is that a porno section below the live football menu?
Porno in the Internet... who would of say....

Although, not entirely essential, it's always nice to have a television. One of the best things, that allows us to keep in touch with Portugal , is TvTuga. It's a website that contains links to numerous online TV channels, some of them Portuguese. So it's great to have the possibility to have dinner while seeing the news. Just like at home! When mum & dad phone, I know as much as they do about Portugal nowadays news... That's a little bit disturbing to mum because, she can't quite figure it out, how I can watch RTP, and other Portuguese channels, being Poland. Some times she starts telling me all about the recent happenings in Portugal and: "...Mum... I saw the news..."! Anyway, F.C.Porto plays today against Sporting, and due to this web page I told you about, I will be able to see the game through my computer. Victory for F.C.P., for sure... Take care!

From Dusk Till Dawn

In the original they had "something" in all colors...- in this one the beer is good and the music is nice...

In Polish: Od zmierzchu do switu. It's the name of the cool bar, in which I always have a cool time, here in Wroclaw. Named after the Robert Rodriguez film, its inside decoration, in fact, has something that reminds you of the "Titty Twister". Hard-Rock fans, 80's Metal head-bangers, and all sorts of music lovers fill the bar. At Thursdays night, it's Jam sessions time. The admission is free, and the bands, mainly from Wroclaw, are quite cool. The beer, as always, is good and cheap! Definitely a "must go" of the Wroclaw night-life. If you come to visit me in Wroclaw, I'll take you there for sure! Here's a view of the bar. I took the photo when the bar was closing, enc the lack of people on the dance-floor and counter... Take care!

Polish Lessons

I keep wondering what she/he meant with affordable...