Old Market Square

             I love Poznań and everything in it. I like clubs, pubs, shops, streets, busses and trams. And people of course.

There are a few places one should see when comming to Poznań. The most important would be: Ostrów Tumski (with the Cathedral in the center) and the Old Market Square.

The Old Market Square wins in numbers I guess. I don't want to write here about it's history and architecture. I refer the potential tourists to the links below:

Always helpful Wikipedia

Old Market Square guide

A bit of history

Tourist routes

I want to say why I like the area. It is always busy and there's always something going on. In warm months there are restaurants, pubs and clubs open with umbrellas outside to you can sit and enjoy the good weather. In colder months you can enter them and enjoy someting hot or strong to keep he low temperature away. There are little shops with souvenirs to visit, performances to see, architecture to admire, museums to visit, discoes to dance in and people to talk.

My favorite spots:

The Town Hall, every day at 12.00 our famos gouts appear :)

My favorite fountain - Mars

Pałac Działyńskich

I am legend

            Will Smith is always interesting to see on the screen. He seems to be able to play anything: action heroes, broke fathers, funny guys and many more. When I saw the "I am legend" poster I wanted to see Will smith in his new incarnation but also New York as I have never seen it before - deserted.

A few words about the plot. Robert Neville (Will Smith), a virologist from New York, is somehow immune to a new virus, which killed almost all people on the planet. We meet Robert and follow him through his unusual daily routine. On the way we find out what had happened to him, his family and ultimately to the whole world.

The whole movie depends almost only on Will and his ability to grasp viewers attention. For 85% of the time he is a lone person on the screen. We watch him eat, sleep, talk to his dog, we glimpse his dreams. He manages his role perfectly I think. We observe his pain, his grieve after loosing his family and later his only friend - Sam. He commends the screen from minute one.

Apart from Will I very much wanted to see New York. It is not like the city hasn't appeared in many movies before, but I have never seen it empty and claimed back by nature (well maybe once in "Decil's advocate" but it was only few secodns and just one street). 

For those who visited New York Im sure the view of empty streets, dilapidated buildings and no yellow taxies must have been at least strange. I watched the city mesmerized just wandering how they managed it. It was quite astonishing to see the Big Apple like that.

I really enjoyed the whole picture. It made me wonder when is the time when we give up. How long are we human? How long does it take for a human (when completly alone) to drop all the pretenses and go savage? How much strenght one must have to keep going when all hope is lost.

Jane Austen

             Firstly, we have to admire her for her wit and inteligence. Secondly, for the ability to describe society and their behavior. And third, that despite being a woman and living in man's times she managed to publish her books and become one of the most famous writers in all times. I write of course about Jane Austen.

Jane was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon to a very large family. She had six brothers and one sister, who was her best friend and confidant. Jane showed talent and interest in writing from a very early age. She wrote short stories and poems mostly to amuse her family. Her first serious work Her first serious work was "Sense and Sensibility" published in 1811. The book got good reviews and became fashionable to read. The money which Austen received gave her some financial stability, which was very much appreciated by Jane. Since the death of her father in 1805 Jane's (and her sister's and mother's) financial situation was not very good.

Next three novels by Austen: "Pride and Prejudice", "Mansfield Park" and "Emma" were successful as well. Austen became a recognised writer. In 1816, however, Jane started to feel unwell. She did not worry her family with her condition but soon it became apparent that her health deteriorated quickly. She was writing though, despite her illness. In 1817 she was taken to Winchester where she died and is buried.

Two novels: "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion" were published after Jane's death by efforts of Jane's sister and brother.

Nowadays people read Austen and still marvel at her talent. Her books are a mine of information, sophisticated vocabulary and wit. They still touch upon important subjects like love, betrayal, social status, money and first of all - woman in society.

Jane Austen

Flight

            Denzel Washington is undoubtedly great. He has proven that on numerous occasions and was acknowledged  many times by the critics. He won an Academy award two times and with the movie "Flight" he had a third chance :)

The film portrays a capitan who, while flying a plane from Orlando to Atlanta, avoids a crash and performs a spectacular emergency landing. He saves almost everyone on board. Overnight he becomes a celebrity and a national hero. Noone, however, knows that capitan Whip Whitaker is an alcoholic with additional drugs problem and that before the fatal flight he was drinking and heavily using cocaine. The investigation starts and we observe Whip battling with himself whether to tell the truth or not. 

Denzel Washington proves yet again that complicated and demanding roles and just for him. We observe Whip’s struggle, his natural instinct to deny everything and walk away free, but on some point we begin to notice some changes. Those changes lead us to an unexpected and spectacular ending. While watching the film I could not guess what our main protagonist will do. 

I watched the movie with open mouth enjoying every minute of it. The action and acting are two very strong points in this picture. Strongly recommend.

Heian Shrine - 平安神宮

                In Kyoto there are hundreds of temples and shrines. Some of them are small and some are quite big with vast gardens and lakes. A very beautiful and unigue shrine is Heian Shrine.

While walking to the shrine you have to pass the Heian-jingū's torii (one of the biggest in Japan). It's a towering and beautifuly colored structure, and impossible to miss. It will guide you to the shrine.

The shrine was supposed to be a reconstruction of a palace which stood there during the Heian-kyō times, when the city was a capital of Japan. However, not enough land was bought to rebuild the palace as it was, so a smaller structure was constructed and dedicated to Emperor Kanmu. He was the 50th Emperor and during his reign the capital was moved from Nara to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto).

The whole structure is truly fantastic. The rich orange color, with green roofs and green trees in the background, and pure, light sand. When I visited the shrine the cherries were in full bloom only adding more beautiful colors to the place.

It's a very beautiful place to admire the shrine, walk in the park and feed some pond fish, which (to my surprise) are very popular in Japan's shrines and temples.

A huge Heian-jingū's torii



The shrine begins

The picturesque square

Main Hall

The picturesque square

The picturesque square

Castle with beautiful Sakura

Sakura 

Concert at the lake