Archive for 'Culture'
Labour Day and Constitution Day in Poland Posted by Kasia on Apr 27, 2011
In Poland as in many other countries some people celebrate the 1st of May as an international day of social justice and workers’ rights. However for Poles these celebrations have specific associations – after the WW II the communist authorities used this day in order to show their power and friendship with the USSR. Unfortunately…
Wet Monday Posted by Kasia on Apr 25, 2011
Easter Monday, it is Smigus-Dyngus or Lany Poniedzialek, called in USA “wet Monday”. During all the day, it is allowed to throw water on the others, also unknown! The best thing is to remain at home all the day, because while leaving to go for a short walk or to even go to the church…
White Eagle Posted by Kasia on Apr 22, 2011
We have already talked about Polish flag and Polish emblem (https://blogs.transparent.com/polish?s=flag). Now I wanted to tell you where did the white eagle come from. A many, many years ago, or maybe even more, there lived three brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus. For many years they had been living happily in their villages, but the families…
Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw – Pałac Kultury i Nauki w Warszawie Posted by Kasia on Apr 20, 2011
Don’t let the name fool you – this is not the cultural hub of Warsaw. That said, however long you’re in the city for this is a must-see to experience Soviet Warsaw. For all the aggressive westernization that has overcome Warsaw, the four decades of communism have yet to be completely erased from the face…
Visit to a book store Posted by Kasia on Apr 15, 2011
While traveling you probably stop at the local book/magazine stores. You either need a map, or travel book, dictionary or simply a book to read. One of the best places you can find things like that in Poland is Empik. There you can get books, magazines, guides, bookmarks, newspapers (probably the best place to find…
Smok Wawelski Posted by Kasia on Apr 11, 2011
One of my favorite cartons when I was little girl was Wyprawa Profesora Gąbki. It was a cartoon about Smok Wawelski. A lot of you would probably ask who Smok Wawelski is. Here is a story about him… Many, many years ago, when Krakow was still the capital of Poland, there lived in the…
Different dialects in Poland Posted by Kasia on Apr 8, 2011
Polish language became far more homogeneous in the second half of the 20th century, in part due to the mass migration of several million Polish citizens from the eastern to the western part of the country after the east was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1939, during World War II. “Standard” Polish is still…