the POLSKI blog

Christmas is just around the corner, many of us will have a lot of time to do things we’d normally not do. So why not visit Poland? Too late too book? Maybe. But there’s a site that offers virtual trips across Poland and there’s plenty to look at.

Wirtualny Kraj allows you to browse various locations across Poland and go for a (virtual) walk across many cities – both major and those less known.

You can visit museums, various tourist attractions, churches, universities and even go inside Sejm, the Polish parliament (see below).

There are also some weird choices – like shopping malls – but judging by the number of visitors to those, they seem to be as popular in the virtual world as they are in the real world.

The site is a great way of exploring new destinations and potentially planning your next trip. So, if you find some time over the festive period, why not give it a try? The site has an English version too, although it didn’t always work for me.

Here’s my top 10 destinations on the site:

1. Sejm – the Polish Parliament

2. Kraków

3. Hel 

4. Malbork Castle

5. Silesian Observatory

6. Książ Castle

7. Tatra Mountains (Kasprowy Wierch Mountain)

8. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (a UNESCO site)

9. AGH, Kraków

10. Sanok folk/etno museum

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Poland is getting ready for the Euro 2012 football tournament. The biggest football venue, the National Stadium in Warsaw, is rumoured to be one of the most expensive structures of its kind in the world.

The officials responsible for commissioning the stadium deny it claiming it’s not even in the Top10 most expensive football stadia in the world, says Polish daily Wyborcza.pl, quoting Mr. Wojciech Rokicki from PL.2012, the company behind the preparations for Euro 2012. (Apparently, the new Wembley stadium tops the list.)

Anyway, the reason why I mention the new stadium is its roof. It’s pretty impressive. Officially unveiled to the public a few weeks ago, the roof sits ‘folded’ in a nest above the centre of the pitch. When needed, it ‘unfurls’ in about 15 minutes, pulled by long wires powered by 72 engines. See the video below to see the roof in action.

15 minutes sounds like a long time, but I might be wrong. Hope they have good weather forecasters.

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This first post after a long break is a rather impressive video produced by the Public and Diplomacy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland.

It features a whole host of Hollywood A-listers and other celebs – from Natalie Portman to Russell Crowe, from Robert Redford and Tom Hanks to Daniel Radcliffe and Linda Evangelista – talking about one subject. Poland.

Whether it’s their families, their impressions of Poland, architecture, co-workers or the “crazy” things those Poles do (yes, Russell Crowe, I’m looking at you) – everyone has a Polish story to share in this promotional video the Ministry posted on YouTube.

A lot of that is archive material, but you’ll be surprised how many people have some sort of family or other connection with Poland. Unless you already knew that, in which case this will only reinforce your suspicions

Pretty impressive stuff in any case.

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No, I haven’t chosen today’s destination only because of its tongue-twisting nature. Trzęsacz is also a very unique place which shows the destructive power of the Baltic Sea.

1. What is it?

Trzęsacz is a tiny village on the Polish coast famous for its disappearing church (see below).

2. Where is it?

North-west Poland, on the coast, sandwiched between other (bigger) holiday resorts like Rewal or Pobierowo. It’s easy to get there by car, local narrow-gauge train or, if you’re adventurous, you can also go for a very long walk along the beach if you’re staying in any of the nearby resorts.

3. Why bother?

Several centuries ago the village of Trzęsacz had a church which was built right in the middle of it – some 2 kilometers from the sea. Over the centuries though the unstoppable process of coastal erosion has ‘swallowed’ much of the land separating Trzęsacz from the sea and by late 19th century the church was emptied of its fittings and artwork and was left to its own devices. The first part of the church collapsed into the sea at the beginning of the 20th century. Now only the southern wall survives – but it’s become a major tourist attraction in the area.

4. And you don’t want to miss…

The recently-built long viewing platform rises above the beach and allows you to admire the ruins from an elevated perspective, but hey, it’s a beach too! Jump into the sea or admire the sunset. It can be as spectacular as in the Med (the sunset, that is, not the sea itself). The whole area is also a heaven for extreme sports enthusiasts.

5. Want to know more?

You can find tourist information about Trzęsacz on Google, but if you want a detailed scientific analysis of the coastal processes in the area, have a look at the Messina Project which also contains very old images of the church before it collapsed into the sea.

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Tempted now?

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Wrocław is one of five Polish cities – along with Katowice, Lublin, Gdańsk and Warszawa – vying for the title of the European Capital of Culture in 2016. So far only one Polish city – Krakow – enjoyed this privilege in 2000.

Each city is obviously trying its best to impress the world and Wrocław doesn’t even need to try hard. After all, it’s a beautiful, vibrant city, full of history and fantastic architecture.

In its latest promotional video it’s trying to make it easier for foreigners to pronounce the name Wrocław by splitting it into two easy-to-remember (and pronounce) bits: Vrots and Love. (And presumably trying to imply that Wrocław is a city you can easily fall in love with; not sure what Vrots is meant to do though;) ) At the same time, the video shows everything the city is proud of – from its culture to its architecture and lovely people.

So here it is, does it work? I’ll let you be the judge:

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Wow. I never thought I would say this, but I’m really impressed by the latest attempt by the Polish Foreign Ministry to promote Poland. They have just launched a website called “Do you know Polska?” which is a cross between a quiz, a social media-powered photo- and language-sharing site and a promotional hub aimed at English-speaking audiences.

Through a series of large-format images of Poland with superimposed words and their definitions the Ministry is clearly hoping to promote Poland as a young, vibrant and cosmopolitan destination. The opening screen asks you whether you “know Polska” and if your answer is “yes”, you take a short test. You are then able to add new words and images, share the existing words and phrases through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, or simply browse the (hopefully soon to be expanded) library of mostly slang or at least informal words and phrases. Linguistically the site is probably of limited use as it doesn’t explain for example the difference between the infinitive and other cases and therefore may be a bit confusing.

I have to say, many of the words and phrases there have surprised me – I clearly need to watch more MTV Polska.

So far I’ve counted 24 words and their definitions on the site, which seems very little, so it’s going to be interesting to see how this project develops. It’s clearly aimed at a younger audience and the simple and sleek design should help. It looks like the site nicely complements other promotional activities which so far have either focused on some traditional aspects of the Polish culture or on mass tourism, or were aimed at foreign investors. This, although a bit niche, reaches out to the younger audience for whom social media is second nature. Therefore it’s likely to reach more people worldwide.

Have you played with the site yet? If so, what do you think? Czaisz bazę?Tweet

Blacksmith Shop by Czeslaw Milosz - click to view large

Those of you who live in London are probably familiar with Poems on the Underground, a Transport for London initiative to display short poems in Tube carriages. From tomorrow, you will also be able to read Polish poetry on London Underground as TfL is celebrating centenary of Czeslaw Milosz – a well-known Polish poet, writer and Nobel Prize winner.

The latest Poems on the Underground collection features Blacksmith Shop by Czeslaw Milosz himself, but also Nothing Special by Zbigniew Herbert and Star by Adam Zagajewski.

Milosz, who emigrated from Poland and subsequently became an American citizen and a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley, translated Herbert’s and Zagajewski’s poems into English. Zagajewski, who also left Poland for Paris, is best known for his post-9/11 poem, Try to Praise the Mutilated World.

Star by Adam Zagajewski - click to view large

Zbigniew Herbert was also one of the most recognisable and most cherished Polish poets. During WWII he became a member of the Polish resistance and in the 1980s he was a poet of the Polish opposition.

Judith Chernaik, the founder of Poems on the Underground, said:

“We hope that Londoners and visitors alike will enjoy this latest collection of poems which celebrate one of the greatest Polish poets of our time.”

The Poems on the Underground programme has been so successful other big cities – including Warsaw – have launched similar initiatives on their respective underground/metro systems.

Nothing Special by Zbigniew Herbert - click to view large

But if you can’t spot any of the Polish poems on the Tube – or don’t travel on the Underground that often – you will be able to pick up a leaflet with the featured poems from five Tube stations: Embankment, Covent Garden, South Kensington, Russell Square and Moorgate. They will be available from June 10th.

UPDATE: Thanks to Transport for London I can now share with you the three Polish poems chosen to be displayed on the Tube. Click on the above images to read the poems. Those of you who want to learn more about the Tube can do so from the excellent Going Undergound’s blog by Annie Mole (who first let me know about TfL’s plans to display Polish poetry).Tweet