Alberobello

Alberobello is one of the most interesting places in Apulia, in southern Italy. It has been made a UNESCO World Heritage site, because of the unusual 'houses' - trulli . It has a special style of construction. It is a type of dwelling with a conical roof , built from the local limestone.

In the same time it is an example of Italian folk architecture.

You can also stay in one of the trulli. Some of them serve as an accommodation, others are used as small museums, which are furnished.

Alberobello is a small, typical Italian town, with some narrow streets and fascinating buildings.

There are plenty of opportunities for buying souvenirs or tasting local products.

As you can suppose, the major tourist activity in Alberobello is walking between the trulli and just admiring the scenery. :)

There is an area composed of trulli ....  really  picturesque place.

Taizé - Young Adult European Meeting in Prague

At the beginning, I would like to wish you all a happy New Year, and many happy moments in your life. :)

These past two weeks have been full of unforgettable moments. I've just returned from a trip to Prague, where it took place Taizé – European Meeting of Young people from all over the world. Undoubtedly, it was one of the best experiences in my life. 

It was organized by an ecumenical, monastic and international order – the Taizé Community from France, which is composed of brothers from Protestant and Catholic traditions.

Generally speaking, Taizé is a village in France where each year a lot of people from different countries, make pilgrimages for prayer, Bible studying.

Furthermore, every year, around New Year (usually 28 December – 2 January) , is organized a meeting in a large European city called Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth. This year it attracted 30,000 people. 

 

http://www.taize.fr/en_article17415.html

http://www.taize.fr/en_article17415.html

It is really difficult to describe all my impressions. During those few days everything was just ... awesome. :) I was sleeping in the gym, with other 50 girls from different countries. There were for example only two showers, but despite our simple accommodation, or perhaps because of these conditions, all these people showed me their kindness and I felt an incredible unity between us. 

Of course, it was also a great opportunity to talk with others about their countries, cultures, traditions. For our meals we need to travel to one of the exhibition halls. As you can immagine, it was really unusual experience to eat something, sitting on the floor, with other 30,000 people. It was crowded. ;) 

 

Then, each day we were taking part in some common prayers, in small, international groups in one of the parish, or there were some common prayers in the exhibition halls. During the prayer we were singing some short songs in different languages, with just a few words, usually lines from Psalms or other pieces of Bible, repeated again and again, which gives a meditative character to the prayers. It allows to pray all together. I put below some of my favorite canons.

 

 

Obviously, this trip was also a perfect opportunity to explore the city, which is really charming with the Old town and some magical streets. 

  

It's only a small part of my observations and feelings. The next European meeting will take place in Valencia, Spain and I hope I can be there. :)

Mostar

When you think of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the first cities that comes to your mind is surely Sarajevo. However, today I would like to describe another unique town. 

MOSTAR is one of the places where time passes slowly and as you can immagine I was really impressed by it, even if there are still visible the signs of the war, for example buildings in ruins. At the same time, those war remnants are mixed with some charming views.

 

It's a town with a famous bridge called „Stari Most '' - the Old Bridge, Ottoman bridge which was built in the 16th century and completely destroyed during the tragic war in the 1990’s, but then fully reconstructed. It crosses the river Neretva and connects two parts of the city.

Moreover, it is a symbol of Mostar and it is a part of UNESCO world heritage.

It is also a part of the Old City of Mostar, where you can find characteristic, multicultural architectural features and unique atmosphere. 

You can also visit the Mosque (built in 1552) which is open to visitors. This mosque was the first I had ever entered. It was really interesting experience. For me, it was also a kind of learning something about a little-known culture.

 

Počitelj, another town which is really worth visiting, is located 30 km from Mostar. It's a fortified complex, where you can see some remnants of medieval and ottoman times. It is also an example of cultural and religious diversity. This place was named as one of the world's 100 most endangered cultural heritage site.

 

Postcrossing

Have you ever heard of postcrossing?

It's an online project which allows to receive postcards from all over the world. It was a few years ago, when I started my adventure with it. I have had a long break from postcrossing, nevertheless this project is still important to me. In some sense, it gave me the opportunity to ''travel'', without leaving home.

I received many cards from all around the world and I was able to know some interesting information about diffenet cultures and customs.

As it is written on the project's website : ''the main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world''.

For me, it is always a surprise. One day it might be a view from Germany, the next day for example … Brazil.

I remember that my first received postcard came from one of the states in United States – North Carolina.

It is also so great to get unusual messages from other people.

There is one particular message which I still remember. A man from Netherlands, who is concerned with folk medicine, described me his job, explained where in the Netherlands you can find the appropriate herbs to prepare some medicine. At the end of his story, he even wrote me a special recipe. As you can imagine, I was really surprised. :)

For more detalis visit: http://www.postcrossing.com/

Polignano a Mare

From Bari (capital city of the Apulia) it takes only 20 minutes by train to get to Polignano which is called ''Pearl of the Adriatic sea'' ( and there’s a reason for that!). In my opinion it's one of the most bewitching places in the world, and one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

The town beach is lovely, the water super-clear, people really friendly.

 

There aren't a lot of historical or cultural sites to visit in Polignano. The historic center is rather small. You can see some remains of the Roman domination ( for example the bridge on the Via Traiana) or some churches. The seascape of Polignano is characterised by many, partially submerged and small caves.

 It is a place where you can spend a lot of time just relaxing on the beach and admiring the views.

It's good to know that it's a hometown of Domenico Modugno, italian composer and singer, well known for his four victories at the Festival of San Remo and song ''Volare”. There is his mmemorial in the area outside the historical center.

Ostuni

Ostuni is another italian city located in southern Italy, in Puglia.

It is rather a small town, built on top of a hill, still fortified by the ancient walls and at the same time is really charming.

Interesting is the fact that almost all the buildings are white (it gives an unusual effect), for this reason Ostuni is called “La Città Bianca” = “The White Town”. 

There aren't a lot of monuments in Ostuni, but nevertheless you can visit Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace, some palaces of local aristocratic families, or see some baroque-style churches. All these buildings are typical for this south part of Italy and show italian culture in some way.

The column (Colonna di Sant'Oronzo) is a symbol of the city (20.75 m high)

During the summer, it is really popular destination for tourists from all over the world. People arrive here to enjoy good weather, food and breathtaking views. Ostuni is considered to be the city with the cleanest sea (is situated about 8 km from the coast).

Wnuczka do orzechów and my favourite writer.

Today, I would like to present my favourite Polish writer – Małgorzata Musierowicz.

At the beginning I have to admit that I really love to read books, almost all types of them (except fantasy books). For this reason, Thursday was important day for me, because Musierowicz released a new book entitled “Wnuczka do orzechów”. I have waited so long for this book that I almost forgot about it. ;) As you can guess, after my clasess, I went to the bookshop and I bought it. I spent the best part of the day on reading.

It is the 20th part of the cycle called “Jeżycjada” [ the name derives from one of the Poznan's discrict Jeżyce]. Generally, it is a series of books for young people , but in my opinion not only.

I just want to present it in a general way, without going into details, and maybe encourage you to read some of them (Ida sierpniowa is my favourite one ;) )

The main family of Jeżycjada constitutes Borejko’s family, who live at Roosevelt street. Of course, there are also other families. Every book is dedicated to one person, but at the same time you can find a lot of references to other characters. It seems to be difficult to read each volume individually because there are so many allusions to previous parts ( the first one is called “Szósta klepka”).

Some curiosities:

• Interesting is the fact that plot of the books refers to real places in Poznań.

• The books were translated into different languages such as Japanese.

• Two of books have their film versions.

• One of them was awarded the title of "The Book of the Year" by the Polish IBBY department. Another was included in the Hans Christian Andersen Award-Honour List.