Magic by Night…Lantern Asia

27 Wednesday Apr 2016

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At the end of March, and about a week before I left to go to Korea, David and I made a visit to see a special exhibit at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens called Lantern Asia. It’s been described as “Art by Day, Magic by Night”.  I didn’t see it during the day, so I can’t testify to the “Art by Day, but it is really “Magic by Night”, because the works of art are lit up.  Please excuse the quality of my pictures…they were taken with a phone and while I was trying to balance an umbrella, not the easiest feat..(try squinting, the pictures might look less fuzzy)  These displays are along the drive into the Botanical Gardens. 

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This Is A Test

31 Thursday Dec 2015

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I’ve always wondered if people are actually reading my blog….not that I’m a great writer, because I’m not, and if truth be told, English and writing essays were my least favorite and worst grades in school (thank you God for Cliff Notes) as I’m more of a math-science girl.

I started this blog because my husband’s job was taking us to a place most people had never heard of…Bydgoszcz, Poland.  In fact the most commonly asked question when we were telling our friends was “Who moves to Poland?  People actually move to Poland?”  Well, yes they do and so we did. Continue reading →

The Hills Are Alive…

30 Wednesday Dec 2015

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with the Sound of Music!…..ah ah ah ah……(you should be singing this…)

David swears The Sound of Music is a Christmas movie.  Although there is nothing mentioned about Christmas in the entire movie, David’s criteria for this distinction is that he says is it usually televised every year at Christmas.  And for some strange reason the song “My Favorite Things” is played on radio stations when they have their non-stop Christmas music playing marathon.

Anyway….three weeks ago we took a trip for my birthday….not because I was celebrating any milestone birthday….in Poland, you would say I am 18 years old and holding.   Yes, that is me….holding on for dear life! While researching different places that we wanted to visit, like Austria, I found out that there was a Sound of Music Tour that would take us to the places where the movie was filmed, I was like…..YES, please!  You don’t have to buy me anything…just whisk me off to Salzburg! Continue reading →

Away in a…..Crib??

24 Thursday Dec 2015

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If you haven’t figured it out by now my bucket list, for living in Poland and when we are traveling, is to visit as many churches as I can.  Sometimes, what you think you are going to see, is not really what you end up seeing at all.  And our trip to Vienna was no exception.

On our last day there we had a few hours to kill before it was time to take the train back to the airport for our flight back to Poland.  So armed with a map of the city, we went looking for churches.  And Vienna doesn’t disappoint.

The first church we visited was St.Stephens, the most important church in Vienna that I shared with you in my last post.  We took the underground to get there and when  you come up out of  the station to street level, it literally looms in front of you!IMG_7368

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Christmas Markets – Vienna Style

17 Thursday Dec 2015

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One of the first things that you get introduced too…or hear about…in Europe are the Christmas Markets.  They run from late November through the Advent season and sometime into early January.  In some cities and towns, it might just be for one day….but in others, they are an everyday event.  People come from all over to experience the market…sometimes going to other countries, because the “goods” are cheaper than in their own country.   They can be anything from a few wooden stalls erected on a street or small square to the huge markets that  can boast over 280 different stalls filled with food, handmade baked goods, decorations, and more!

Since we have been busy traveling the past few week-ends, we have been able to experience the Christmas Markets first hand.  Our first experience was at Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna.  We arrived on a Friday afternoon to view the Palace, so having the market there was an added bonus.IMG_6872 Continue reading →

Exploring in the Fog and Gloom

09 Wednesday Dec 2015

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What to do on a foggy, gloomy day?  Hop in the car and go exploring, of course.  It’s been foggy and gloomy for weeks and one Saturday early in November was no exception.  We decided to forge out anyway and check out a place we haven’t been before…and make a return trip to Torun to see some of the sights we missed on previous visits.

Our first stop was Ostromecko Palace and Park in…where else? but Ostromecko.  This is one Polish town name that I can actually pronounce!  The Palaces (yes, there are actually two!) and grounds are now used as Hotel and Cultural Center. Continue reading →

If it’s Christmas, It must be time for Pierniki!

08 Tuesday Dec 2015

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Pierniki!  Who loves piernicki?  Ok, let me ask again.  Gingerbread….who loves gingerbread?  Who loves the smell of fresh gingerbread cookies?  I do!  I do!  If you want to be engulfed in the smell of fresh gingerbread, come to Torun, Poland, where they have been making gingerbread since the early 13th century!  And you can learn how to make it too!  When my sister visited in October, we went to the Gingerbread Museum in Torun, took a tour and learned all about the history of gingerbread and then how to make gingerbread cookies! Continue reading →

Checking Out Churches

02 Wednesday Dec 2015

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All you have to do it wander down the street, take a few wrong turns on your way to a market square that you haven’t been to before, with a friend who has been there but doesn’t quite remember where it is, and ta-da! You’ve walked by four churches you’ve never seen before.

The first one, I’ve driven by multiple times (ok, ridden by….David was driving), but it’s not readily apparent that it’s a church.  It’s the local Mormon church and it’s neatly tucked in-between some other buildings. IMG_6457 Continue reading →