Poland 2007

• 
  The prospect from a (seldom) hill in Skępe, where an ancient settlement was placed.
• 
  The charming forests are neither deep and dark nor too cultivated. They are a mixture of evergreens and deciduous trees.
• 
  There are many lakes and swamps in the woods.

• 
  Everywhere are traces of boars. however, we didn't see any.
• 
  I like puffballs.
• 
  An old chapel in a park.

• 
  The old houses vanish slowly away. I liked to play in such old ruins, when I was a kid. That's may be the reason why many of them are burned down (I mean because of other kids ;o) )
• 
  The Great Lake - A space for recreation and fishing. Although a small town, Skępe has around 5 lakes. Around, because many of them are in transitional period between lake and swamp.
• 
  The holy lake, just in front of my grand parent's house.

• 
  An old recreation site.
  
• 
  Really joyful, isn't it? ;o)
• 
  The famous cloister. Still in use.

• 
  A funny way to decorate a house. Just take the good china!
• 
  As a child I played a lot on the railway. Luckily they don't have high speed trains in Poland.
• 
  A Person (whom I don't know) places coins on rails (what I don't support)

• 
  The old trains spread a particular old technical fascination.
• 
  Well, someone (whom I don't know) had success with her coins.
  
• 
  The Hongkong Dollar (right) lost the test.

• 
  The central place of Toruń.
• 
  We meet some guys and had a chat in Polish, German and English. Because many of them spoke all the languages.
• 
  My cousin Ewa is a Goth with a sensational hair growth.
  

• 
  The old cemetery at night. In Poland the cemeteries resemble cities for the death with huge crosses and memporial slabs made out of concrete and granite.
• 
  Th other cousin Adam, looks like a Goth, but he's just crazy in the way I like it. ;o)
• 
  Adam

• 
  Adam .. uhm scares Katja. At least he tries.
• 
  My sister inspects our grandmother's old and dusty attic.
• 
  Almost every property in Poland is guarded by a dog. This makes it a bit noisy in the night. This sign says "If my dog doesn't kill you, I will shoot you". Anyway, at least honest.

Last week we've visited Sk ępe, my birthday town in Poland. Although Poland changed itself a lot since the end of the cold war, there is still a lot of the old charm of communism and Catholicism. Especially the old parks, forests, endless little shrines, cemeteries and industrial places reminded us of computer games like Gothic or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

We also visited the medieval city of Toruń. That's where Nicolaus Copernicus was born. The city is since centuries famous for it's university and has an special academic magic. I'm honestly jealous of my cousin Ewa, who studies in a faculty, which looks like Hogwarts,

I can recommend the hotel "Pod Orłem" in the city with it's narrow, wooden stair cases and cosy rooms. There are countless clubs in the city. Like the "Hobbit Bar", which is decorated like a cavern or "The Bunker", a dark and straight rock club. However, we needed at least 6 attempt's to find a club which was not full.

All in all we are looking forward to another visit in Poland.