Pictures from the River Side

Here are a couple of pictures I took when I was walking along the Warta River on Saturday.  I hope you enjoy them!

This is the underside of the bridge near my house.  I like the symmetry.

Again, I liked the symmetry of this picture.

Poznań still has lots of buildings that are in desperate need of a fix up, such as this.

There is a factory near the river in town and this is one of the smoke/steam towers.

Off to the River

Here are a couple of pictures from my Saturday walk along the Warta river. 

This is from the park behind my apartment complex that leads down to the river.

And this one is part of the nicer path along the river.  A bit further along there is road, and on the other side the paved path stops.

Weather Worth Travelling Across the Ocean For

The weather today in Poznań was wonderful.  At least it was wonderful if you are me.  It was completely overcast, a uniformly grey sky, and yet a nice comfortable 55 degrees (Fahrenheit).  It was the type of weather that I would happily travel across the ocean for.  The type of weather that just makes me happy.  I realize that many others find days like this depressing, but tough luck, go live in California.  :)

With such great weather, and no shadows to be seen, I grabbed my camera and went for a walk for a couple of hours.  I decided to head in a different direction this time, and decided to walk along the Warta river (pronounced "Varta") which is actually very close to my apartment complex.

As the Warta flows through Poznań, it is contained in concrete banks and has wide flats to either side to act as flood areas.  So there really isn't much to see along the river, other than the occasional duck.  Also unfortunately, it seems that the Warta is a favorite hang-out for drinking kids, because there are broken bottles all over the shore and paths.  It also seems to be a favorite place for people to walk their dogs (aka "Pies", that's "pee-ez" not pies).

The picture above is one that I took while wandering along the river.  I'll post some more over the next few days.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Random Photo #1

I figured every once in a while I would throw up a random photo that I took, and that I happen to like. 


I finally managed to find an EU power connector for the battery charger for my camera, so in the waning light of the afternoon, on a VERY overcast day, I went out to take a few photos.  And it is getting cold here, so I didn't stay out too long.

Unfortunately, I didn't end up any pictures that liked that much.  But I was playing around with this image in Lightroom and liked the effect that one of the "creative" settings generated.  There is no vignetting (that darkness around the corners) in the actual photo and the original colors aren't nearly this bright.  But I like the effect that occurs when Lightroom "punches" up the colors.

Enjoy.

Views from the 16th floor

Just a quick post for tonight.  My internet connection finally got activated at home, so here is a new post.

Tuesday night I ended up working a bit later than usual, and around 9:30pm I found myself as the last person on my floor.  So I decided to turn out the lights and try taking a few photo's with my small portable camera.  So here's a couple of pictures of Poznań at night.

This is the view outside the window near my current desk.  We're moving desks this coming weekend, so it won't last long.

This is the view looking west.  That's the Stary Browar shopping center across the street.

This is the view to the East and that street you see winding down the middle is the way I walk home.

And this is a church that I walk by on my way home every day.  Hopefully I'll have some daylight photos soon.

No updates for a bit.....

Sorry there have been no updates.  I moved out of my hotel last Friday, and don't have internet at home (or much TV for that matter).  And I don't expect to get internet until this coming Friday (or so I'm told).

So, no, I haven't been kidnapped by the Russian Mob, eloped after falling madly in love with a young Polish lady, or anything nearly so dramatic.  I just don't have access to the internet other than at work and didn't want to abuse the privilege of personal internat access at work too much.  =) 

Expect more posts next week.  Thanks.

There Seems to be a lot of Art in this Small City

One of the joys of walking around Poznań so far has been stumbling unexpected on some cool bit of art.  Take the reliefs in the picture above.  They are entirely around the arched doorway of a museum that is otherwise completely grey old brick.  As you are walking down the street you may not even know it's a museum until you get the door and look at the little sign.

The exterior of the building is the same all the way around, plain grey stone.  Until you get around to the very back on a narrow street and happen to look up at just one section of the wall and see the mural below up on the third story:

Or there is the occasional bit of whimsical artwork like the painting of Charlie Chaplin below that for some reason is painted at the corner of a building near the Old Market Square.

Or there is the music.  Poznań is home to a pretty large music college, and you will occasionally come across musicians (current or former students?) performing in the street.  Or just what are obviously less talented musicians trying to busk for a bit of coin.  And as the birthplace of Chopin (and Hindenburgh I'm told) Poznań also has what I'm told is an outstanding symphony.

And seemingly nearly every weekend there is some sort of performance that goes on in the Old Market Square around Noon.  I stumbled across this performance where they were bringing out the winners of a local high school singing competition.  If I understood things correctly the young lady in the picture was 15 and finished 2nd-overall in a city-wide high-school singing competition.  And like a lot of music here in Poland, she got up and sang in English.  This was nice because at least I could understand the lyrics.

Hopefully once I get settled into my new apartment and my computer arrives, I'll dig out my camera gear and see if I can some better pictures of the some of artwork and interesting architecture around town.

A City Under Renovation

Poznań is proving to be an interesting city so far.  Since I haven't really travelled much elsewhere in Europe it's hard to say if this is common, but old Poznań at least is a city under renovation.  You see buildings completely under renovation like the picture above and you also see building where people still seem to be living in parts of them while the exterior is being re-done.  Must of the city seems to be built of brick with a plaster or stucco exterior so I'm sure a fair amount of upkeep may be needed given the winters and that much of the city was rebuilt after WWII (so I'm sure a lot of it is overdue for a serious overhaul).

The building in the picture above is only a few hundred feet from the old Market Square, which is among the older parts of the city (as I understand it) and where the old City Hall (now a museum) is located.  Along my walk to work from my hotel down a pedestrian street, they just recently finished tearing down the foundations of what looked like an old building and seem to be about to start building something new.  And directly behind the office tower I work in work is already underway on a brand new building.

I will be curious to come back in 5-10 years and see how much of the current Poznań is still around and how much might have been built over.  I hope they really keep as much of the old charm as possible.

Sometimes New Has It's Downsides

So as of today (Sunday) when I write this, I still haven't moved into my new apartment and probably won't for a few more days.  I noticed during our walkthrough on Friday that the bathroom sink was leaking a bit when the faucet was used into the drawer beneath the sink and the owner promised to get someone out to fix that.

However, being in desperate need of clean clothes I hauled a bunch of dirty clothes from my hotel to the new apartment on Saturday and decided at least I could get a few loads of laundry done.  I started up the first load, and thinking of the leaking faucet decided to stick around for a bit to make sure the washer didn't leak too.

The washing machine sounded a bit odd to me, but I have never dealt with any of these small combo units, so I didn't pay much attention.  And after going about 15 minutes with no leaks or signs of anything odd (other than the noise) I decided to go to the grocery store and start stocking my new kitchen.

When I got back 30 minutes later I found that unfortunately, I left WAY too soon.  As I opened the front door I saw a puddle of water extending from under the bathroom door almost all the way across the hall.  I dropped my groceries on the counter, opened the bathroom door and found the whole bathroom floor flooded in water.  I managed to pause the wash cycle, and the figure out to the drain the machine.  I was extremely lucky that the plummer or someone had left a heavy red towel in the drawer below the sink, and that one of the things I had just bought was a roll of paper towels.  Unfortunately, one of the things I had forgotten to do was add the owner's cell phone to my new blackberry's contacts list.

So I put up my groceries quickly (There wasn't much.  When you have to carry your groceries by hand and it's a 10-15 minute walk from the store to your apartment I find I am just making a lot of small trips) and spent the next hour or so mopping up water with that towel, wringing it out in the tub, repeat, repeat.  And then using paper towels to try and at least dry off all of the wood flooring as much as possible.

I then went to my hotel, dug up the owners phone number and tried to call him.  Unfortunately his phone was off so I sent him an email and today he was there with plumbers to make sure things got fixed.  Apparently when the washer was installed the guys doing that work forgot to take out the braces that help keep it stable during shipping and these caused the leak.

Supposedly everything is fixed now.  And just to be safe I asked him to check the dishwasher, shower, etc. and they are all supposed to be good as well.  Given that my co-worker Kasia was nice enough to take myself and another co-worker (Krys) who had also just moved to Poznan to Ikea this morning, I think I actually have enough stuff to live in the apartment now (it did not come with plates, glasses, pans, towels, sheets, blankets, etc).

 I'll go by tomorrow after work and if I manage to do some laundry successfully, I'll give notice at my hotel and finally get away from living in a hotel.  Sorry there are no pictures.  I was way too busy trying to clean up the mess and didn't think of taking any pictures.

And unrelated to this story at all, Big Thanks to Kasia again today for playing cheuffer with her husband's A6 wagon to myself and Krys and hauling us out to Ikea and all of the stuff we bought (which was a LOT).  It was MUCH appreciated.

A New Home Sweet Home

So the contract for the apartment I put a deposit on came through, and after a few modifications I signed the lease contract, handed over the first months rent, and took delivery of the keys.  As I said in my prior post the apartment had just been fully re-done so I get the benefit of everything being brand new.  I'm up on the 4th floor (which is the 5th floor if you're in America, they are start at level 0 here); and there is one more level above me.  So let me give you a brief (and not fantastically shot) tour:

Here's a look in the front door.  That's my bedroom through the door straight ahead, with a storage/coat closet there to the left of the door.

Standing just inside to the right of the doorway, this is looking at the hallway immediately in front of the door.  That black glass door is the door to the bathroom.  And you can still see the storage/coat closet there on the right.

Peeking in the bathroom door, you see one of the major attractions for me.  That is a combination washer and dryer, and they are pretty rare over here.  Most people in an apartment just have a washer and they hang the wet closes in their apartment (during winter) or outside (summer) to air dry.  When my agent found this place she mentioned to the owner that I was looking for a combo unit and he was nice enough to add one as part of the build-out.

Looking at the left side of the bathroom was one of the other main attractions of this place.  That is is a large-sized tub with shower head.  The fact that it has at least partial glass for the shower was nice for splash control as again, over here many tubs have a shower head or hand wand but have no curtain or glass to help keep the water in the shower area.

Now back into the hall and looking to the immediate right once you enter the door you see my combo living / dining / kitchen area.  Yes, that's my bag and giant sunglasses on the bookcase there.  As you can see the apartment is nicely furnished with a couch, coffee table, bookcase, storage cabinet (that white thing at the bottom right), a TV, and an extra chair (that orange thing at the bottom right).

Looking at the right side of the living room you see the storage unit and chair.  And the apartment even comes with a bit of artwork on the wall.  There are even lights behind that red panel so that if you want some dim lighting at night you can just turn those on.

And here is my "dining room" / nook.  The balcony is behind there.  And no, I have no idea why only 1 of the 4 chairs is red.  Either they were out of white ones or the architect or designer thought it would be an interesting touch.

Standing in the living room and looking the same direction you came in the front door, this is my kitchen.  The long white cupboard on the left is the refrigerator, and the smaller unit below is a freezer.  The white panel to the left of the over hides a dish washer too.  And I have both an induction cooktop and an over as you can see.  That bit of brown on the left is the door to a decent-sized pantry.

The oven is also a bit rare here unless you have a newer apartment.  One of the apartments I saw just had a cookplate and a microwave as the sole cooking appliances.  And a small under-counter dorm-size refrigerator is pretty common as well.  So again, I feel lucky that my agent found this place that was just being done up to more western tastes.

With the blinds up you can see I have a nice little balcony out there.  One thing you may not be able to see if that there are no window or door screens here.  If the window or door is open, everything outside can come right on inside.  Given that there is no AC over here, during the summer that will likely mean a fair number of mosquitos get in, or flies.

Back through the hallway into the bedroom and looking to the right you see the bed, mirror, and chest of drawer that come with the apartment.  And there is even a TV in the bedroom.  Unfortunately, for the cable package I ended up getting, I believe I will only have 8 channels available in English and I think 3 or 4 of those are news channels.

And finally, looking to the left from the bedroom door is the walk-in closet.  I'm told these are extremely rare other than in brand new buildings, so this was another great aspect of the apartment.  Even with as much of a clothes-horse as I am there is more than enough space.

So that's the new apartment.  Despite how big it looks in pictures, I think it's only around 560 square fee total. 

Unfortunately, things didn't off to a perfect start, and I'll cover in my next post.

A bit of a new look

I decided to try one of the new "dynamic" templates that Google recently added to Blogger.  Feel free to let me know if you prefer the old version or this one.

I'm also going to try and use the schedule feature of Blogspot to schedule some posts so that I don't just dump a bunch of content whenever I get the chance.  So expect another post after this one for tonight, and then I'll schedule some new things for one item a day, each day thereafter until I run of immediate ideas. 

Thanks for checking the blog out.